207229 Modeler 1/72 Soviet jet fighter OKB Mikoyan and Gurevich MiG-15 bis (repackaging company Hobby Boss)

MiG-15bis fighter, USSR, 1949.

MiG-15 – the most massive jet fighter (total was released 15 560 pieces of all modifications, 8 354 of which pieces - MIG-15bis). It was in service with many countries of the world (Warsaw Pact countries, China, Indonesia, Egypt and others).

MiG-15 and MiG-15bis entered service almost simultaneously. Their "finest hour" was the war in Korea. It was the first in the history of aviation jet engine war and the first air battle of jet aircraft. The Western press called the unexpected appearance of this aircraft a "Korean surprise", and American pilots dubbed the area in the North-West of the DPRK "MiG alley". To combat new enemy aircraft were immediately sent to the newly fielded F-86 "sabre", which since the end of December 1950 until the end of the war in July 1953 were the main opponents of our aircraft in the skies of Korea. It is noteworthy that in his first battle Soviet pilot Mikhail Averin shot down his F-86 "sabre" invincible before the American ACE George Andrew Davis. In order to hide the direct participation of the armed forces of the USSR in the conflict, it was announced that the American was shot down by a Chinese pilot. This story gave a second life (after the events of 1938 in China) to folk jokes and songs about "pilot Li XI-Qing". As you know, every joke has a share of jokes. And then in the order of things was to dress our pilots in the Korean form and provide Korean (Chinese) documents. So again there were "Li si-tsiny", "si-Ni-tsiny", "WAN-Yu-bus" , etc. The fact of participation of the USSR in the Korean war was officially recognized in the Soviet Union only in 1970-1980-ies.

According to available statistics, the ACE in Korea was 51 Soviet pilots, and the best - the Heroes of the Soviet Union Yevgeny Georgievich Pepelyaev (23 victories) and Nikolai Vasilyevich Sutyagin (21 victories). The exact number of North Korean aces is unknown, but it is noteworthy that the best of them – Kim Ki-OK – won 17 air victories, more than the best American ACE Joseph McConnell (16). I was not "whipping boys" and Chinese pilots. Asami in Korea were at least 12 Chinese pilots, including Dong Wen (10 wins), Wang Hai and Zhao Baotong ( 9 each). The war in the air of Korea actually reduced to the confrontation of American pilots Soviet, Chinese and Korean. None of the pilots of other countries, who participated with the United States in the intervention under the UN flag, won more than 3 victories.