Development of the MiG-19S began in the mid 1950s, with the intent of improving the handling characteristics of the MiG-19. In order to achieve this, Soviet engineers made a number of aerodynamic changes to the aircraft’s design and introduced several other minor changes which improved overall performance. Additionally, the aircraft’s firepower was significantly increased from three 23mm cannons to three 30mm cannons.

The new MiG-19S was planned to enter production in September 1955, but due to several problems causing delays in testing, the type didn’t enter production before June 1956. Production continued until 1959, with a total of 683 aircraft built.

The Soviet Air Force began deploying MiG-19s in East Germany as early as 1957. The East German Air Force received their own MiG-19S and MiG-19PM aircraft in 1959, amounting to 12 machines of each modification respectively.

However, as aviation technology advanced rapidly and newer, more sophisticated aircraft became available, the MiG-19 quickly became obsolete. In addition to that, the relatively high unreliability of the MiG-19, which led to high loss rates caused by accidents, resulted in the type being phased out of GDR service by 1968.