The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was a sub-sonic jet fighter designed and developed in the Soviet Union during the postwar years. It was the fastest and the best aircraft in the world when it first flew on December 30, 1947. The prototype of this secret project was the S-01, whose mass production would begin in late 1948. It officially entered service with the Soviet Air Force on May 20, 1949. Later, it would be further developed into the MiG-15bis and the MiG-17 'Fresco'.
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 was massively produced in four factories of the Soviet Union, with more than 13,000 aircraft built, and 4,100+ made in Eastern European countries under license. It flew its first combat sorties in late 1950, in the Korean War. In the first year, it beat many USAF P-80 Shooting Stars, taking them down out of the sky with relative ease. However, in this armed conflict, the MiG-15 would face off its equal, the North American F-86 Sabre, which had similar design characteristics.
Despite the similarities, the Soviet aircraft still had better climb, rate of roll, and turn radius than the American one. The US Air Force pilots would have to wait for the appearance of the F-86F variant to make a real difference.
Technical Characteristics
The MiG-15 was a single-seat, single-engine monoplane. It had swept wing, with 40 degrees backwards inclination, and they were mounted in the middle of fuselage. Fuselage was all-metal. The cockpit was small but big enough to contain all the flight instruments. Landing gear was retractable.
Specifications
Type: jet fighter aircraft
Length: 10.1 m
Wingspan: 10.08 m
Wing Area: 20.6 square meters
Height: 3.7 m
Power Plant: one RD -45F turbojet engine.
Maximum Speed: 1,052 km/h
Below, the MiG-15 in 1949, first production aircraft.
Soviet MiG-15s in flight.
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