MiG 15

In 1948, the Soviet MiG design bureau developed a high-performance jet fighter design called the I-310. It incorporated some advanced features, such as a 35-degree wing sweep, and it promised to be a sprightly performer. However, the design lacked one essential component: A suitable engine. This problem was resolved when the British government authorized the Rolls-Royce company to export their Nene turbojet engine to Russia. As soon as the Russian Klimov design bureau received the engines, they immediately developed their own copy of the Nene, called the Klimov RD-45. Within months, the first prototype of the I-310 had flown with the new engine. The aircraft was redesignated MiG-15 and entered service early in 1949.

Later in the year, the improved MiG-15bis version appeared, and a two-seat trainer version, the MiG-15UTI, was also introduced. In 1950, Western air forces were surprised at the combat capability of the new design in the skies over Korea. The MiG-15 could out-climb, out-turn, and fly higher than the US-built F-86 Sabre. Fortunately, Allied pilots were better-trained and had better equipment installed in their aircraft, and they prevailed against the MiG.

The MiG-15 was eventually built under license in Czechoslovakia as the A-102, S-102 and two-seat CS-12; and in Poland as the LIM-1, LIM-2, and two-seat LIM-3. China also built many components of the airplane. As would be expected, many Warsaw Pact nations used the MiG-15, and after the introduction of the MiG-17 and MiG-19, the -15 was retired as a fighter and became the standard advanced trainer of the Eastern bloc.

MiG Fury Fighter’s MiG-15 (N515MG) was built on March 20, 1955 and put into service on June 18, 1955 with the 25th Fighter Aviation Regiment of Poland. It was converted to SBLim-2 between 13/09/69 — 10/03/70 using rear fuselage of 1B-01509. We have no specific record of it’s military service. It was decommissioned and placed into storage at Mierzecice Air Base, Poland.

In the late 1980s, the first MiG-15 appeared on the civilian register in the USA, and in the last decade, at least 20 have been licensed as warbirds around the world.

Nicknames: Fagot / Midget (NATO Codename for MiG-15 and MiG-15UTI trainer, respectively); Matushka (“Mother”); Baboushka (“Grandmother”); Jaguar (Hungarian AF nickname for MiG-15); Eagle (Hungarian AF nickname for MiG-15bis).

Number Still Airworthy: 20 Approximately