In From Russia With Love, when Red Grant is hustled out of his villa straight to Moscow for a meeting with his SMERSH superiors, he is taken to the airport in Simferopol.
As they are driving across the runway, the control tower orders them to stop.
As the driver jammed on his brakes, there sounded a deafening scream above their heads. Both men instinctively ducked as a flight of four MIG 17s came out of the setting sun and skimmed over them, their squat wind-brakes right down for the landing.
The MIG 17s were the fighter jet of choice for the Soviet Air Force in the 1950s. Once the car is given the go-ahead to proceed they arrive at Grant’s transport.
A hundred yards further on they came to a plane with the recognition letters V-BO. It was a two-engined Ilyushin 12. A small aluminium ladder hung down from the cabin door and the car stopped beside it.
The Ilyushin 12 was a Soviet twin-engined cargo plane developed in the 1940’s, and some were also adopted for passenger use. These remained in use through the 1960’s.
Here is a great video on the plane, including some interior shots where we can see where Grant was sitting.
There were 20 seats on Grant’s plane, and he chose the one nearest to the hatch.
