Editing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (section)

==== Overview and background ====

For many years, the Soviet Union actively denied that its pilots flew in Korea during the Korean War; only China and North Korea took responsibility for Korean War operations. After the end of the [[Cold War]], Soviet pilots who participated in the conflict began to reveal their roles.{{sfn|Zaloga|1991|p=74}} Books by Chinese, Russian and ex-Soviet authors, such as Zhang Xiaoming, Leonid Krylov, Yuriy Tepsurkaev and Igor Seydov revealed details of the actual pilots and operations. From the beginning, Soviet pilots were ordered to avoid flying over areas in which they might be captured. Soviet aircraft were adorned with North Korean or Chinese markings and even the pilots inside the aircraft wore either North Korean uniforms or civilian clothes to disguise their nationality. For radio communication, they were given cards with common Korean words for various flying terms spelled out phonetically in [[Cyrillic]] letters.{{sfn|Zaloga|1991|p=76}} These subterfuges did not long survive the stresses of air-to-air combat, however. Pilots often inadvertently reverted to their native language. UN forces widely suspected the participation of Soviet aircrews, and intercepted radio traffic appeared to include combat pilots speaking Russian. In addition, USAF pilots claimed to have recognized techniques and tactics used by Soviet pilots, whom they referred to as "{{wikt-lang|en|honcho|honchos}}".<ref name="acepilots"/>

When the Korean War broke out on 25 June 1950, the North [[Korean People's Air Force]] (KPAF) was equipped with World War II-vintage Soviet propeller-driven fighters, including 93 [[Ilyushin Il-10|Il-10]]s and 79 [[Yak-9#Variants|Yak-9P]]s,<ref>[http://www.historic-battles.com/HBforum/index.php?topic=1799.0 "Historic Battles."]{{dead link|date=June 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''historic-battles.com.'' Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref> and "40–50 assorted transport/liaison/trainer aircraft".<ref name="nokoreaairforce">[http://www.korean-war.com/nokoreaairforce.html "Korean Air Force."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090408021413/http://www.korean-war.com/nokoreaairforce.html |date=8 April 2009 }} ''korean-war.com.'' Retrieved: 12 September 2010.</ref> Propeller-driven, single-engine fighters were also numerically dominant amongst the air forces that would come under [[United Nations Command]] (UNC) – such as the [[North American P-51 Mustang]], [[Vought F4U Corsair]] and [[Hawker Sea Fury]]. Initially, the numerical and technical superiority of UNC fighter units gave them air supremacy, and laid North Korean targets bare to the destructive power of [[United States Air Force]] (USAF) [[Boeing B-29]] heavy bombers.

During 1950, the [[Kremlin]] agreed to supply China and North Korea with MiG-15s, as well as train their pilots. The 50th Fighter Aviation Division (50 IAD), equipped with the MiG-15, was already based near Shanghai, as it had taken part in the Chinese Civil War (see previous section). A detachment from the 50 IAD was moved to Antung, next to the border with North Korea in August 1950. They formed the 29th Guards Fighter Regiment (29 GvIAP). When China entered the war in support of North Korea, the Soviets agreed to provide 16 operational air regiments of MiG-15s, including combat pilots. In the meantime, more MiG-15 pilots were recruited; the squadrons earmarked for Korea were drawn from elite units. The pilots had to be younger than 27, and priority was given to World War II veterans. The first large Soviet aviation unit sent to Korea, the 324th IAD, was an air defense interceptor division commanded by Colonel [[Ivan Kozhedub]], who, with 62 victories, was the top Allied (and Soviet) ace of World War II. In November 1950, the 151st and 28th IADs plus the veteran 50th IAD were reorganized into the [[64th Fighter Aviation Corps]] (64 IAK).

[[File:MiG Alley Map (en).svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Map showing the general location of "[[MiG Alley]]".]]
Initially, the Soviet fighters operated close to their bases, limited by the range of their aircraft, and were guided to the air battlefield by good ground control, which directed them to the most advantageous positions. For political, security and logistical reasons, they were not allowed to cross an imaginary line drawn from [[Wonsan]] to [[Pyongyang]], and never to fly over the sea. The MiG-15s always operated in pairs, with an attacking leader covered by a wingman. The northwestern portion of North Korea where the [[Yalu River]] empties into the [[Yellow Sea]] was dubbed "[[MiG Alley]]" and became the site of numerous [[dogfight]]s.

MiG-15 pilots also proved very effective in the specific role for which the type was originally designed: intercepting formations of B-29s.
At the tactical level, large formations of MiGs would wait on the Chinese side of the border. When UN aircraft entered MiG Alley, the MiGs would swoop down from high altitude to attack. If they ran into trouble, they would try to escape back over the border into China. Soviet MiG-15 squadrons operated in big groups, but the basic formation was a six-aircraft group, divided into three pairs, each composed of a leader and a wingman:
* The first pair of MiG-15s attacked the enemy Sabres.
* The second pair protected the first pair.
* The third pair remained above, supporting the two other pairs when needed. This pair had more freedom and could also attack targets of opportunity, such as lone Sabres that had lost their wingmen.

After the MiG-15 entered the war, it was shown to be clearly superior to the best straight-wing jets operated by other countries, including the [[Gloster Meteor]], [[Lockheed F-80]], [[Republic F-84]] and [[F9F Panther|Grumman F9F]]. In most measures of performance, the [[North American F-86 Sabre]] – which was also a swept-wing design – was the only close contemporary that could match the MiG-15.

The USAF has claimed that the F-86 had the advantage in combat kills over Korea between 1950 and 1953. It has been acknowledged that many individual Soviet pilots had larger individual tallies than their UN counterparts, due to a number of factors, although the aggregated claims made by Soviet pilots were probably overstated.<ref name="acepilots">Zampini, Diego. [http://www.acepilots.com/russian/rus_aces.html "Russian [sic-Soviet&#93; Aces over Korea Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fagot pilots".] ''Acepilots.com'', 2008. Retrieved: 10 March 2009. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123035544/http://acepilots.com/russian/rus_aces.html |date=23 January 2009 }}</ref>
According to Soviet/Russian sources, 335 Soviet-piloted MiG-15s were lost in Korea to all causes, including accidents, AA fire and ground attacks.<ref>Igor Seidov and Stuart Britton. Red Devils over the Yalu: A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War 1950–53 (Helion Studies in Military History).  Helion and Company 2014. {{ISBN|978-1909384415}}. p. 554.</ref> Chinese sources claim that 224 Chinese-piloted MiG-15s were lost over Korea.<ref name="Zhang, Xiaoming 2002">Zhang, Xiaoming. Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea (Texas A&M University Military History Series). College Station: Texas A&M University, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-58544-201-0}}.</ref> North Korean losses are not known, but according to North Korean defectors, their air force lost around 100 MiG-15s during the war.<ref>Kum-Suk No and J. Roger Osterholm. A MiG-15 to Freedom: Memoir of the Wartime North Korean Defector who First Delivered the Secret Fighter Jet to the Americans in 1953. McFarland, 2007.</ref> Thus, around 659 MiG-15s are admitted as being lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dpaa.mil/portals/85/Documents/KoreaAccounting/korwald_all.pdf|title=Korean War Air Loss Database (KORWALD)|access-date=21 March 2016|archive-date=17 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617054359/https://www.dpaa.mil/portals/85/Documents/KoreaAccounting/korwald_all.pdf|url-status=dead}} {{ISBN|978-0786431069}}. p.9 142.</ref> While an overwhelming majority of the losses to UN fighters involved F-86 pilots, several MiG-15s were lost in, or immediately after, combat with each of several other UN fighters: F-80s, F-84s, F9Fs, Gloster Meteors and even propeller-driven F4Us and Sea Furies.

The Soviet [[64th Fighter Aviation Corps]] (64 IAK), which controlled all Soviet-piloted aircraft in the Korean War, claimed 1,106 aircraft shot down by MiG-15s. The records of USAF units confirm 139 US aircraft were shot down by MiGs, with another 68 lost due to unknown causes, 237 aircraft listed as missing due to unknown causes, and 472 aircraft classified as "other losses".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Stats/USAF_Losses_Korea.htm|title=USAF Losses in Korea|access-date=6 March 2020|archive-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118114017/https://www.alternatewars.com/BBOW/Stats/USAF_Losses_Korea.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Data-matching with Soviet records suggests that US pilots routinely attributed their own combat losses to "landing accidents" and "other losses".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_315.shtml|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130604071241/http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_315.shtml|archive-date = 4 June 2013|url-status=usurped|title = Welcome to the Air Combat Information Group}}</ref>