*** Welcome to piglix ***

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15

MiG-15
DATANGSHAN AVAITION MUSEUM BEIJING CHINA OCT 2012 (8643131848).jpg
North Korean MiG-15 at the Chinese Aviation Museum
Role Fighter
Manufacturer Mikoyan-Gurevich
First flight 30 December 1947
Introduction 1949
Status Trainers in service
Primary users Soviet Air Force
PLA Air Force
Korean People's Air Force
41 others
Number built ~12,000 + ~6,000 under licence
Developed into Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (Russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-15; NATO reporting name: "Fagot") was a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful jet fighters to incorporate swept wings to achieve high transonic speeds. In combat over Korea, it outclassed straight-winged jet day fighters, which were largely relegated to ground attack roles, and was quickly countered by the similar American swept-wing North American F-86 Sabre. The MiG-15 is often mentioned, along with the F-86 Sabre, as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War.

When refined into the more advanced MiG-17, the basic design would again surprise the West when it proved effective against supersonic fighters such as the F-105 Thunderchief and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in the Vietnam War of the 1960s.

The MiG-15 is believed to have been one of the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made; in excess of 12,000 were manufactured. Licensed foreign production may have raised the production total to over 18,000. The MiG-15 remains in service with the North Korean Air Force as an advanced trainer.

The first turbojet fighter developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB was the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-9, which appeared in the years immediately after World War II. It used a pair of reverse-engineered German BMW 003 engines. The MiG-9 was a troublesome design that suffered from weak, unreliable engines and control problems. Categorized as a first-generation jet fighter, it was designed with the straight-style wings common to piston-engined fighters.


...
Wikipedia

...