Tales of the 21 Lethal Cold War icon

Maj. “Dragon” Pavel of the famous No.1 Sqn Bulgarian Air Force based at Graf Ignatievo, soars through a bright blue Bulgarian skyscape. (Photo by John Dibbs/Facebook.com/theplanepicturecompany)

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It was late late—or maybe early early—and Robin Olds was holding forth as only he could. After the bar had closed, Robin was still talking fighters, specifically the F-4 versus the MiG-21. He pounded a fist on the table. Then, in that deceptively soft voice with Yosemite Sam overtones, he said, “The best flying job in the world was a MiG-21 pilot at Phuc Yen. Hell, the way we fought that (bleep)ing war, if I...

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