The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

Spotlight

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

Scrutinizes the history of…

Several jets remain flying as warbirds. MiG-15 91051 is pictured flying with North American Sabre FU-012.

Best remembered for its role in the 1950-1953 Korean War, the MiG-15 made for a feared adversary. Thanks to its swept-wing design and powerful Klimov turbojet engine, pilots flying straight-winged aircraft or anything piston-powered were advised to avoid combat with the swift, sleek jets if possible.

The arrival of the North American F-86 Sabre in Korea ended the Russian aircraft’s outright superiority, but the MiGs continued to pose a dangerous threat for many years to come. The aircraft was allocated the rather inelegant NATO reporting name ‘Fagot’ when introduced to the Soviet Air Force in 1949. The term actually refers to a collection of sticks bound together to create fire, and continued the NATO process of giving all Eastern bloc fighters easily remembered names beginning with ‘F’.

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