The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 entered the Cold War as a swept-wing jet fighter that stunned Western planners and demonstrated its lethality in the skies over Korea. In this article, Peter Suciu examines how its advanced aerodynamics, heavy cannon armament, and combat performance against American aircraft made it one of the defining military machines of the twentieth century.
During the Second World War, the Soviet Union went from a near collapse following the German invasion in June 1941 to seeing one of the greatest resurgences in military history and capturing Berlin in May 1945. Despite its size and combat capabilities, many of its military platforms lagged behind those of the West. Such was certainly true of small arms and military aircraft; just as Moscow made a significant leap forward with the AK-47 rifle in the immediate aftermath of the conflict, it also made great strides in aircraft design.
More importantly, the Soviet Union quickly bridged the technological gap that had separated its aircraft production from that of other great powers during the war. It succeeded quickly, but also under great secrecy. The Soviets equipped their air force with aircraft comparable to, and in some cases superior to, those of the West. The reasons underlying these exceptional results were, in part, the tremendous efforts the Kremlin invested in aircraft development, but, more importantly, the availability of materiel and technical data that Moscow obtained from the far more advanced German aeronautical industry.
That led to the development of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9, which made its maiden flight on April 24, 1946, less than a year after the end of the “Great Patriotic War.” The Yakovlev Yak-15 flew the same day, and both aircraft were the result of reverse-engineered technology acquired from Nazi Germany.
Using knowledge gathered from the Germans, and even more importantly, the vast quantities of factory equipment, machinery, and industrial plants taken as war reparations, had also jump-started the jet aircraft programs. German scientists and their families were also forcibly moved to Russia to accelerate Soviet technological development under Operation Osoaviakhim in 1946. That program led to the Soviet Union launching the first satellite into orbit, an early victory for Moscow that started the space race.
It also greatly influenced Soviet aircraft design and changed the role of combat aircraft.
During the war, Soviet aviation doctrine prioritized robust, easy-to-manufacture, and simple-to-maintain aircraft that could operate from rough or improvised airfields near the front lines. That followed with shift to more advanced and capable aircraft, of which the MiG-9 and Yak-15 were the forerunners.
The Soviet MiG-15 is widely regarded as marking a turning point in the evolution of postwar Soviet military aviation production. It went on to become not only a successful fighter but also one that largely eclipsed contemporary designs, as it was the forerunner of an entire generation of combat aircraft.
Shocked the West
It has been suggested that the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (NATO reporting name “Fagot”) was so revolutionary in design that no combat aircraft in history left a bigger impact on the world scene. There is probably some hyperbole in that statement, but not much.
It is important to note that the arrival of the MiG-15 largely caught the West completely off guard.
Its existence was so unsuspected that American fighter pilots were astonished to encounter the swept-wing aircraft over the skies of Korea in November 1950. The Soviet-designed aircraft’s speed and performance far exceeded U.S. expectations; it could fly faster, climb and dive more quickly, and turn more tightly than the straight-wing aircraft in service with the U.S. military. The Americans’ only advantage was superior aviators. Those early encounters forced the U.S. to rush the F-86 Sabre into action to regain air superiority!
Origins of the MiG-15
The story of the MiG-15 does not begin with the MiG-9 or the Yak-15, but rather with Germany’s late-war Focke-Wulf Ta project, which evaluated the use of a swept wing in combat aircraft. The Germans had been at the forefront of jet-powered aircraft, but fortunately for the Allies (and the free world), the efforts were too little too late to change the outcome of the war.
Yet the captured information enabled Soviet designers to develop an aircraft that could better handle transonic speeds than conventional straight-wing aircraft. In the case of the aircraft, swept wings significantly reduced drag, but again, this was just part of the story.
What may seem surprising, given nearly 80 years of hindsight, is that the MiG-15 also received a boost from the UK. Although the MiG-15’s airframe was advanced, the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau, which oversaw its development, lacked an engine to power it, and even the German-based engines were quickly deemed insufficient. The British Rolls-Royce Nene centrifugal-flow turbojet engine proved to be very much the right powerplant for the advanced fighter, even as the advanced engine wasn’t even in any Royal Air Force (RAF) aircraft.
The Soviets were able to obtain it, and the Rolls-Royce engine design gave the Soviet aircraft a significant advantage over British fighters, notably the RAF’s Meteor.
Mikoyan-Gurevich obtained the engine not as the result of any subterfuge, and it certainly didn’t involve the likes of the Cambridge Five, the ring of spies in the UK who passed information to the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the Cold War. Instead, the British government made a bad deal.
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It was one that most certainly wouldn’t have happened had Winston Churchill remained prime minister. Still, the UK has essentially gone broke fighting the Second World War, which resulted in the socialist-leaning Labour Party winning the general election in the summer of 1945.
Soon after, Soviet intelligence had learned of the advanced engine and suggested it would be ideal for the new fighter, but Joseph Stalin famously responded, “What fools would sell us their secrets?”
Prime Minister Clement Attlee did not raise his hand, but aviation historians have suggested he might as well have, as he approved a deal to sell the Soviets 10 of the engines in June 1946. London had hoped to secure a vital post-war trade agreement with the Soviets for timber and grain, but also to improve increasingly strained relations. The UK had barely survived the Second World War and was in no condition to fight a war with the Soviets.
“I can see no good reason for withholding [the engines] from the USSR,” Attlee wrote, adding that “refusal would only cause trouble and suspicion.”
There was also a belief that the Nene was becoming obsolete, and even a degree of British arrogance about the Soviet Union’s ability to reverse-engineer it. In fairness, it wasn’t known at the time that the Soviets had made such significant progress in using captured German technology, and, as noted, Soviet fighter designs had lagged behind those of the West.
Rolls-Royce engineers also believed they could remain technologically ahead. Air Marshal William Elliot also held the opinion that as long as the production methods for the Nimonic alloys used in the engine were adequately safeguarded, any security implications would be limited.
Still, some in the British government, notably those in the opposition ranks, questioned the decision to provide the centrifugal-flow engine to the Soviets, as it was clear that a lasting peace might not be possible. Even Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, who had developed deep suspicions about Soviet intentions, opposed aiding a potential adversary.
Despite those concerns, the deal was approved.
In one stroke, the Rolls-Royce engine removed the lack of a suitable powerplant for the aircraft, and within eight months, a MiG-15 had made its maiden flight. Even worse for the British, the Soviets were able to copy the engine and put it into production without a license as the slightly modified RD-45. The decision to share what had been a closely guarded secret essentially gave away the immediate head start the British had in aircraft design.
Development of the MiG-15
Building on the success of the MiG-9, famed Soviet engineers Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich — who had founded the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in Moscow in 1939 — developed the MiG-15 as a high-altitude day interceptor to counter high-altitude bombers like the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
The prototype took flight on December 31, 1948. As noted, it was the first Soviet production swept-wing fighter, and it also featured a pressurized cockpit and an ejection seat, both revolutionary at the time. The MiG-15 entered service in 1949.
More than 8,000 were built in the Soviet Union in the first five years of its introduction, and it was subsequently produced under license in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China, making it among the most-produced jets ever with more than 18,000 manufactured in total.
A point needs to be addressed about the NATO reporting name “Fagot.” It was derived from an archaic English term meaning “bundle of rods or sticks,” and it has survived as a slang term for a cigarette. NATO reporting names for fighters always started with an “F,” but it is unclear why the British slang word was used. The trainer version had the NATO reporting name “Midget.”
An advanced fighter for its time, the MiG-15 had a maximum speed of approximately 670 mph (1,076 km/h) at sea level, a service ceiling of 50,900 feet (15,500 meters), and a range of 830 miles (1,335 km). It was armed with two 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannons, and one 37 mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon, with hardpoints for rockets or 2,000 pounds of bombs.
MiG Alley — Sabre Rattling!
In November 1950, just six months after the start of the Korean War, UN forces were startled by the appearance of the previously unknown jet fighter. The MiG-15 proved superior to the frontline dogfighters employed by the U.S. forces, notably the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star, the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Air Force and the Republic F-84 Thunderjet, which gained renown for escorting B-29 bombers on long-range missions.
The MiG-15’s introduction forced the UN forces to cease their daylight bombing runs with the Superfortress, but, more importantly, led the U.S. to rush into action the North American F-86 Sabre. Both swept-wing transonic jet fighters took part in operations in “MiG Alley,” the contested airspace over the Korean Peninsula.
The two aircraft were arguably evenly matched, but North Korea’s pilots, and even Red China’s, lacked the skills of their American counterparts. The less-trained aviators had held an advantage until the arrival of the F-86, after which the balance shifted to the U.S.
To address the issue, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin ordered the secret deployment of MiG-15’s and Soviet pilots to Manchuria. Veterans who had flown during the Second World War added to the effectiveness of the aircraft, especially in early engagements. Soviet involvement, although long suspected, was only officially confirmed decades after the war, and it revealed an even larger presence than previously known.
“Large formations of MiG’s would lie in wait on the Manchurian side of the border. When UN aircraft entered MiG Alley, these MiG’s would swoop down from high altitude to attack,” the National Museum of the United States Air Force explained. “If the MiG’s ran into trouble, they would try to escape back over the border into communist China. (To prevent a wider war, UN pilots were ordered not to attack targets in Manchuria.) Even with this advantage, communist pilots still could not compete against the better-trained Sabre pilots of the U.S. Air Force, who scored a kill ratio of about 8:1 against the MiG’s.”
Total losses of MiG-15’s are unconfirmed, but declassified Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean records state that 659 of the aircraft were shot down, including 335 flown by Soviet pilots, 224 operated by the Chinese, and 100 North Korean fighters. The latter number is the hardest to confirm and may have been significantly higher. The F-86 Sabre downed the majority of the MiG-15’s.
By contrast, U.S. figures stated that nearly 800 MiG-15’s were shot down with a loss of just 80 Sabres. However, more recent studies estimate the numbers to be closer to 200 Sabres. Even those estimates would still yield a 5.6:1 overall ratio, with 1.4:1 against MiG-15’s flown by Soviet pilots.
Lt. Russell J. Brown, U.S.A.F., of the 16th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, is credited as being the first to shoot down a MiG-15 while flying an F-80 Shooting Star. Brown actually downed two MiG-15 fighters in the sortie on November 8, 1950. Marine Major John F. Bolt is noted as being the U.S. Naval Aviation’s only jet ace of the Korean War by shooting down six MiG-15 fighter jets. Other naval aviators who downed MiG-15’s in aerial combat were future astronauts John Glenn and Wally Schirra.
First MiG-15 Obtained by the West
Although many MiG-15’s were shot down, the U.S. initiated Operation Moolah, which tried to entice a North Korean or Chinese pilot to defect. It was unsuccessful, and it wasn’t until after the armistice was signed that a North Korean pilot flew his aircraft to South Korea. However, when No Kum-Sok landed his MiG-15bis at Kimpo Air Base in South Korea, he had no idea of the reward!
The captured MiG-15bis, an improved variant introduced in 1950, was studied for approximately 11 days, revealing it to be a capable fighter but a somewhat less technically sophisticated aircraft than the F-86 Sabre.
“After considerable flight-testing, the U.S. offered to return the airplane to its ‘rightful owners,’” the National Museum of the United States Air Force explained. “The offer was ignored, and in November 1957 it was transferred to the museum for public exhibition.”
No Kum-Sok was granted political asylum in the United States and adopted the English name Kenneth H. Rowe. He had previously supported the Japanese during World War II, and according to reports, had even considered becoming a kamikaze pilot, but later became pro-Western. During his defection, when he landed his fighter and parked it between two F-86 fighters, he tore up a photo of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung to show his intention!
Rowe was able to attend college in the United States, worked as an aeronautical engineer, married another émigré from North Korea, and later wrote a book about his defection. In 2022, he passed away at the age of 90.
The MiG-15 Legacy
The swept-wing fighter effectively introduced the term “MiG” to the aviation world and was among the numerous Soviet aircraft to emerge from the famed design bureau. It served as a frontline fighter in the Communist Bloc until the early 1960s and remained in service as a trainer until the mid-1970s.
Despite being among the most-produced jet fighters, only a few dozen remain, with most airworthy examples still in North Korea. According to various sources, there are approximately a dozen in the United States, including three that are airworthy.
In addition to the MiG-15 that Rowe flew, several U.S. museums have the early Cold War fighter on display including the National Naval Aviation Museum at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida; the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington; the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum located at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California; and the Combat Air Museum in Topeka, Kansas, among others.
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