OVERVIEW: The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 NATO reporting name: "Fagot" is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where, early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in most applications.

Later, the MiG-15 would also serve as a starting point for the development of the more advanced MiG-17. 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 is often mentioned, along with the North American F-86 Sabre, as the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War, and among the best fighter aircraft of all time.

DETAILS: The MiG-15's first production example flew on 31 December 1948. It entered Soviet Air Force service in 1949, and subsequently received the NATO reporting name "Fagot." Early production examples had a tendency to roll to the left or to the right due to manufacturing variances, so aerodynamic trimmers called "nozhi" (knives) were fitted to correct the problem, the knives being adjusted by ground crews until the aircraft flew correctly.

An improved variant, the MiG-15bis ("second"), entered service in early 1950 with a Klimov VK-1 engine, an improved version of the RD-45/Nene, plus minor improvements and upgrades. Visible differences were a headlight in the air intake separator and horizontal upper edge airbrakes. The 23 mm cannons were placed more closely together in their undercarriage. Some "bis" aircraft also adopted under-wing hardpoints for unguided rocket launchers or 50 - 250 kg (110 - 550 lb) bombs. Fighter-bomber modifications were dubbed "IB", "SD-21", and "SD-5". About 150 aircraft were upgraded to SD-21 specification during 1953 - 1954. An unknown number of aircraft were modified to "IB" specification in the late 1950s.

The MiG-15 arguably had sufficient power to dive at supersonic speeds, but the lack of an "all-flying" tail greatly diminished the pilot's ability to control the aircraft as it approached Mach 1. As a result, pilots understood they must not exceed Mach 0.92, where the flight surfaces became ineffective. Additionally, the MiG-15 tended to spin after it stalled, and often the pilot could not recover. Later MiGs incorporated all-flying tails.

The MiG-15 was originally intended to intercept American bombers like the B-29. It was even evaluated in mock air-to-air combat trials with a captured U.S. B-29, as well as the later Soviet B-29 copy, the Tu-4 "Bull". To ensure the destruction of such large bombers, the MiG-15 carried cannons: two 23 mm with 80 rounds per gun and a single 37 mm with 40 rounds. These weapons provided tremendous punch in the interceptor role, but their limited rate of fire and relatively low velocity made it more difficult to score hits against small and maneuverable enemy jet fighters in air-to-air combat. The 23 mm and 37 mm also had radically different ballistics, and some United Nations pilots in Korea had the unnerving experience of 23 mm shells passing over them while the 37 mm shells flew under. The cannons were fitted into a simple pack that could be winched out of the bottom of the nose for servicing and reloading, allowing pre-prepared packs to be rapidly swapped out. (Some sources mistakenly claim the pack was added in later models.)

Many MiG-15 variants were built, but the most common was the MiG-15UTI (NATO reporting name "Midget") two-seat trainer. Because Mikoyan-Gurevich never mass-produced the transition training versions of the later MiG-17 or MiG-19, the MiG-15UTI remained the sole Warsaw Pact advanced jet trainer well into the 1970s, the primary training role being fulfilled exclusively by Czechoslovak Aero L-29 Delfin and the L-39 Albatros jet trainers (save for Poland, which used their indigenous TS-11 Iskra jets). While China produced two-seat trainer versions of the later MiG-17 and MiG-19, the Soviets felt that the MiG-15UTI was sufficient for their needs and did not produce their own trainer versions of those 

SPECIFICATION: Crew: (1) or (2) || Length: 10.08 m (33 ft 1 in) || Wingspan: 10.08 m (33 ft 1 in) || Height: 3.7 m (12 ft 2 in) || Empty Weight: 3,630 kg (8,003 lb) || Gross Weight: 5,000 kg (11,023 lb) || Max Takeoff Weight: 6,105 kg (13,459 lb) || Fuel Capacity: 1,420 l (312.4 imp gal; 375.1 US gal) || Powerplant: (1) Klimov VK-1 centrifugal flow turbojet || Thrust: 26.5 kN (6,000 lbf).

PERFORMANCE: Max Speed: 1,059 km/h (658 mph; 572 kn) at sea level; 5,000 m (16,000 ft)992 km/h (536 kn; 616 mph) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft) ||  Cruising Speed: 850 km/h (528 mph; 459 kn) || Range: 1,240 km (771 mi; 670 nmi) || Service Ceiling: 15,500 m (50,853 ft) || Rate of climb: 51.2 m/s (10,080 ft/min) at sea level; 36.2 m/s (7,130 ft/min) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)21 m/s (4,100 ft/min) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft) || Time to Altitude: 5,000 m (16,000 ft) in 2 minutes; 10,000 m (33,000 ft) in 5.2 minutes || Wing Loading: 240.8 kg/m2 (49.3 lb/sq ft) || Thrust/weight: 0.00534 kN/kg (0.544 lbf/lb).

ARMAMENT: Guns: (2) NR-23 23 mm (0.906 in) cannon in the lower left fuselage (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total) || Guns:(1) Nudelman N-37 37 mm (1.457 in) cannon in the lower right fuselage (40 rounds total) || Hardpoints: (2) 100 kg (220 lb) bombs || (2) drop tanks || unguided rockets.

SOURCE: [SCO] Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org