The Mikoyan-Gurevich

Mikoyan

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...

 MiG-15 was a jet

Jet aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...

 fighter

Fighter aircraft

A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...

 developed for the USSR

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing

Swept wing

A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...

 jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in daylight. The MiG-15 also served as the starting point for development of the more advanced MiG-17

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. Most MiG-17 variants cannot carry air-to-air missiles, but shot down many aircraft with its cannons...

 which was still an effective threat to supersonic American fighters over North Vietnam in the 1960s. The MiG-15 is believed to have been the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made, with over 12,000 built. Licensed foreign production perhaps raised the total to over 18,000. The MiG-15 is often mentioned along with the North American F-86 Sabre in lists of the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 and in comparison with fighters of other eras.

NATO and USAF reporting names were as follows:

• MiG-15: NATO reporting name
  NATO reporting name
  NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...
  
   "Fagot", USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 14".

• MiG-15P: NATO reporting name "Fagot", USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 19".

• MiG-15UTI: NATO reporting name "Midget", USAF/DoD reporting name "Type 29".

Design and development

Most early jets were designed like piston-engined fighters with straight wings, limiting their high speed performance. German research during World War II had shown swept wings would perform better at transonic

Transonic

Transonic speed is an aeronautics term referring to the condition of flight in which a range of velocities of airflow exist surrounding and flowing past an air vehicle or an airfoil that are concurrently below, at, and above the speed of sound in the range of Mach 0.8 to 1.2, i.e. 600–900 mph...

 speeds, and Soviet aircraft designers were quick to take advantage of this information. There are claims of Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich (lead designers of the "MiG"

Mikoyan

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...

 bureau) being heavily influenced by the Focke-Wulf Ta 183

Focke-Wulf Ta 183

The Focke-Wulf Ta 183 Huckebein was a design for a jet-powered fighter aircraft intended as the successor to the Messerschmitt Me 262 and other day fighters in Luftwaffe service during World War II. It was developed only to the extent of wind tunnel models when the war ended, but the basic design...

. The abortive late-war German jet had swept wings and bore a resemblance to the later MiG-15, but the two aircraft are different in structure and general design. The Soviets did seize plans and prototypes for the Ta-183, but the majority of Focke-Wulf engineers (in particular, Hans Multhopp

Hans Multhopp

Hans Multhopp was a German aeronautical engineer/designer. Receiving a degree from the University of Göttingen, Multhopp worked with the famous designer Kurt Tank at the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG during World War II, and was the leader of the team responsible for the design of the Focke-Wulf Ta...

, who led the Ta-183 development team) were captured by Western armies; therefore, it could be argued that the MiG-15 design team drew some limited inspiration from the Ta-183, but there is insufficient evidence to prove it was heavily influenced. Currently, many sources claim that the MiG-15 is an original design benefiting from German research, but conceived, designed, engineered, and produced by the Soviets.

The unusual MiG-8

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-8

|-See also:-References:Bibliography* Gordon, Yefim and Komissarov, Dmitry. OKB Mikoyan: A History of the Design Bureau and its Aircraft. Hinckley, England: Midland Publishing, 2009 ISBN 1-85780-307-5...

 Utka experimental canard aircraft, built right at the conclusion of World War II by the MiG design bureau, is said to have also been a major influence in the use of swept wings on later Mikoyan designs.

By 1946, Soviet designers were to power them. Soviet aviation minister Mikhail Khrunichev

Mikhail Khrunichev

Mikhail Vasilyevich Khrunichev was a Soviet Union statesman, lieutenant-general in the technical and engineering corps , who was awarded the title of Soviet Hero of Socialist Labour in 1945....

 and aircraft designer A. S. Yakovlev

Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev

Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev was a Soviet aeronautical engineer. He designed the Yakovlev military aircraft and founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau. -Biography:...

 suggested to Premier Joseph Stalin the USSR buy advanced jet engines from the British. Stalin is said to have replied, "What fool will sell us his secrets?"

However, he gave his consent to the proposal and Mikoyan, engine designer Vladimir Klimov

Vladimir Klimov

Vladimir Klimov is a Soviet sprint canoer who competed in the early 1970s. He won a bronze medal in the K-4 10000 m event at the 1971 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Belgrade.-References:**...

, and others travelled to the United Kingdom to request the engines. To Stalin's amazement, the British Labour government and its pro-Soviet Minister of Trade, Sir Stafford Cripps

Stafford Cripps

Sir Richard Stafford Cripps was a British Labour politician of the first half of the 20th century. During World War II he served in a number of positions in the wartime coalition, including Ambassador to the Soviet Union and Minister of Aircraft Production...

, were perfectly willing to provide technical information and a license to manufacture the Rolls-Royce Nene

Rolls-Royce Nene

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bridgman, L, Jane's fighting aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7-External links:* *...

. This engine was reverse-engineered and produced as the Klimov RD-45, subsequently incorporated into the MiG-15. Rolls-Royce later attempted to claim £207 million in license fees, without success.

In the interim, on 15 April 1947, the Council of Ministers issued decree #493–192, which ordered the Mikoyan

Mikoyan

Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG , or RSK MiG, is a Russian joint stock company. Formerly Mikoyan-and-Gurevich Design Bureau , then simply Mikoyan, it is a military aircraft design bureau, primarily designing fighter aircraft...

 OKB

OKB

OKB is a transliteration of the Russian acronym for "Опытное конструкторское бюро" - Opytnoe Konstructorskoe Byuro, meaning Experimental Design Bureau...

 to build two prototypes for a new jet fighter. As the decree called for a first flight as soon as December, designers at OKB-155 fell back on an earlier troublesome design, the MiG-9. The MiG-9 suffered from an unreliable engine and control problems; the first would be solved by the excellent new Klimov engine, and to solve the second, the designers began experimenting with swept wing

Swept wing

A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...

s and redesigning the tail. The resulting prototypes were designated as I-310.

The I-310 was a clean, swept-wing fighter with 35° sweep in wings and tail, and exceptional performance, with a top speed of over 1,040 km/h (650 mph). Its primary competitor was the similar Lavochkin La-168. After evaluation, the MiG design was chosen for production. Designated MiG-15, the first production example flew on 31 December 1948. It entered Soviet Air Force

Soviet Air Force

The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...

 service in 1949, and would subsequently receive the NATO reporting name

NATO reporting name

NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 "Fagot." Early production examples had a tendency to roll to the left or to the right due to manufacturing variances, so aerodynamic trimmers called "nozhi" (knives) were fitted to correct the problem, the knives being adjusted by ground crews until the aircraft flew correctly.

An improved variant, the MiG-15bis ("second"), entered service in early 1950 with a Klimov VK-1

Klimov VK-1

-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9-External links:* *...

 engine, an improved version of the RD-45/Nene, plus minor improvements and upgrades. Visible differences were a headlight in the air intake separator and horizontal upper edge airbrakes. The 23 mm cannons were placed more closely together in their undercarriage. Some "bis" aircraft also adopted under-wing hardpoints for unguided rocket launchers or 50–250 kg (110–551 lb) bombs. Fighter-bomber modifications were dubbed "IB", "SD-21", and "SD-5". About 150 aircraft were upgraded to SD-21 specification during 1953–1954. An unknown number of aircraft were modified to "IB" specification in the late 1950s.

The MiG-15 arguably had sufficient power to dive at supersonic speeds, but could not do so because it did not have an "all-flying" tail

Stabilator

A stabilator is an aircraft control surface that combines the functions of an elevator and a horizontal stabilizer...

. As a result, the pilot's ability to control the aircraft deteriorated significantly as it approached Mach 1. Later MiGs would incorporate all-flying tails.

The MiG-15 was originally intended to intercept American bombers like the B-29. It was even evaluated in mock air-to-air combat trials with a captured U.S. B-29, as well as the later Soviet B-29 copy, the Tu-4 "Bull"

Tupolev Tu-4

The Tupolev Tu-4 was a piston-engined Soviet strategic bomber that served the Soviet Air Force from the late 1940s to mid 1960s...

. To ensure the destruction of such large bombers, the MiG-15 carried cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

s: two 23 mm with 80 rounds per gun and a single 37 mm with 40 rounds. These weapons provided tremendous punch in the interceptor role, but their limited rate of fire and relatively low velocity made it more difficult to score hits against small and maneuverable enemy jet fighters in air-to-air combat. The 23 mm and 37 mm also had radically different ballistics

Ballistics

Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...

, and some United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 pilots in Korea had the unnerving experience of 23 mm shells passing over them while the 37 mm shells flew under. The cannons were fitted into a neat pack that could be winched down out of the bottom of the nose for servicing and reloading, in principle allowing a pre-prepared pack to be switched for rapid turnaround. (Some sources mistakenly claim the pack was added in later models.)

A variety of MiG-15 variants were built, but the most common was the MiG-15UTI (NATO reporting name

NATO reporting name

NATO reporting names are classified code names for military equipment of the Eastern Bloc...

 "Midget") two-seat trainer

Trainer (aircraft)

A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate in-flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristics and a simplified cockpit arrangement—allows...

.
Because Mikoyan-Gurevich never mass-produced the transition training versions of the later MiG-17 or MiG-19

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 is a Soviet second-generation, single-seat, twin jet-engined fighter aircraft. It was the first Soviet production aircraft capable of supersonic speeds in level flight. A comparable U.S...

, the MiG-15UTI remained the sole Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

 advanced jet trainer well into the 1970s, the primary training role being fulfilled exclusively by Czechoslovak Aero L-29 Delfin

Aero L-29 Delfin

|-See also:-References:* Gunston, Bill, ed. "Aero L-29 Delfin." The Encyclopedia of World Air Power. New York: Crescent Books, 1990. ISBN 0-517-53754-0....

 and the L-39 Albatros jet trainers (save for Poland, which used their indigenous TS-11 Iskra

PZL TS-11 Iskra

|-See also:-References:*"Poland's Veteran Spark". Air International, March 1979, Vol 16 No. 3. Bromley, UK:Fine Scroll Publishing. pp. 126–131....

 jets). While China produced two-seat trainer versions of the later MiG-17 and MiG-19, the Soviets felt that the MiG-15UTI was sufficient for their needs and did not produce their own trainer versions of those aircraft.

Operational history

The MiG-15 was widely exported, with the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 receiving MiG-15bis models in 1950. Chinese MiG-15s took part in the first jet-versus-jet dogfights during the Korean War. The swept-wing MiG-15 quickly proved superior to the first-generation

First generation jet fighter

Aircraft classified as first generation jet fighters are the first attempts at creation of military aircraft using jet engines. A few were developed during the closing days of World War II but saw very limited combat operations...

, straight-wing jets of western air forces such as the F-80

P-80 Shooting Star

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces. Designed in 1943 as a response to the German Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter, and delivered in just 143 days from the start of the design process, production models were flying but...

 and British Gloster Meteor

Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

, as well as piston-engined North American P-51 Mustangs and Vought F4U Corsairs with the MiG-15 of First Lieutenant Semyon Fiodorovich Jominich scoring the first jet-vs-jet victory in history when he bagged the F-80C of Frank Van Sickle, who died in the encounter (the USAF credits the loss to the action of the North Korean flak). Only the F-86 Sabre, with its highly trained pilots, was a match for the MiG.

Its baptism of fire occurred during the last phases of the Chinese Civil War (1946–49). During the first months of 1950, the aviation of Nationalist China attacked from Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 the communist position in continental China, especially Shanghai

Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

. Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 requested the military assistance of the USSR, and the 50th IAD equipped with the MiG-15bis was deployed south of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. On 28 April 1950, Captain Kalinikov shot down a P-38 of the Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

, scoring the first aerial victory of the MiG-15. Another followed on 11 May, when Captain Ilya Ivanovich Schinkarenko downed the B-24 Liberator

B-24 Liberator

The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...

 of Li Chao Hua, commander of the 8th Air Group of the nationalist Air Force.

The Korean War (1950–1953)

When the ongoing Korean War escalated with the North Korean offensive of 25 June 1950, the Northern Air Force was equipped with World War II-vintage Soviet prop-driven fighters, including 93 Il-10

Ilyushin Il-10

Ilyushin Il-10 was a Soviet ground attack aircraft developed at the end of World War II by the Ilyushin construction bureau...

s and 79 Yak-9Ps. The North Korean Air Force had roughly 93 Il-10s, 79 Yak-9Ps, and 40–50 assorted transport/liaison/trainer aircraft". The vast numerical and technical superiority of the USAF, led by advanced jets such as Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star and Republic F-84 Thunderjet fighters, quickly brought air superiority, thus laying North Korea's cities bare to the destructive power of USAF B-29 bombers which, together with Navy and Marine aircraft, roamed the skies largely unopposed for a time.

The decision to introduce the MiG-15 not only closed the jet fighter gap, its performance leapfrogged all of the opposing straight-winged jets. The MiG-15 proved very effective in its designed role against formations of B-29 heavy bombers, shooting down numerous bombers. In a match-up with the F-86, the results were not as clear-cut though Americans claimed that the F-86 had the advantage in combat kills. The Soviet 64th IAK (Fighter Aviation Corps) claimed 1,106 UN aircraft destroyed in the Korean War, compared to Allied records that 142 Allied aircraft were downed by the Soviet MiG-15 pilots. Western experts do acknowledge many Soviet pilots earned bigger individual scores than their American counterparts due to a number of factors, though overall figures of NATO were probably overstated.

For many years, the participation of Soviet aircrews in the Korean War was widely suspected by the United Nations forces, but consistently denied by the Soviet Union. With the end of the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

, however, Soviet pilots who participated in the conflict have begun to reveal their role. Soviet aircraft were adorned with North Korean or Chinese markings and pilots wore either North Korean uniforms or civilian clothes to disguise their origins. For radio communication, they were given cards with common Korean words for various flying terms spelled out phonetically in Cyrillic characters. These subterfuges did not long survive the stresses of air-to-air combat, however, as pilots routinely communicated (cursed) in Russian. Soviet pilots were prevented from flying over areas in which they might be captured, which would indicate that the Soviet Union was officially a combatant in the war.

The USSR never acknowledged that its pilots ever flew over Korea during the Cold War. Americans who intercepted radio traffic during combat confirmed hearing Russian voices, but only the Communist Chinese and North Korean combatants took responsibility for the flying. Until the publishing of recent books by Red Chinese and Soviet authors, such as Zhang Xiaoming, Leonid Krylov, Yuriy Tepsurkaev and Igor Seydov, little was known of the actual pilots. The Americans recognized the techniques of their opponents whom they called "honchos", and dubbed "MiG Alley

MiG Alley

"MIG Alley" is the name given by U.S. Air Force pilots to the northwestern portion of North Korea, where the Yalu River empties into the Yellow Sea. During the Korean War, it was the site of numerous dogfights between U.S. fighter jets and those of the Communist forces, particularly the Soviet...

" the site of numerous dogfight

Dogfight

A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...

s in the northwestern portion of North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

 where the Yalu River

Yalu River

The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....

 empties into the Yellow Sea

Yellow Sea

The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...

.

The Soviets were training Red Chinese MiG-15 pilots when Communist China entered the war in support of North Korea. By October, the Soviet Union had agreed to provide air regiments of state-of-the-art Soviet-designed and -built MiG-15 fighters, along with the trained crews to fly them. Simultaneously, the Kremlin agreed to supply the Red Chinese and North Koreans with their own MiG-15s, as well as train their pilots. On 1 November 1950, eight MiG-15s intercepted about 15 F-51D Mustangs

P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

 of the United States Air Force (USAF) and First Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

First lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...

 Fiodor V. Chizh shot down the F-51D of Aaron Abercombrie in his MiG-15, killing the American pilot. Three MiG-15s of the same unit intercepted 10 F-80 Shooting Stars, and the MiG-15 of First Lieutenant Semyon Fiodorovich Jominich scored the first jet-vs-jet victory in history when he downed the F-80C of Frank Van Sickle, who would also perish (USAF credits both losses to the action of the North Korean flak). However on 9 November, the Soviet MiG-15 pilots suffered their first loss when Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander

Lieutenant Commander is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander...

 William T. Amen off the aircraft carrier shot down and killed Captain Mikhail F. Grachev while flying a Grumman F9F Panther.

The Soviet air units claimed to have shot down 29 American aircraft through the rest of the month: 11 F-80s, seven B-29s and nine F-51s. 23 out of these 29 claims match with acknowledged losses, but US sources assert that most of them were either operational or due to AAA, admitting only four B-29s (a downed B-29, plus two B-29s and a RB-29 which crash-landed or were damaged beyond repair). US historians agree that the MiG-15 gained aerial superiority over northwestern Korea.

To counter the unexpected turn of events, three squadrons of the F-86 Sabre, America's only operational jet with swept wing

Swept wing

A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...

s were quickly rushed to the Far East in December. On 17 December 1950, Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 Bruce H. Hinton forced Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 Yakov Nikanorovich Yefromeyenko to eject from his burning MiG. In the following days both sides traded punches, with Captain Nikolay Yefremovich Vorovyov shooting down the F-86A of Captain Lawrence V. Bach in his MiG-15bis on 22 December 1950. Both sides exaggerated their claims of aerial victories that month; the Sabre fliers claimed eight MiGs, and the Soviets claimed to have shot down 12 F-86s. The actual losses were three MiGs and at least four Sabres.

Those first encounters established the main features of the aerial battles of the next two and a half years. The MiG-15 and MiG-15bis had a higher ceiling

Ceiling (aeronautics)

With respect to aircraft, a ceiling is the maximum density altitude an aircraft can reach under a set of conditions.The word ceiling can also refer to the height of the lowest obscuring cloud layer above the ground.-Service ceiling:...

 than all the versions of the Sabre – 15500 m (50,853 ft) versus 14936 m (49,002.6 ft) of the F-86F – and accelerated faster than F-86A/E/Fs due to their better thrust-to-weight ratio – 1005 km/h (624.5 mph) versus 972 km/h (604 mph) of the F-86F. The MiG-15's 2800 m (9,186.4 ft) per minute climbing rate was also greater than the 2200 m (7,217.8 ft) per minute of the F-86A and -E (the F-86F matched the MiG-15s rate). A better turn radius above 10000 m (32,808.4 ft) further distinguished the MiG-15, as did more powerful weaponry – one 37 mm N-37 cannon

Nudelman N-37

The N-37 was a powerful, 37 mm aircraft cannon used by the Soviet Union. It was designed by V. Ya. Nemenov of A.E. Nudelman's OKB-16 to replace the wartime Nudelman-Suranov NS-37, entering service in 1946...

 and two 23 mm NR-23 cannons, versus the inferior hitting power of the six 12.7 mm (.50 in) machine guns of the Sabre. But the MiG was slower at low altitude – 935 km/h (581 mph) in the MiG-15bis configuration as opposed to the 1107 km/h (687.9 mph) of the F-86F. The Soviet World War II-era ASP-1N gyroscopic gunsight was less sophisticated than the accurate A-1CM and A4 radar ranging sights of the F-86E and -F. All Sabres turned tighter below the 8000 m (26,246.7 ft) altitude.

Thus if the MiG-15 forced the Sabre to fight in the vertical plane, or in the horizontal one above 10000 m (32,808.4 ft), it gained a significant advantage. Furthermore, a MiG-15 could easily escape from a Sabre by climbing to its ceiling, knowing that the F-86 could not follow him. Below 8,000 m (26,247 ft) however, the Sabre had a slight advantage over the MiG in most aspects excluding climb rate, especially if the Soviet pilot made the mistake of fighting in the horizontal plane.

The main mission of the MiG-15 was not only to dogfight against the F-86 however, but to counter the USAF Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers. This mission was assigned to the elite of the Soviet Air Force

Soviet Air Force

The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...

 (VVS), in April 1951 to the 324th IAD of Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Ivan Kozhedub, the World War II Allied "Ace of Aces", and later to the 303rd IAD of General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Georgiy A. Lobov, who arrived to Korea in June of that same year.

A total of 44 MiG-15s achieved victories in that mission on 12 April 1951 when they intercepted a large formation of 48 Superfortresses, 18 Sabres, 54 F-84 Thunderjets and 24 F-80 Shooting Stars heading towards the bridge linking North Korea and Red China over the Yalu river

Yalu River

The Yalu River or the Amnok River is a river on the border between North Korea and the People's Republic of China....

 in Uiju

Uiju

Ŭiju is a kun, or county, in North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The county has an area of 420 km², and a population of 110,018 .-Location:...

. When the ensuing battle was finished, the experienced Soviet fliers had shot down or damaged beyond repair ten B-29As, one F-86A and three F-80Cs with the loss of only one MiG.

US strategic bombers returned the week of 22–27 October to neutralize the North Korean aerodromes of Namsi, Taechon

Taechon

Taechon, also spelled Thaechon, is a kun, or county, in central North Pyongan province, North Korea. It borders Taegwan and Tongchang to the north, Unsan and Nyongbyon to the east, Pakchon and Unjon to the south, and Kusong to the west....

 and Saamchan, taking further losses to the MiG-15. On 23 October 1951, 56 MiG-15bis intercepted nine Superfortresses escorted by 34 F-86s and 55 F-84Es. In spite of their numerical inferiority, the Soviet airmen shot down or damaged beyond repair eight B-29As and two F-84Es, losing only one MiG in return and leading Americans to call that day "Black Tuesday". The most successful Soviet pilots that day were Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandr P. Smorchkov and 1st Lieutenant Dmitriy A. Samoylov. The former shot down a Superfortress on each of 22, 23 and 24 October. Samoylov added two F-86As to his scoreboard on 24 October 1951, and on October 27 shot down two more aircraft: a B-29A and an F-84E. These losses among the heavy bombers forced the Far East Air Force's High Command to cancel the precision daylight attacks of the B-29s, and only undertake radar-directed night raids.

During the period from November 1950 to January 1952, no less than 40 Soviet MiG-15 pilots were credited as aces, with five or more victories. Soviet combat records show that the first pilot to claim his fifth aerial victory was Captain Stepan Ivanovich Naumenko on 24 December 1950. The honor falls to Captain Sergei Kramarenko

Sergei Kramarenko

Sergei Makarovich Kramarenko was a Soviet Air Force officer who fought in both the German-Soviet War and the Korean War. For his service in Korea became a holder of the Title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He achieved several high command positions in the USSR and was also Air Force advisor in...

, when on 29 July 1951, he scored his actual fifth victory. Approximately 16 out of those 40 pilots actually became aces, the most successful being Major Nikolay Sutyagin

Nikolay Sutyagin

Captain Nikolay Sutyagin was a Russian fighter pilot in the Second World War and the Korean War.Nikolay Vasil'yevich Sutyagin was born in 1923 near Nizhniy Novgord. His parents were actors, and eventually they moved to the city of Gor'kiy when Nikolay was 11...

, credited with 22 victories, 13 of which confirmed by US; Colonel Yevgeny Pepelyaev

Yevgeny Pepelyaev

Colonel Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev is a Soviet fighter pilot of the Korean War, tallying 20 kills, second only to his compatriot Nikolay Sutyagin's 21.- Early years and world war II :...

 with 19 claims, 15 confirmed victories; and Major Lev Shchukin – 17 credited, 11 verified.

• 10 February 1952: Major George Andrew Davis, Jr.
  George Andrew Davis, Jr.
  George Andrew Davis, Jr. was a highly decorated flying ace of the United States Army in World War II, and later of the United States Air Force during the Korean War. Davis rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in "MiG Alley" during...
  
  , an ace credited with 14 victories, 10 confirmed by Communist sources, was shot down and killed. The assailant's identity was disputed between 1st Lieutenant Mikhail Akimovich Averin and Zhang Jihui
  Zhang Jihui
  Zhang Jihui was the Deputy Commander of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and a highly decorated fighter pilot during the Korean War. Zhang joined the PLAAF in 1945 and was one of the first combat pilots trained for the PLAAF. He was later posted at the Chinese 4th Aviation Division,...
  
  .
• 4 July 1952: A few seconds after shooting down 1st Lieutenant M. I. Kosynkin, future ace Captain Clifford H. Jolley was forced to eject out of his crippled F-86E after being caught by surprise by MiG-15bis pilot 1st Lieutenant Vasily Romanovich Krutkikh.

At least two Soviet fliers became aces during that period: Majors Arkadiy S. Boytsov and Vladimir N. Zabelin, with six and nine victories respectively.

New and better trained PVO divisions would replace the 97th and 190th in July and August 1952, and if they could not take aerial superiority away from the Americans, then they certainly neutralized it between September 1952 and July 1953. Again, the figures of victories and losses in the air are still debated by historians of the USA and Russia, but on at least three occasions, Soviet MiG-15 aces gained the upper hand against Sabre aces:

• 7 April 1953: The 10-kill ace Captain Harold E. Fischer was shot down over Manchuria shortly after causing damage to a Chinese and a Soviet MIG over Dapu
  Dapu, Chiayi
  Dapu is a rural township in Chiayi County, Taiwan, Republic of China.Popular with tourists, the township is part of the Siraya National Scenic Area. Among the birds that can be seen here is the Fairy Pitta....
  
   airbase in Manchuria. The attackers identity was disputed between 1st Lieutenant Grigoriy Nesterovich Berelidze and Han Dechai.
• 12 April 1953: Captain Semyon Alekseyevich Fedorets, a Soviet ace with eight victories, shot down the F-86E of Norman E. Green, but shortly afterward was attacked by the future top American ace of the Korean War, Captain Joseph C. McConnell
  Joseph C. McConnell
  Joseph Christopher McConnell, Jr. was the top American flying ace during the Korean War. A native of Dover, New Hampshire, Captain McConnell was credited with shooting down 16 MiG-15s while flying North American F-86 Sabres with the U.S. Air Force. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross...
  
  . In the ensuing dogfight, they shot each other down, ejecting and being rescued safely.
• 20 July 1953: During a raid deep into Manchuria, and after shooting down two Chinese MiGs, Majors Thomas M. Sellers and Stephen L. Bettinger (the second an ace with five kills) tried to catch by surprise two Soviet MiG-15s that were landing in Dapu. The Soviet fliers skillfully forced the Americans to overshoot, reversed direction and shot both down: Captain Boris N. Siskov forced Bettinger to bail out and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Vladimir I. Klimov killed Major Sellers. This was Siskov's fifth victory, making him the last ace of the Korean War. Those were also the last Sabres downed by Soviet fliers in the war.

The MiG-15 threat forced the FEAF to cancel the B-29 daylight raids in favor of night radar-guided missions from November 1951 onwards. Initially this presented a threat to Communist defenses, as their only specialized night-fighting unit was equipped with the prop-driven Lavochkin La-11

Lavochkin La-11

-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Gordon, Yefim. Lavochkin's Piston-Engined Fighters . Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Publishing Ltd., 2003. ISBN 1-85780-151-2....

, inadequate for the task of intercepting the B-29. Part of the regiment was re-equipped with the MiG-15bis, and another night-fighting unit joined the fray, causing American heavy bombers to suffer losses again. Between 21:50 and 22:30 on 10 June 1952 four MiG-15bis attacked Superfortresses over Sonchon

Sonchon

Sonchon is a kun, or county, on the coast of the Yellow Sea in west-central North Pyongan province, North Korea. To the north it borders Chonma, to the east Kusong and Kwaksan, and to the west Tongrim; to the south, it borders nothing but the sea...

 and Kwaksan

Kwaksan

Kwaksan is a kun, or county, in coastal southern North Pyongan province, North Korea. It faces the Yellow Sea to the south. By land, it is bordered by Kusong in the north, Chongju in the east, and Sonchon in the west....

. Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Ivanovich Studilin damaged a B-29A beyond repair, forcing it to make an emergency landing at Kimpo Air Base. A few minutes later, Major Anatoly Karelin added two more Superfortresses to his tally. Studilin and Karelin's wingmen, Major L. A. Boykovets and 1st Lieutenant Zhahmany Ihsangalyev, also damaged one B-29 each. Anatoly Karelin eventually became an ace with six kills (all B-29s at night). In the aftermath of these battles, B-29 night sorties were cancelled for two months. Originally conceived to shoot down rather than escort bombers, both of America's state-of-art jet night fighters – the F-94 Starfire

F-94 Starfire

The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was the United States Air Force's first operational jet-powered all-weather interceptor aircraft. It was a development by Lockheed of the twin-seat T-33 Shooting Star trainer aircraft.-Design and development:...

 and the F3D Skyknight

F3D Skyknight

The Douglas F3D Skyknight, was a United States twin-engine, midwing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weather aircraft. It saw service with the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps...

 – were committed to protect the Superfortresses against MiGs.

The MiG-15 was less effective in getting past the Marine Corps ground-based two-seat F3D Skyknight night fighters assigned to escort B-29s after the F-94 Starfires proved ineffective. What the squat planes lacked in sheer performance, they made up with the advantage of a search radar which enabled the Skyknight to see its targets clearly while the MiG-15's directions to find bomber formations were of little use in seeing escorting fighters. On the night of 2–3 November 1952, a Skyknight with pilot Major William Stratton and radar operator Hans Hoagland damaged the MiG-15 of Captain V. D. Vishnyak. Five days later, Oliver R. Davis with radar operator D.F. "Ding" Fessler downed a MiG-15bis; the pilot, Lieutenant Ivan P. Kovalyov, ejected safely. Skyknights claimed five MiG kills with no losses of their own, and no B-29s escorted by them were lost to enemy fighters. However, the duel was not one-sided: on the night of 16 January 1953, an F3D almost did fall to a MiG, when the Skyknight of Captain George Cross and Master Sergeant J. A. Piekutowski suffered serious damage in an attack by a Soviet MiG-15bis; with difficulty, the Skyknight returned to Kunsan Air Base. Three and a half months later, on the night of 29 May 1953, Chinese MiG-15 pilot Hou Shujun of the PLA Air Force shot down over Anju a F3D-2; Capt. James B. Brown and Sgt. James V. Harrell still remain missing in action.

In a Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 Sea Fury

Hawker Sea Fury

The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...

 flying from a light fleet carrier FAA pilot Lieutenant Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael

Peter Carmichael

Commander Peter Carmichael , nicknamed "Hoagy", was a combat pilot with the Royal Navy during and after the Second World War...

 downed a MiG-15 on August 8, 1952, in air-to-air combat. The Sea Fury would be one of the few prop-driven fighter aircraft to shoot down a jet fighter. On September 10, 1952, Captain Jesse G. Folmar shot down a MiG-15 with an F4U Corsair, but was himself downed by another MiG.

The figures given by the Soviet sources indicate that the MiG-15s of the 64th IAK (the fighter corp which included all the divisions that rotated through the conflict) performed 60,450 daylight combat sorties and 2,779 night ones, engaged the enemy in 1,683 daylight aerial battles and 107 at night, claiming to have shot down 1,097 UN aircraft over Korea, including 647 F-86s, 185 F-84s, 118 F-80s, 28 F-51s, 11 F-94s, 65 B-29s, 26 Gloster Meteor

Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

s and 17 aircraft of different types.

The Soviet VVS and PVO were the primary users of the MiG-15 during the war, but not the only ones; it was also used by the People's Air Forces of China and North Korea (known as the United Air Army). Excluding a brief episode in January 1951, the Chinese Air Force did not see action until 25 September 1951, when 16 MiG-15s engaged Sabres, with pilot Li Yongtai claiming a victory but losing a MiG and its pilot. The North Korean unit equipped with the MiG-15 got into action a year later, in September 1952. From then until the end of the war, the United Air Army claimed to have shot down 211 F-86s, 72 F-84s and F-80s, and 47 other aircraft of various types, losing 116 Chinese airmen and 231 aircraft: 224 MiG-15s, three La-11s and four Tupolev Tu-2

Tupolev Tu-2

|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Bishop, Chris. The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII: The Comprehensive Guide to Over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships, and Submarines. New York: Sterling, 2002. ISBN 1-58663-762-2.* Ethell, Jeffrey L. Aircraft...

s. Several pilots were credited with five or more enemy aircraft, such as Zhao Baotong with seven victories, Wang Hai with nine kills, and both Kan Yon Duk and Kim Di San with five victories.

Defection

In July 1951, the submerged remains of a Mig-15 were spotted by Royal Navy carrier aircraft from HMS Glory

HMS Glory

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Glory, or the French variant HMS Gloire: was a 44-gun fifth rate, formerly the French 44-gun ship La Gloire, captured from the French in 1747, and was sold to be broken up in 1763. was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1763. She was renamed HMS Apollo...

(R62). The Mig-15 was broken up, a piece of the engine was visible aft of the center section, and the tail section was located some 350 meters away. The wreck was located an area of mudbanks with treacherous tides and at the end of a narrow channel which was supposedly mined, ca. 160 km behind the front lines. The MiG-15 was retrieved, transported to Inchon and then to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Eager to obtain an intact MiG for combat testing in a controlled environment, the United States created Operation Moolah

Operation Moolah

Operation Moolah was a United States Air Force effort during the Korean War to obtain through defection a fully capable Soviet MiG-15 jet fighter. The MiG-15 was introduced by Communist forces on November 1, 1950 over the skies of Korea...

 which offered a reward of US$100,000 and political asylum to any pilot who would defect with his MiG-15. Franciszek Jarecki

Franciszek Jarecki

Franciszek Jarecki was a pilot in the Polish Air Force, who became famous in early 1953 when he escaped Soviet-controlled Poland in a MiG-15 jet, which was one of the best planes owned by the Soviets at that time.Jarecki was born in 1931 in Gdów, a town near Kraków...

, a pilot of the Polish Air Force, defected from Soviet-controlled Poland in a MiG-15 on the morning of 5 March 1953, allowing Western air experts to examine the aircraft for the first time.

Jarecki flew from Słupsk to the field airport at Rønne on the Danish island of Bornholm

Bornholm

Bornholm is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea located to the east of the rest of Denmark, the south of Sweden, and the north of Poland. The main industries on the island include fishing, arts and crafts like glass making and pottery using locally worked clay, and dairy farming. Tourism is...

. The whole trip took him only a few minutes. There, specialists from the USA, called by Danish authorities, thoroughly checked the plane. According to international regulations, they returned it by ship to Poland a few weeks later. Jarecki also received a $50,000 reward for being the first to present a MiG-15 to the Americans and became a US citizen.

A couple of months later, on 21 May 1953, another Polish pilot, Zdzisław Jazwinski escaped with a MiG-15 to Bornholm.
Others eventually followed these examples, such as the North Korean pilot Lieutenant No Kum-Sok

No Kum-Sok

No Kum-Sok is a former lieutenant of the North Korean Air Force during the Korean War who defected to South Korea...

, who claimed to be unaware of the reward US$100,000 when he landed at Kimpo Air Base on 21 September 1953. This MiG-15 was minutely inspected and was test flown by several test pilots including Chuck Yeager

Chuck Yeager

Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot. He was the first pilot to travel faster than sound...

. Yeager reported in his autobiography the MiG-15 had dangerous handling faults and claimed that during a visit to the USSR, Soviet pilots were incredulous he had dived in it, this supposedly being very hazardous. When this story got back to the Soviet pilots Yeager claimed to have talked to, they angrily denounced it. In fact, although the MiG-15 did have some handling quirks and could, in principle, exceed flight limits in a dive, its airbrakes opened automatically at the red line limit, preventing it from going out of control. Lieutenant No's aircraft is now on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force

National Museum of the United States Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...

 near Dayton, Ohio

Dayton, Ohio

Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...

.

Israel captured an Egyptian Mig-15 in damaged condition on 31 October 1956 after being shot down. It is currently displayed at Hatzor AB.

The Cold War

During the 1950s the MiG-15s of the USSR and their Warsaw Pact

Warsaw Pact

The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...

 allies on many occasions, intercepted aircraft of the NATO air forces performing reconnaissance near or inside their territory; such incidents sometimes ending with aircraft of one side or the other being shot down. The known incidents where the MiG-15 was involved include:

• 16 December 1950: An RB-29 of USAF is downed over Primore (Sea of Japan
  Sea of Japan
  The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
  
  ) by two MiG-15 pilots, Captain Stepan A. Bajaev and 1st Lieutenant N. Kotov.
• 19 November 1951: MiG-15bis pilot, 1st Lieutenant A. A. Kalugin forces a USAF C-47 that had penetrated Hungarian airspace to land at the airbase at Pápa
  Pápa
  Pápa is a historical city in Veszprém county, Hungary, located close to the northern edge of the Bakony Hills, and noted for its baroque architecture. With its 33,000 inhabitants, it is the cultural, economic and tourism centre of the region....
  
  .
• 13 June 1952: two naval MiG-15s flown by Captain Oleg Piotrovich Fedotov and 1st Lieutenant Ivan Petrovich Proskurin shot down a RB-29A near Valentin Bay, over the Sea of Japan – all 12 crewmembers perished (their bodies were not recovered).
• 13 June 1952, Catalina affair
  Catalina affair
  The Catalina affair was an incident on June 13, 1952, when a Swedish military Douglas DC-3A-360 Skytrain flying over the Baltic Sea carrying out signals intelligence gathering operations for the Swedish National Defence Radio Establishment , disappeared east of the isle of Gotska Sandön.Three days...
  
  : A Soviet MiG-15 flown by Captain Osinskiy shot down a DC-3 reconnaissance plane of the Swedish Air Force piloted by Alvar Almeberg near Ventspils
  Ventspils
  Ventspils is a city in northwestern Latvia in the Courland historical region of Latvia, the sixth largest city in the country. As of 2006, Ventspils had a population of 43,806. Ventspils is situated on the Venta River and the Baltic Sea, and has an ice-free port...
  
   over the Baltic Sea
  Baltic Sea
  The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
  
  . Its three crewmembers perished. Out of two Swedish military Catalina flying boats that conducted subsequent search and rescue for the downed Douglas DC-3
  Douglas DC-3
  The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
  
  , one was also shot down by a MiG-15, but this time with no loss of life.
• 7 August 1952: Two MiG-15 pilots, 1st Lieutenants Zeryakov and Lesnov shot down a USAF RB-29 over the Kurile islands – all the crew of nine died (the remains of one of them, Captain John R. Durnham, was returned to the United States in 1993).
• 18 November 1952: four MiG-15bis engaged four F9F-2 Panther off the aircraft carrier USS Princeton
  USS Princeton
  Six United States Navy ships have borne the name Princeton, after the town of Princeton, New Jersey, site of an American victory in the Revolutionary War....
  
   near Vladivostok
  Vladivostok
  The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
  
  . One MiG-15 pilot, Captain Dmitriy Belyakov, managed to seriously damage Lieutenant Junior Grade David M. Rowlands's F9F-2, but seconds later he and 1st Lieutenant Vandalov were downed by Elmer Royce Williams and John Davidson Middleton; neither Soviet pilot was found.
• 10 March 1953: Two MiG-15bis of the Czechoslovak Air Force intercepted two F-84Gs over Czechoslovak
  Czechoslovakia
  Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
  
   airspace, and Jaroslav Šrámek shot down one of them; the F-84 crashed in Bavaria
  Bavaria
  Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
  
  n territory. US pilot bailed out safely.
• 12 March 1953: Seven airmen were killed when the Royal Air Force
  Royal Air Force
  The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
  
   Avro Lincoln
  Avro Lincoln
  The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V, but were renamed Lincoln I and II...
  
   they were flying in, was shot down by a Soviet Air Force
  Soviet Air Force
  The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
  
   MiG-15 in the Berlin air corridor, near Boizenburg
  Boizenburg
  Boizenburg is a municipality in the Ludwigslust-Parchim district, in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. It is situated on the right bank of the Elbe, 53 km west of Ludwigslust, 25 km northeast of Lüneburg and 50 km east of Hamburg. Old Town is connected to the Elbe via a harbor...
  
  , 20 miles NE of Lüneburg
  Lüneburg
  Lüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
  
  .
• 29 July 1953: Two MiG-15bis intercepted a RB-50G
  Boeing B-50 Superfortress
  The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. It was the last piston-engined bomber designed by Boeing for...
  
   near Gamov, in the Sea of Japan, and instructed them to land at their home base. The RB-50 gunners opened fire and hit the MiG of 1st Lieutenant Aleksandr D. Rybakov. Rybakov and his wingman 1st Lieutenant Yuriy M. Yablonskiy then shot down the RB-50. One of the crewmembers (John E. Roche) was rescued alive, and corpses of other three were recovered. The remaining 13 crew members became missing-in-action.
• 17 April 1955: The MiG-15 pilots Korotkov and Sazhin shot down an RB-47E north of the Kamchatka peninsula
  Kamchatka Peninsula
  The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
  
   – all three crewmembers perished.
• 27 June 1955: El Al Flight 402
  El Al Flight 402
  El Al Flight 402, a Lockheed L-049 Constellation pressurized four-engine propliner, registered 4X-AKC, was an international passenger flight from Vienna, Austria to Tel Aviv, Israel via Istanbul, Turkey, on July 27, 1955, which strayed into Bulgarian airspace and was shot down by two Bulgarian...
  
   was shot down by two Bulgarian
  Bulgarian Air Force
  The Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...
  
   MiG-15 aircraft after penetrating Bulgarian airspace. All 58 passengers and crew perished in the attack.

Suez Canal Crisis (1956)

Egypt bought a handful of MiG-15bis and MiG-17 fighters in 1955 from Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 with the sponsorship and support of the USSR, just in time to participate in the Suez Canal Crisis. By the outbreak of the Suez Conflict in October 1956, four squadrons of the Egyptian Air Force were equipped with the type although few pilots were trained to fly them effectively.

During the air combat against the Israeli Air Force

Israeli Air Force

The Israeli Air Force is the air force of the State of Israel and the aerial arm of the Israel Defense Forces. It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Independence...

 the Egyptian MiG-15bis managed to shoot down only three Israeli aircraft: a Piper Cub and a Meteor F.8

Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet. It first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with 616 Squadron of the Royal Air Force...

 on 30 October 1956, and a Dassault Ouragan

Dassault Ouragan

The Dassault M.D.450 Ouragan was the first French-designed jet fighter-bomber to enter production, playing a key role in resurgence of the French aviation industry after World War II. The Ouragan was operated by France, Israel, India and El Salvador...

 on 1 November which then performed a belly landing — this last victory was scored by the Egyptian pilot Faruq el-Gazzavi.

China-Taiwan Straits crisis

After the Korean War ended, China turned its attention back to Nationalist China on the island of Taiwan. Chinese MiG-15s were in action over the Taiwan Strait against the outnumbered Nationalist Air Force (CNAF), and helped make possible the Communist occupation of two strategic island groups. The US had been lending support to the Nationalists since 1951, and started delivery of F-86s in 1955. The Sabres and MiGs clashed three years later in the Quemoy Crisis, and this time the Nationalists won the struggle for air superiority in a series of fierce battles.

Vietnam

Vietnam operated a number of MiG-15s and MiG-15UTIs, the fighter seeing combat against American aircraft in the early stages of the Vietnam War.

Other events

Throughout the 1950s, MiG-15s of China's People's Liberation Army Air Force

People's Liberation Army Air Force

The People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...

 (PLAAF) frequently engaged Republic of China

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 (ROC) and U.S. aircraft in combat; in 1958 a ROC F-86 fighter achieved the first air-to-air kill with an AIM-9 Sidewinder

AIM-9 Sidewinder

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...

 air-to-air missile

Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...

 against a PLAAF MiG-15.

The first Soviet cosmonaut

Astronaut

An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....

 Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut. He was the first human to journey into outer space, when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961....

 was killed in a crash during a March 1968 training flight in a MiG-15UTI due to poor visibility and miscommunication with ground control.

MiG-17

The more advanced MiG-17 was very similar in appearance, but addressed many of the limitations of the MiG-15. It introduced a new swept wing

Swept wing

A swept wing is a wing planform favored for high subsonic jet speeds first investigated by Germany during the Second World War. Since the introduction of the MiG-15 and North American F-86 which demonstrated a decisive superiority over the slower first generation of straight-wing jet fighters...

 with a "compound sweep" configuration: a 45° angle near the fuselage, and a 42° angle for the outboard part of the wings. The first prototype was flown in 1950 before the end of the Korean war. Later versions introduced radar, afterburning

AfterBurner

The AfterBurner is a lighting solution for the Game Boy Advance system that was created by Triton-Labs.Originally, portablemonopoly.net was a website created to petition Nintendo to put some kind of light in their Game Boy Advance system...

 engines and missiles. Although it was obsolete as a subsonic type by 1965, a small force of MiG-17PFs rose to challenge attackers at the Thanh Hoa Bridge

Thanh Hoa Bridge

The Thanh Hoa Bridge, spanning the Song Ma river, is situated northeast of Thanh Hóa , the capital of Thanh Hoa province in Vietnam. The Vietnamese gave it the nickname Ham Rong . In 1965 during the Vietnam war, it was the objective of many attacks by US Air Force and US Navy aircraft which would...

, downing or damaging beyond repair RepublicF-105 Thunderchief and Vought F-8 Crusader supersonic fighters. Although Vietnam later flew newer supersonic MiG-19s and MiG-21

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. It was popularly nicknamed "balalaika", from the aircraft's planform-view resemblance to the Russian stringed musical instrument or ołówek by Polish pilots due to...

s, the MiG-17 remained effective, soldiering on until the end of the conflict. It was the MiG-15 derivative which first led to new dogfight tactics and training (including the use of the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk as MiG-17 simulator) to regain the advantage American F-86s had enjoyed against MiG-15s over the skies of Korea. The MiG-19 was a further development which initially was a MiG-17 fitted with an even sharper wing and tail sweepback, though the final product would bear little resemblance to the original MiG-15 beyond the nose and cockpit.

Production

The USSR built around 12,000 MiG-15s in all variants. It was also built under license in Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

 (as the S-102 and S-103) and Poland (as the Lim-1 and Lim-2, and two-seat SB Lim-1 and SB Lim-2).

In the early 1950s, the Soviet Union delivered hundreds of MiG-15s to China, where they received the designation J-2. The Soviets also sent almost a thousand MiG-15 engineers and specialists to China, where they assisted China's Shenyang Aircraft Factory in building the MiG-15UTI trainer (designated JJ-2). China never produced a single-seat fighter version, only the two-seat JJ-2.

The designation "J-4" is unclear; some sources claim Western observers mistakenly labelled China's MiG-15bis a "J-4", while the PLAAF never used the "J-4" designation. Others claim "J-4" is used for MiG-17F

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the USSR from 1952 and operated by numerous air forces in many variants. Most MiG-17 variants cannot carry air-to-air missiles, but shot down many aircraft with its cannons...

, while "J-5" is used for MiG-17PF. Another source claims the PLAAF used "J-4" for Soviet-built MiG-17A, which were quickly replaced by license-built MiG-17Fs (J-5

Shenyang J-5

The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...

s). What is certain, is that the service lives of the J-2 and J-4 in the PLAAF were short, as they were quickly replaced by the more capable J-5 and J-6

Shenyang J-6

The Shenyang J-6 was the Chinese-built version of the Soviet MiG-19 'Farmer' fighter aircraft.-Design and development:...

.

Variants

• I-310: Prototype.
• MiG-15: First production version.
• MiG-15P: Single-seat all-weather interceptor version of the MiG-15bis.
• MiG-15SB: Single-seat fighter bomber version.
• MiG-15SP-5: Two-seat all-weather interceptor version of the MiG-15UTI.
• MiG-15T: Target-towing version.
• MiG-15bis: Improved single-seat fighter version.
• MiG-15bisR: Single-seat reconnaissance version.
• MiG-15bisS: Single-seat escort fighter version.
• MiG-15bisT: Single-seat target-towing version.
• MiG-15UTI: Two-seat dual-control jet trainer.
• J-2: (Jianjiji – fighter) Chinese designation of USSR production MiG-15bis single-seat fighter.
• JJ-2: (Jianjiji Jiaolianji – fighter trainer) Chinese production of MiG-15UTI two-seat jet trainers. Exported as Shenyang FT-2.
• BA-5: un-manned target drone conversions of J-2 fighters.
• Lim-1: MiG-15 jet fighters built under license in Poland.
• Lim-1A: Polish-built reconnaissance version of the MiG-15 with AFA-21 camera.
• Lim-2: MiG-15bis built under license in Poland, with Lis-2 (licensed VK-1) engines.
• Lim-2R: Polish-built reconnaissance version of MiG-15bis with a place for a camera in the front part of the canopy.
• SB Lim-1: Polish Lim-1 converted to equivalent of MiG-15UTI jet trainers, with RD-45 jet engines.
• SB Lim-2: Polish Lim-2 or SBLim-1 converted to jet trainers with Lis-1 (VK-1) jet engines.
• SBLim-2A or -2Art: Polish-built two-seat reconnaissance version, for correcting artillery.
• S-102: MiG-15 jet fighters built under license in Czechoslovakia, with M05 (licenced RD-45) Motorlet/Walter engines.
• S-103: MiG-15bis jet fighters built under license in Czechoslovakia with M06 (licenced VK-1) Motorlet/Walter engines.
• CS-102: MiG-15UTI jet trainers built under license in Czechoslovakia.
• Raduga KS-1 Komet
  Raduga KS-1 Komet
  The Raduga KS-1 Komet , also referred to as AS-1 and KS-1 was a short range air-to-surface missile developed by the Soviet Union, and carried only on the Tupolev Tu-4K 'Bull' and, more notably, on the Tupolev Tu-16 'Badger'.Development was begun in 1947 along with a related ground-launched...
  
  : An air-launched anti-shipping cruise missile.

Operators

 Afghanistan: Afghan Air Force

Afghan Air Force

The Afghan Air Force , formerly the Afghan National Army Air Corps and Afghan National Army Air Force , is one of seven "corps" of the military of Afghanistan, responsible for air defense and air warfare. It was officially established in 1924 and for most of its history has functioned as a small...

. 42, including 38 MiG-15UTI, were delivered to the Royal Afghan Air Force from 1951, serving through 1979.
 Albania: Albanian Air Force

Albanian Air Force

The Albanian Air Force is the national Air Force of the Albanian military. Currently it operates under the Albanian Joint Forces Command and it is regrouped in the Albanian Air Brigade...

. 80 or more have served with the Albanian Air Force since 1955, including Soviet, Czechoslovak and Chinese-built examples. The initial allotment of 10 MiG-15 fighters delivered in 1955 was followed by 24 MiG-15UTI trainers from that year on. These were supplemented by Czechoslovak Avia CS-102 trainers, with four being acquired. Further fighter deliveries comprised 26 MiG-15bis examples. Once Albania switched to Chinese support, deliveries of 24 F-2 fighters and 15 FT-2 trainers commenced from 1965. These aircraft remained in service through the late 1990s.
 Algeria: Algerian Air Force

Algerian Air Force

The Algerian Air Force is the aerial arm of the Algerian People's Military.- Inventory :- External links : http://www.algaf.bravehost.com/index.htm http://www.avions-militaires.net/dossiers/armee-air/dza.php...

 Angola: People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola

People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola

The National Air Force of Angola is the air branch of the Armed Forces of Angola.FAN was established, after the independence of Angola from Portugal, on January 21, 1976 as the People's Air and Air Defence Force of Angola and initially made use of the...

 Kingdom of Bulgaria: Bulgarian Air Force

Bulgarian Air Force

The Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...

 Burkina Faso
 Cambodia: Cambodian Air Force

Royal Cambodian Air Force

The Royal Cambodian Air Force is the branch of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces which is charged with operating all military aircraft in Cambodia.-Organization:...

 People's Republic of China

• People's Liberation Army Air Force
  People's Liberation Army Air Force
  The People's Liberation Army Air Force is the aviation branch of the People's Liberation Army, the military of the People's Republic of China...
  
  
• People's Liberation Army Navy Air Force

Imported 654 Mig-15 fighters from October 1950 to 1951. The last 18 Mig-15 fighters retired in 1980. Imported 1460 Mig-15bis fighters from 1952 to 1955. The Mig-15bis retired in 1986. Imported 357 Mig-15UTI trainers from 1951 to 1958. China also refitted some Mig-15 and Mig-15bis fighters to trandem trainers. Mig-15UTI retired in 1986.
 Republic of the Congo: Congolese Air Force

Congolese Air Force

The Former Congolese Air Force was a military force in the Republic of the Congo-Brazzaville. Political tensions have now declined with the fall of the Cold War in Africa and most of the fighters were scrapped in 2001.-Former Cold War air force:...

 Cuba: Cuban Air Force
: Czechoslovak Air Force

Czechoslovak Air Force

The Czechoslovak Air Force was the air force branch of the military of Czechoslovakia. It was known as the Czechoslovak Army Air Force from 1918–1939...

: East German Air Force
 Egypt: Egyptian Air Force

Egyptian Air Force

The Egyptian Air Force, or EAF , is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. The EAF is headed by an Air Marshal . Currently, the commander of the Egyptian Air Force is Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed...

 Finland: Finnish Air Force

Finnish Air Force

The Finnish Air Force is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of readiness formations for wartime conditions...

. Only operated the MiG-15UTI.
 Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau
 Hungary: Hungarian Air Force

Hungarian Air Force

The Hungarian Air Force is the air force branch of the Hungarian Army.- 1918 to Pre–World War II :Following the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918, a small air arm was established operating surviving aircraft from Hungarian factories and training schools...

 Indonesia: Indonesian Air Force

Indonesian Air Force

The Indonesian Air Force is the air force branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.The Indonesian Air Force has 34,930 personnel equipped with 110 combat aircraft including Su-27 and Su-30.-Before Indonesian independence :...

. Acquired its MiG-15s in 1961. Used MiG-15UTI and other MiG-15 as trainers during the preparation of Operation Trikora in 1962 in Western New Guinea (now Papua and West Papua). The aircraft were grounded in 1969 and removed from service in 1970.



 Iraq: Iraqi Air Force

Iraqi Air Force

The Iraqi Air Force or IQAF is the military branch in Iraq responsible for the policing of international borders, surveillance of national assets and aerial operations...

 Libya: Libyan Air Force

Libyan Air Force

The Libyan Air Force is the branch of the Libyan Armed Forces responsible for aerial warfare. In 2010, before the 2011 Libyan civil war, the Libyan Air Force personnel strength was estimated at 18,000, with an inventory of 374 combat capable aircraft operating from 13 military airbases in...

 Madagascar
 Mali
 Mongolia: Mongolian Air Force

Military of Mongolia

The military of Mongolia has four branches: general purpose forces, border defense forces, internal security forces, and air force. This is a peace-time structure...

. deliveried and operated 4 MiG-15UTI as a trainer in 1970 .
 Morocco: Royal Moroccan Air Force

Royal Moroccan Air Force

The Royal Moroccan Air Force is the air force branch of the Moroccan Armed Forces.-History:...

 Mozambique
 Nigeria: Nigerian Air Force

Nigerian Air Force

The Nigerian Air Force is the air arm of the Nigerian Armed Forces.It is one of the largest in West Africa, consisting of about 15,000 personnel and aircraft including 15 Chengdu F-7s, and 24 Dassault-Dornier Alpha Jets, armed helicopters, and military transport aircraft. However in recent years...

 operated MiG-15UTI as a trainer.
 North Korea: North Korean Air Force

North Korean Air Force

The Korean People's Army Air Force, , is the name of the unified aviation forces of North Korea. The KPAF is the second-largest branch of the Korean People's Army with an estimated 110,000 personnel. It possesses between 1,600 and 1,700 aircraft of different types, mostly of Soviet and Chinese...

. Still operates MiG-15UTI as a trainer.
 North Vietnam: Vietnam People's Air Force

Vietnam People's Air Force

The Vietnam People's Air Force is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975.-Beginning-1964 :The first Vietnamese aircraft were two trainers, a de Havilland...

 Yemen Arab Republic:
 Pakistan: Pakistan Air Force

Pakistan Air Force

The Pakistan Air Force is the leading air arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces and is primarily tasked with the aerial defence of Pakistan with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and the Pakistan Navy. The PAF also has a tertiary role of providing strategic air transport...

 Poland:

• Polish Air Force
  Polish Air Force
  The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
  
  
• Polish Navy
  Polish Navy
  The Marynarka Wojenna Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej - MW RP Polish Navy, is the branch of Republic of Poland Armed Forces responsible for naval operations...
  
  

 Kingdom of Romania: Romanian Air Force

Romanian Air Force

The Romanian Air Force is the air force branch of the Romanian Armed Forces. It has an air force headquarters, an operational command, four air bases and an air defense brigade...

. Operated a total of 514 MiG-15, MiG-15bis, MiG-15 UTI, S-102 and CS-102 from 1952 until 1992
 Somalia: Somali Air Corps

Somali Air Corps

The Somali Air Force is the air force of Somalia. The Somali Aeronautical Corps was the name of the Somali Air Force during the pre-independence period. After 1960, when Somalia gained independence, the name changed to the Somali Air Force...

 South Yemen: South Yemen Air Force

• Soviet Air Force
  Soviet Air Force
  The Soviet Air Force, officially known in Russian as Военно-воздушные силы or Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily and often abbreviated VVS was the official designation of one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces...
  
  
• Soviet Anti-Air Defence

 Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Air Force
 Sudan: Sudanese Air Force

Sudanese Air Force

The Sudanese Air Force is the air force operated by the Republic of the Sudan. As such it is part of the Sudanese Armed Forces.-History:The Sudanese Air Force was founded immediately after Sudan gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1956. The British assisted in the Air Force's...

Syrian Air Force

Syrian Air Force

The Syrian Air Force is the Aviation branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. It was established in 1948.-History:The end of World War II led to a withdrawal of the United Kingdom and France from the Middle East, and this included a withdrawal from Syria...

 Tanzania: Tanzanian Air Force
 Uganda: Ugandan Air Force
 United States: United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

. In the 1980s, the United States purchased a number of Shenyang J-4s along with Shenyang J-5

Shenyang J-5

The Shenyang J-5 , originally designated Dongfeng-101 - , and also Type 56 before being designated J-5 in 1964, is a Chinese-built single-seat jet interceptor and fighter aircraft derived from the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17. The J-5 was exported as the F-5...

s from China via the Combat Core Certification Professionals Company; these aircraft were employed in a "mobile threat test" program at Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base

Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

, operated by the 4477th "Red Hats" Test and Evaluation Squadron of the United States Air Force.
 Vietnam: Vietnam People's Air Force

Vietnam People's Air Force

The Vietnam People's Air Force is the air force of Vietnam. It is the successor of the former North Vietnamese Air Force and the absorbed Republic of Vietnam Air Force following the re-unification of Vietnam in 1975.-Beginning-1964 :The first Vietnamese aircraft were two trainers, a de Havilland...

 Yemen: Yemen Air Force

Yemen Air Force

-North and South Yemen:The Yemen Air Force, known as al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Yamaniya, was established in 1926. During the mid-1950s, the Imam of Yemen established a private fleet that was run by the military. Later, the Russians delivered MiG-15 and MiG-17 fighters, followed by MiG-21s to the...

Survivors

Many MiG-15s are on display through the world. In addition, they are becoming increasingly common as private sport planes and warbirds. According to the FAA, there are 43 privately owned MiG-15s in the US, including Chinese and Polish derivatives/manufacture.

Australia

• Air Combat Australia utilised 2 MiG-15's for adventure flights from 1997, when they originated the adventure flight industry, to 2005 when they upgraded to 4 L-39C Albatros'.

Cuba

• A MiG-15UTI of the FAR (Fuerza Aérea Revolucionaria) is displayed at the Museo del Aire
  Museo del Aire (Cuba)
  The Museo del Aire was a national aviation museum located in the south-western suburbs of Havana, Cuba. Until August 2010, the Museum address was: Museo del Aire, Avenida 212, entre la avenida 29 y 31, La Coronela, La Lisa...
  
  .

Romania

• A Romanian MiG-15 is on display in Bucharest
  Bucharest
  Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
  
  , Romania
  Romania
  Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
  
   at the Army Museum.

UK

• A Polish-built MiG-15 is displayed in North Korea
  North Korea
  The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
  
  n colours at the Fleet Air Arm Museum
  Fleet Air Arm Museum
  The Fleet Air Arm Museum is located north of Yeovil, and south of Bristol. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, as well as models of Royal Navy ships, especially aircraft carriers. Some of the museum has interactive displays...
  
  .
• An S-102 in Czechoslovakian colours is displayed at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune
  East Fortune
  East Fortune is a village in East Lothian, Scotland, located 2 miles north west of East Linton. The area is known for its airfield which was constructed in 1915 to help protect Britain from attack by German Zeppelin airships during the First World War. The RNAS airship station also included an...
  
  , Edinburgh
  Edinburgh
  Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
  
  .

USA

• MiG-15 (c/n 2015357) is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
  National Museum of the United States Air Force
  The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
  
   in Dayton, Ohio
  Dayton, Ohio
  Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
  
  . This is the aircraft flown to Kimpo Air Base in South Korea
  South Korea
  The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
  
   on 21 September 1953 by a defecting North Korean pilot who was given a reward of $100,000 (see above). The aircraft was flight-tested on Okinawa and then brought to the U.S. to be returned to its "rightful owners" (believed to be the Soviet Union, which denied participating in the Korean War). When this offer was ignored it was transferred to the United States Air Force Museum in November 1957. It is on display in the Museum's Modern Flight gallery.

Specifications (MiG-15bis)

See also

External links

• Noland,David. Fighter Planes: MiG-15. The Air Power of the Evil Empire
• The Mikoyan MIG-15 at Greg Goebel's AIR VECTORS
• Warbird Alley: MiG-15 page- Information about privately owned MiG-15s
• MiG-15 in Korea
• MiG-15 Fagot at Global Security.org
• MiG-15 Fagot at Global Aircraft
• MiG-15 Fagot at FAS
• MiG-15 versus F-86
• Cuban MiG-15
• We Flew the Mig, US propaganda movie on the merits of the plane, at Google Video
  Google Video
  Google Videos is a video search engine, and formerly a free video sharing website, from Google Inc. Before removing user-uploaded content, the service allowed selected videos to be remotely embedded on other websites and provided the necessary HTML code alongside the media, similar to YouTube...
  
  
• Mig Alley USA, Aviation Classics, Ltd Reno, Nevada