F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15: Korea 1950-53

by Douglas C. Dildy, Warren Thompson, Jim Laurier (Illustrator), Wiek Luijken (Illustrator)

Overview

As the routed North Korean People's Army (NKPA) withdrew into the mountainous reaches of their country and the People's Republic of China (PRC) funneled in its massive infantry formations in preparation for a momentous counter-offensive in the last months of 1950, both lacked adequate air power to challenge US and UN air supremacy over both the battlefields and the logistics channels from China into North Korea. Reluctantly, Josef Stalin agreed to provide the requisite air cover, introducing the superior swept-wing MiG-15 to counter the American's straight-wing F-80 jets and to repel the United States Air Force (USAF) B-29 bomber formations that were interdicting the PRC's flow of troops and supplies into North Korea. This in turn prompted the USAF, against its conventional wisdom of retaining its first-line air-defence fighters to face Soviet air forces across the 'Iron Curtain' in Europe, to deploy its very best - the F-86A Sabre - to counter this threat. Thus began a two-and-a-half-year struggle in the skies over a corner of North Korea known as "MiG Alley."

In this period, the unrelenting campaign for aerial superiority witnessed the introduction of successive models of these two revolutionary jets - the MiG-15bis, the F-86E, and eventually the F-86F - into combat. It also saw the transition of operational leadership on the communist side from the Soviet "volunteers" to the newly formed Chinese PLAAF air divisions, and witnessed the re-introduction of the NKPAF, with its "just trained" MiG-15 units, into the air-combat arena. This meticulously researched study not only provides technical descriptions of the two types and their improved variants, complete with a "fighter pilot's assessment" of these aircraft, but also chronicles the entire scope of their aerial duel in "MiG Alley" by employing the recollections of the surviving combatants - including Russian, Chinese, and North Korean pilots - who participated.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780963198
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	05/21/2013
Series:	Duel , #50
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	7.25(w) x 9.75(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Douglas C. Dildy is a retired US Air Force colonel who retired with approximately 3,200 hours of fast jet time. As commander of the 32d Fighter Squadron, he enforced the No-Fly-Zone over Iraq, making him an expert on F-15 employment. He is a USAF Academy graduate with a Masters Degree in Political Science and has authored numerous books, including To Defeat the Few for Osprey. He contributes regularly to the modelling magazine Small Air Forces Observer and lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Warren Thompson has been an avid military aviation historian and editor for over 40 years and his personal reference collection includes thousands of photos and detailed interviews with over 2,000 pilots and aircrew members. He has had over 25 books published including three books on the Korean War for Osprey. His book Korean War Aces in the Aircraft of the Aces series was a bestseller.

Jim Laurier is a native of New England and lives in New Hampshire. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, from 1974–78, and since graduating with Honours, he has been working professionally in the field of Fine Art and Illustration. He has been commissioned to paint for the US Air Force and has aviation paintings on permanent display at the Pentagon.

Wiek Luijken is an artist based in England but born and raised in the Netherlands. He has been a professional artist and director for more than 20 years. Aviation has been a big part of his life since childhood. Wiek created the battlescene and cover artwork for this book.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Chronology 6

Design and Development 8

Technical Specifications 20

The Strategic Situation 30

The Combatants 37

Combat 48

Statistics and Analysis 71

Aftermath 75

Further Reading 78

Index 80

Editorial Reviews

Benefiting from newly acquired information from the Russian and Chinese camps, jet age experts Douglas Dildy and Warren Thompson provide an unprecedented comparison of the performance, strengths and weaknesses of the two fighters and the pilots who flew them ... Students of the early jet age should find F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15 an essential addition to Osprey's 'Duel' Series.” —Aviation Hitsory (March 2014)

“Technical and tactical information about these two classic fighters combine with analysis of their performance in action.” —Military Heritage magazine

“Finally, two respected American air historians have taken all of the available sources in hand to attempt to present an honest assessment of the air war and how it was actually fought. As a result, and as Doug Dildy is a retired fighter pilot who grew up during the Cold War and was trained based on results of Korea, they have presented a great description of what it was actually like to fly and fight in an F-86 Sabre or MiG-15 in Korea ... The book is clearly written in easy-to-understand terms and does a great job of using examples and facts to show how air combat was conducted ... Overall, if you have any interest in Korean War air combat this book is a great place to start or simply add to your knowledge.” —Cookie Sewell, www.cybermodeler.com

“... a great read and is one of the better volumes in this series. One that I can quite easily recommend to you.” —Scott Van aken, www.modelingmadness.com

From the Publisher