MiG-23UB serial 702 at San Antonio, around 1996.
Pho taken by Bernardo Zarallo of a MiG-23ML serial 232 is a Angolan veteran.
This Picture was taken at the end of 2002 at Cuidad Libertad.
This MiG-23ML was there to be used in the training of mechanics at Yuri Gagarin, all of the planes at Ciudad Libertad have been moved, to who knows where.
Luis
Newforest
Here I have what I promised you yesterday
MiG-23 in Cuban service
The first MiG-23BNs arrived to Cuba on June 6th 1978; they were 12 Mig-23BN Flogger H serial FAR 710-721 and 2 MiG-23UB Flogger C serial FAR 700, 701.
The MiG-23s participated in the first exercise against the Soviet Navy on a visit to Cuba, attacking their ships at Matanzas on October 3rd 1978. The second operation called Granma XXII was on December 1978, training on bombings raids and getting plans ready, for possible bombing missions against Homestead and MacDill Air Force Base in South Florida. Following that, the MiG-23 appear for the first time in public, during a military parade of the XX Anniversary of the Revolution on January 2nd 1979. Lt. Colonel Rafael del Pino commanded 9 MiG-23 which passed through Revolutionary Square in three groups with the variable wings on 16º, 45º, 72º position. The MiG-23s were based at San Antonio de los Baños. Colonel Henry Perez Martinez flew 340 hours in 44 months from 1978 to 1981 flying MiG-23BN and UM since he had become one of the squadrons instructors. The first commanding officer of these squadron, was Lieutenant Colonel Bismark Torres Sosa, with three wings commanders, Captains Edelmiro Sanchez, Mario Sierra, and Albio Cordoba Mantecon. Major Eduardo Gonzalez Serria was the chief of tactics and shooting, when in October 1983, the US invaded the island of Granada where Cuba had troops, the coordinates for different objectives in south Florida were given to Eduardo, by the Ministry of Armed Forces, to input personally into the navigation computer of the MiGs-23BN, in complete secrecy without the Soviet assessors finding out.
Major Eduardo Gonzalez Serria was also the pilot that was send to Boca Chica Naval Base (Key West, US) to pick up a MiG-23BN serial 722 that Mayor Orestes Lorenzo had use to escape from Cuba to the US, in 1991, according to my sources Eduardo was one of the best pilots they had seen, without getting any advanced training in the Soviet Union, Eduardo was let go from the DAAFAR only about a year later and has been a Taxi driver in Havana since then, what a change. 
MiG-23BN serial 722 at Boca Chica
MiG-23BN serial 722 taking off from Boca Chica in the return trip back to Cuba, flown by Mayor Eduardo Gonzalez Serria
In early1982 a second squadron of 12 MiG-23BN serials 722 to 733 and 2 MiG-23UB serials 704, 705 arrives in Cuba, by May of that year it becomes operational. UM 1661was commanded by Major Antonio Rojas, who later was replaced with Major Armando Castellanos since Antonio had been send to Angola. At that time many of the bombing practices were done at the Playa Tomate training grounds, near Cajio in the south of Cuba. The whole unit was expected to go to Angola and preparations were increased, specially with night flying. Other members of this squadron were Ramses del Pino Danta, Ruben Castellanos, Fidel Guzman, Eduardo Chirino, Jose Rodriguez Leal, Ivan Vega Presa, Omar Mesa, Libre Quintero and Juan Pablo Roque. They trained at Frunze in the Soviet Union in early 1982 to become MiG-23BN pilots.
Eight MiG-23BN were send to Angola by ship at the end of the Angolan war, in early 1988, but were never used in combat, and all came back to Cuba.
They were based at San Antonio de los Baños until 1991, when they were transfer to Santa Clara, to form part of the UM 1890 Regiment, were Lt. Colonel Ramón Alba Perdomo was one of the squadrons chiefs, now the MiG-23BN are no longer in service.
The MiG-23MF arrived to Cuba in 1980 with a total of 14 MiG-23MF serials 810-823 and 2 Mig-23UB serials 702-703. The first commanding officer of these squadron, was Lieutenant Colonel Jose Febles Perea, who was killed in a combat exercise at the Playa Tomate training ground in 1982-83.
Two other pilots lost their live in accidents with the MiG-23MF, Capitan Fonseca 1983 and Capitan Antonio Galvez at Siguanea 1984/5.
This squadron was based al San Antonio de los Baños, until 1991 when the remainder of them was transfer to Holguin, one of these MiG-23MF was used in the defection of Captain Leonides Basulto Serrano to Guantanamo in September 1993.
The MiG-23ML one squadron got to Cuba in mid 1983 with 12 MiG-23ML serials 210-221 and two MiG-23UB serial 706-707, the Soviet Union put two more MiG-23ML squadrons in Angola, that were property of the Cubans, at least 17 MiG-23ML and 1 MiG-23ML lost in combat or accidents in Angola, with only 7 MiG-23ML and 1 MiG-23ML coming back to Cuba after the Angolan war. Some 4 MiG-23ML were transfer to Holguin, with the arrival of the MiG-29 in 1991, to form a mix squadron with about 4 remaining MiG-23MF.
The MiG-21BIS and MiG-23BN have been put into nylon canvas in shelters at San Antonio de los Baños, at Santa Clara and Holguin, each of these bases has 48 hardened shelters.
Please if someone wants to used any part of these, ask for permition first, I hava lots more info.
Fidel Castro is going to be mad, some cuban secrets are gettig out. jajajajajaja 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
Newforest
Yes I know Orestes Lorenzo, he is a great guy and a friend, and in fact this is a picture of the MiG-23BN serial 722 that he used to escaped from Cuba.
And here is in the return trip to Cuba, in fact I also know the pilot that came to pick up the plane, now he is a taxi driver in Havana, later I’ll tell you a good story about him too.
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