Albanian MiG 19 PM (1959)
Twelve Soviet-built MiG-19PM Farmer-D delivered in October 1959. The MiG-19PM was a radar-equipped all-weather interceptor and the first fighter in Albanian service to be equipped with missiles as its primary armament, (no cannon were installed). The aircraft were based at Rinas. The new interceptors completed the SA-75 Dvina battalion that was delivered in the same year.
In 1965 these aircraft were withdrawn and shipped to China, in exchange for an initial twelve Shenyang F-6.
China's primary motivation for acquiring the MiG-19 PMs from Albania was to study and reverse-engineer Soviet technology. During the 1960s, China was focused on rapidly modernizing its military capabilities, and the MiG-19 PM was one of the more advanced fighters in the Soviet arsenal at the time.
