Battle Stations II
MiG-15
Engine VK-1
(modified Rolls-Royce Nene) with 5,952lb (2,700kg) thrust
Dimensions Length 33ft 4in (10.2m), height 10ft
4in (3.1m), wingspan 33ft 3in (10.1m)
Weight 12,060lb (5,470kg) (maximum take-off)
Performance Speed (sea level) 669mph, speed
(at 35,000ft) 605mph, service ceiling 50,800ft
(15,484m), range 826 miles (without drop tanks)
Armament 1 x 37mm NS-37 cannon and 2 x 23mm NR-23
cannon
The MiG-15 fighter used a combination of Soviet ingenuity and 'borrowed' advanced European aviation technology to become one of the classic aircraft designs of its era. Dubbed the 'aircraft-soldier' by its Red Air Force pilots, the MiG-15 was exceptionally rugged and reliable and respected for its speed, manoeuvrability and firepower.
The Mikoyan and Gurevich (MiG) team that designed the MiG-15 used captured German technology to develop its layout. The aircraft's 35-degree swept wing, fuselage-mounted engine and clean lines conferred high performance. Powered by an unlicensed copy of the British Nene centrifugal-flow jet engine, the MiG-15 was capable of speeds up to Mach .934. It made its maiden flight in December 1947 and went into front-line service in 1949.
It entered combat in the autumn of 1950, following the invasion of South Korea by Communist North Korea. In October, China joined the conflict, sending troops over the Yalu River and flying MiG-15s against American piston-engined fighters. The MiGs proved very effective against the USAF B-29 bombers that were flying strategic bombing missions over North Korean cities. They forced the B-29s to fly by night as, by day, their computer gunsights could not keep up with the rapid closure rates of the MiGs.
The American answer to the formidable MiG-15 was the F-86A Sabre flown by the 4th Fighter Group, which arrived in Korea in December 1950. The two aircraft were similar in appearance, with swept-back wings. In performance terms, the MiG had a better service ceiling and rate of climb than those of the Sabre, and above 60,000ft, it was faster in level flight and tighter in the turn. And compared to the Sabre's six 0.50 machine-guns, the MiG's armament was heavier. However, the Sabre was a better gun platform when flying at high Mach speeds, which tended to make the MiG 'snake'.
With the arrival of the 4th Fighter Group, patrols were flown over a 100-mile chunk of airspace to the south of the River Yalu – the so-called 'MiG Alley'- to prevent the MiGs attacking UN bombers and fighter-bombers from the safety of China. The Sabres scored their first MiG kill on 17 December 1950.
The Korean War ended on 27 July 1953, by which time the Communist forces had lost 954 aircraft, 827 of them MiG-15s. Of these, 792 had been claimed by Sabres. There was such a high kill ratio – the Americans lost only 78 Sabres – principally because the MiGs' Soviet and Chinese pilots had been outflown by UN pilots, not only the Americans but also their British, Australian and South African counterparts.
The MiG's reliability made the aircraft popular with the Eastern Bloc and other Communist nations around the world. From 1950, some 7,500 MiG-15s were built in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Poland and China. They were used as air defence and air superiority fighters, ground-attack aircraft and reconnaissance fighters in many conflicts in the Middle and Far East.
