Walk Around
MiG-15 Fagot

The appearance of the MiG-15 in the skies over Korea forever altered the perception of Soviet airpower and definitely tilted balance of power in the air towards the north. The MiG-15 would also shift the balance of power among the Soviet Design Bureaus as this single aircraft would lead to even more capable designs.

Simple to fly and even easier to maintain, the MiG-15, packed a punch with two 23mm cannons and a single 37mm cannon, all in the nose, compared to the six 50 caliber machine guns of the F-86 that were throwbacks of the US World War 2 dogfighters. The MiG could out-climb, out-turn, and was even slightly faster than the Sabre. Nevertheless, as the Israeli Air Force has also repeatedly shown, air superiority is influenced by the capabilities of the aircraft but dictated by the skills of its pilots. USAF pilots were able to sustain a nearly 10:1 kill ratio over the MiG-15.

I am quite pleased to see this in-depth look at the MiG-15 as this aircraft has seen service around the world, yet there have been few up-close looks at this significant aircraft. The author has compiled another great walk around and details the differences between MiG-15 production versions.

This title looks closely at the early and late versions of the MiG-15 Fagot A and the early and late versions of the MiG15bis Fagot B. There is no coverage of the MiG-15UTI Midget trainer nor of some of the unusual modifications applied to the aircraft, including that rare photo of the MiG-15s air refueling! Pity. There is some photo coverage of the Polish-produced Lim-2 and the Chinese produced JJ-2 copies of the MiG-15.

As with all of the titles in this series, coverage includes a nice mix of color and black & white photography, as well as a nice set of color profiles of MiG-15s in service with a variety of air forces.s

This is another nice release from Squadron/Signal Publications and you'll definitely want to have this one on your shelf. You can get this title from your favorite book seller, hobby shop, or directly from Squadron Mail Order (www.squadron.com).

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample!