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| History: In 1948, the Soviet MiG design bureau developed a high-performance jet fighter design called the I-310. It incorporated some advanced features, such as a 35-degree wing sweep, and it promised to be a sprightly performer.
<Soviet MiG-15s at the time the Korean War began were looking relativelly simple: two or three-digit bort numbers were applied on the forward fuselage and the usual red stars - of the same size - on the fin and the rear fuselage. This changed as soon as the aircraft started arriving in China... |
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However, the design lacked one essential component: A suitable engine. This problem was resolved when the British government authorized the Rolls-Royce company to export their Nene turbojet engine to Russia.
<A MiG-15bis of the Moscow Military District PVO aerobatic display team, the 'Red Falcons', circa 1954. |
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As soon as the Russian Klimov design bureau received the engines, they immediately developed their own copy of the Nene, called the Klimov RD-45. Within months, the first prototype of the I-310 had flown with the new engine. The aircraft was re-designated MiG-15 and entered service early in 1949. <MIG 15 BIS IRAQ AIR FORCE |
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Later in the year, the improved MiG-15bis version appeared, and a two-seat trainer version, the MiG-15UTI, was also introduced. In 1950, Western air forces were surprised at the combat capability of the new design in the skies over Korea. <MIG 15 BIS CUBA AIR FORCE |
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The MiG-15 could out-climb, out-turn, and fly higher than the US-built F-86 Sabre. Fortunately, Allied pilots were better-trained and had better equipment installed in their aircraft, and they prevailed against the MiG. |
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The MiG-15 was eventually built under license in Czechoslovakia as the A-102, S-102 and two-seat CS-12; and in Poland as the LIM-1, LIM-2, and two-seat LIM-3 and SBLim2.
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China also built many components of the airplane. |
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As would be expected, many Warsaw Pact nations used the MiG-15, and after the introduction of the MiG-17 and MiG-19, the -15 was retired as a fighter and became the standard advanced trainer of the Eastern bloc.
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In the late 1980s, the first MiG-15 appeared on the civilian register in the USA, and in the last decade, at least 20 have been licensed as warbirds around the world. |
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Nicknames: Fagot / Midget (NATO Codename for MiG-15 and MiG-15UTI trainer, respectively); Matushka ("Mother"); Baboushka ("Grandmother"); Jaguar (Hungarian AF nickname for MiG-15); Eagle (Hungarian AF nickname for MiG-15bis). |
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Specifications (MiG-15bis) Engine: One 5,952-pound thrust Klimov VK-1 turbojet Weight: Empty 8,115 lbs., Max Takeoff 13,327 lbs. |
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Wing Span: 33ft. 0.75in. Length: 35ft. 7.5in. Height: 12ft. 1.75in. |
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Performance: Maximum Speed at Sea Level: 668 mph Ceiling: 50,855 ft. Range: 1,156 miles |
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Armament: One 37-mm N-37 cannon Two 23-mm NS-23 or NR-23 cannon Up to 1,100 pounds of mixed stores on underwing hard-points. |
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Number Built: 8,000+ built in USSR alone, many thousands built in Poland and Czechoslovakia. |
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DRAWINGS "MIG -15 " in action Aircraft Number 116 squadron/signal publications pag. 19 |
