There are only two monuments to airplanes in the city of Dnepr. One of them is located on the left bank in Solnechny district. Locals know it as “Airplane in Solnechny”.
This monument is the most authentic combat fighter MiG-19. The monument was opened on May 8, 1975 on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War. It is dedicated to the pilots of the 17th Aviation Army, which took part in the battles for the liberation of the city in 1943, and many pilots died in the battles over then Dnepropetrovsk. There is also a common grave of fallen soldiers nearby.
The MIG-19 aircraft is installed on the embankment facing the Dnipro on a concrete pedestal, which like a jet comes out of the nozzle of the aircraft’s engine. Now, this plane is unarmed – just a steel shell.
It is noteworthy that the MIG-19 did not exist at the time of World War II. It began to be produced in 1955 and was the world’s first jet fighter that could independently accelerate to supersonic speed. According to NATO classification, the MIG-19 was called the Farmer. The machine was taken out of service in 1989.
Airplane in Solnechny now
At some point the airplane monument in Sunny was in disrepair. The plane itself was rotten with time, the strength of the stele was doubtful, and the embankment itself was in a deplorable state. They wanted to demolish it, so as not to endanger the citizens – it was considered inexpedient to repair it.
However, in 2012-2014, everything was put in order here and the monument got a second life.
In 2022, during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the Monument was decommunized. Suddenly (in June 2022) the tail of the plane was repainted in the colors of the national flag, painting over the red star.
A week later, talks about demolishing the monument began – it was proposed to dismantle it and even to put in its place a mock-up of the Turkish drone Bayraktar.
So far, there is no understanding of what fate awaits the monument to the plane in Solnechny. We’ll wait and see.
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