American MiG Pilot: Inside the Top Secret USAF "Red Eagles" MiG Squadron Part 2 (445)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 863 Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2026

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lt Col Rob “Z-Man” Zettel is the author of American MiG Pilot - Inside the Top Secret USAF “Red Eagles. He tells the Red Eagles story for the first time through the experiences of a pilot who flew Soviet MiGs to their maximum performance in simulated combat engagements, often several times a day, against some of the very best fighter pilots hand-picked from the ranks of the USAF, US Navy and US Marine Corps. With controls labelled in Russian and the only spare parts being the ones they could salvage, the pilots who climbed into the MiGs - the Red Eagles - accepted all of the risks associated with operating these aircraft. Rob’s vivid accounts of training engagements put the reader right in the cockpit as he describes what it was like to be there day in and day out at one of the most access-restricted airfields in the entire USAF, flying MiGs. In part two of our story, we join him for his first interview for the Red Eagles. Buy the book here and support the podcast⁠ Episode extras here ⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/episode445 Listen to Part 1 here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode444/ Similar episodes: The first Western pilot to fly the MIG-29 Soviet fighter plane https://coldwarconversations.com/episode106/ Low Flying the USAF F-111 Nuclear Bomber & Operation EL Dorado Canyon https://coldwarconversations.com/episode358/ ⁠ Go to ⁠https://surfshark.com/coldwardeal⁠ or use code COLDWARDEAL at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! Help me preserve Cold War history via a simple monthly donation, You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, and receive a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank-you, and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, we also welcome one-off donations via the same link. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://coldwarconversations.com/store/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ CONTINUE THE COLD WAR CONVERSATION BlueSky ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bsky.app/profile/coldwarpod.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Threads ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.threads.net/@coldwarconversations⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Twitter/X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Youtube ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:06.0	And I'm walking into the first large hangar, and I'm taken back because here are no fewer than nine
0:13.4	Meg 21s, Park nose to nose, they're right there. I'm going, you've got to be kidding.
0:21.8	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to Cold War history.
0:29.4	Please make sure you follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss future episodes.
0:34.1	Lieutenant Colonel Rob Zeman Zettel is the author of American MIG pilot inside the top secret US Air Force Red Eagles.
0:42.5	He tells the Red Eagle story for the first time through the experiences of a pilot who flew Soviet Migs
0:48.3	to their maximum performance in simulated combat engagements, often several times a day, against some of the very best
0:55.8	fighter pilots. Rob's vivid accounts put the listener right in the cockpit at one of the most
1:01.6	access-restricted airfields in the entire US Air Force. We join him in part two of our story,
1:08.3	describing his first interview for the Red Eagles. I'm delighted to welcome
1:12.7	Lieutenant Colonel Rob Zettle to our Cold War conversation. I show up promptly at a little bit
1:19.7	before four, enter the squadron building, which actually isn't really a squadron. It's a double-wide
1:26.1	trailer. It's pretty nondescript. It's kind of embarrassing looking. It looks like something at a junkyard or something. It didn't look very like a top secret squatter would be. But I walk in there and I quickly notice I'm the only one in there wearing dress blues. And I'm sure they're thinking, who is this guy?
1:44.7	And what's he doing here?
1:46.0	Luckily, Jim Dave was there at the door, and he ushers me in and make some introductions
1:52.7	to a few of the people that are standing around.
1:54.8	And a few minutes later, he tells me, hey, come on down.
1:57.6	I'm going to introduce you to George Jenner, our commander.
2:00.7	So I go down there, and I won't belabor that too much, but I go in for an interview. It didn't last more than about 20, 30 minutes. And I go in his office, and Jim closes the door as he leaves. And in the office with him is the operations officer, a guy by the name of a major Bert Buffalo Myers, and the call sign is perfect.
2:20.0	Buffalo, because this guy is huge.
2:22.1	He looks like, for those of you are familiar with the football league, it looks like he could be
	...

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