MiG-15: The Soviet Jet That Changed Aerial Combat Forever

Literally and metaphorically, when the Americans encountered the MiG-15 in the skies over Korea, they didn’t know what hit them. With its cutting-edge design and performance, its introduction not only challenged Western air superiority but also set new standards for jet-powered flight. It was the first major Soviet jet fighter and the first one that could outgun the Americans. The jet race was well and truly on.

Indeed the swept-wing MiG 15 jet was so superior to the American straight-winged F-80 Shooting Star and Grumman F9F Panther, that the US Air Force had to rush supply of the F-86 Sabre to the Far East, perhaps the only American plane that came close to matching the MiG-15’s performance.

Read on to find out why the Soviet MiG-15, a battle-hardened street fighter, is considered to be one of the most formidable fighter jets in the pantheon of air-to-air combat.

The MiG-15’s evolution was a response to rapid advancements in aeronautical engineering and the pressing need to modernise the Soviet Air Force.

At the end of World War II, Soviet engine technology was lagging way behind that of Western Europe and America, and the advent of high-altitude strategic bombers like the American B-29 Superfortress and fighters including the British de Havilland Vampire and the Gloster Meteor compelled the Soviets to accelerate their own jet fighter development programme.

The first tranche of late 1940s Soviet jets were little more than old piston-engined airframes retrofitted with jet engines. While useful – they allowed Soviet engineers to gain experience with jet propulsion – the new MiG-15 was a different beast altogether, and far exceeded all expectations.

Drawing inspiration from captured German research on swept-wing technology, Soviet engineers built a plane that could achieve transonic speeds while maintaining exceptional manoeuvrability and aerodynamic efficiency. This innovative design allowed the MiG-15 to outperform many of its contemporaries and, most importantly, it stunned the Americans into sitting up and taking notice.

Try as they might, the Soviets couldn’t develop a turbojet engine that was capable of running for more than a few hours at a time and wouldn’t overheat. However, they managed to convince the British government to supply a number of sample Rolls-Royce Nene engines. Stalin is anecdotally reported to have said something along the lines of ‘what fool will sell us his secrets?’

The Nene was Rolls-Royce’s third jet engine and reported to be the most powerful of its kind. Tooled for mass-production, it was reverse-engineered in the Soviet Union into the Klimov RD-45 which was later upgraded to the more powerful Klimov VK-1. This engine provided the necessary thrust and performance, enabling the MiG-15 jet to finally achieve speeds and altitudes comparable to Western jet fighters.

Deliveries of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 started in 1948. In the following year, the first roll-out of the MiG-15 fighter was during the latter stages of the Chinese Civil War after Chairman Mao Zedong asked the Soviet Union for help with Chinese air defences.

In total, it’s estimated that over 17,000 variants of the MiG-15 were built, including over 4,000 under licence in Czechoslovakia and Poland. It still remains one of the most extensively produced jet fighters in history.

The MiG-15 proved its mettle during the Korean War, where it became one of the most important fighters of the conflict. Engaging in dogfights over ‘MiG Alley’ along the Yalu River, it challenged United Nations forces and shifted air combat tactics with its superior speed and firepower.

Interestingly during the Korean War, it was largely Soviet pilots who flew the MiG-15 fighter. Although the Soviet Union officially denied its direct involvement in the conflict to avoid escalation with the United States, Soviet pilots covertly flew MiG-15s to support North Korean and Chinese forces against, among others, the American F-86 Sabre. These Soviet-operated MiG-15s bore North Korean or Chinese insignia to maintain plausible deniability.

The MiG-15 also saw action during the Suez Canal Crisis in 1956, and in the Taiwan Straits Crisis in the late 1950s. In March 1968, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, was killed when his MiG-15UTI crashed on a routine training flight from Chkalovsky Air Base, northeast of Moscow.

While the MiG-15 jet saw less action in the Vietnam War – indeed it’s thought it was used only as a training plane and didn’t see combat – its legacy endured through advanced variants like the MiG-17 and the MiG-21. The latter, in particular, became a staple in numerous air forces around the world, known for its supersonic capabilities and versatility in various combat scenarios. Together, these aircraft not only cemented the MiG series’ reputation but also left an astonishing impact on the evolution of aerial warfare.

There were dozens of different variants of the MiG-15 jet, but the figures listed below are the specifications of the MiG-15bis which entered production in 1950.

Length | 10.1 metres

Wingspan | 10.08 metres

Height | 3.7 metres

Engine | 1 x Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet

Crew | 1

Maximum Speed | 688 mph

Fuel Capacity | 1,420 litres

Service Ceiling | 15,500 metres (50,900 ft)

The armaments for the MiG-15bis varied depending on the aircraft’s specific configuration, but one example of the armament set-up would be –

• 2 x 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 autocannons
• 1 x 37mm Nudelman N-37 autocannon
• 2 hardpoints that could carry 100 kg bombs or unguided rockets

The MiG-15 changed the rules for aerial combat, and left an enduring legacy as one of the most effective jet fighters of its time. Basic and rugged with little in the way of creature comforts, the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 proved that a recipe of Soviet simplicity and reliability with more than a sprinkling of technological excellence could go toe-to-toe in devastating fashion with western complexity and sophistication.