Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 'Fagot'

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North American F-86 Sabre

Introduction:

    When titans clash, the spectators are left in awe. When the warriors have contrasting styles yet are so similar in ability and one of them is kept secret until the fight, the audience are even more astounded. This is the magic behind the story of the rivalry between the North American F-86 Sabre and the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG 15 'Fagot'. These two planes were so closely related that it felt appropriate not to write different articles on the two planes but to compare and contrast the two as one piece. 

History:

    The Cold War is remembered as a battle of politicians and words, not of soldiers and war-machines. In fact there were several points when countries loyal to the Superpowers clashed using their weapons. These 'limited wars' allowed Capitalist weaponry was compared with Communist technologies. Officially these wars had no militarily bearing on relations between the East and West, however unofficially they were used to test the weapons which would be used in World War Three, should it ever have happened, and to make displays of strength. The first such exhibition match was The Korean War of 1950-1953. In this conflict the UN came to the aid of South Korea following it's invasion by the Communist North. Seeing the North to have nothing more then a 'peasant army' the UN held back some of it's newest (and therefore most expensive) toys. This meant that in the early stages they fought using World War II technology, however the Chinese and Soviets (unofficially) came to the aid of their comrades, by supplying the means to convert the 'peasant army' into an efficient modern fighting force. This secret aid even went as far as sending a few pilots and mechanics. Many steps were taken to hide this fact, however many US pilots saw opposition who were clearly not Asian and many 'borrowed' pilots have come forward to historians with their stories. Although both sides were aware of this 'aid' neither publicly acknowledged it for fear of escalating the situation. This forced the UN to introduce their most capable tools.

    The USAF was operating mostly with the F-51 (formally the P-51) Mustang, against decrepit Russian piston fighters and the only new fighters in the theatre were the F-80 Shooting Star and F9F Panther. These planes were little more then WWII technology with jets, and were not available in huge numbers. The first sign of a serious threat from the North, however, was on November 1, 1950 when F-51's spotted swept-wing jet-fighters, although they did not engage. In response to this potentially devastating weapon, the USAF rushed the F-86 to Southeast Asia as soon as possible, however it was the F-80 which claims the prize for being the first victor in a jet-on-jet dogfight on November 8th 1950. The stage was now set, the warriors were prepared, and all that remained was for the technology and pilot skill to decide history.

Aircraft:

    The first step in analysing these planes is to show the similarities. Each benefited from captured swept-wing research carried out by the Germans during World War II. The use of this common research would also explain the aerodynamic and aesthetic similarities. Swept surfaces can be unpredictable if improperly applied, so both design teams probably stuck closely to the tried and tested processes developed by the Germans. Also both had engines based on British experience, the MiG's being an illegal copy of the Rolls Royce Nene engine and the American's also having studied British technologies, however their engine was not a direct copy. 

    Despite all the similarities on the surface, underneath the skin the two planes differed greatly. The F-86 was significantly heavier and better armoured, however this came at the obvious price of manoeuvrability. The MiG's turning circle and climb rates are considerably better, meaning that different tactics needed to be used. The choice in armament was also contrasting, with the Russians choosing 3 big guns compared to the American's 6 smaller guns. In theory these two choices should have balanced out since the Sabre was more likely to get a hit, but when the MiG did hit it did more damage. In practice, however since the MiG was less armoured so the F-86's smaller shells were just as effective and the greater number tipped the balance towards the Americans. Due to these differences the F-86 pilots had to avoid the temptation to get into a turning fight, instead they used their greater stability and greater number of guns to gain dominance at a longer range. 

    These planes were complete opposites and yet they will be remembered as being like warring twins. On one side you had the light nimble plane which packed a hard punch, and in the other hand there was the heavy tough fighter which could hit quickly. In many ways the relationship is much like that which existed in WWII between Japanese Zeros and heavier American types - and as in that conflict, the US came out on top. There are many theories as to why this was, some believe that it was the F-86's ability to absorb battle damage, while others believe that it was the superior training. Due to the fact that the Sabre's kill ratio was 14:1 over the more manoeuvrable MiG, it would appear that it was pilot skill and training that was the dominant factor. These however are official figures, and it is becoming a generally accepted fact that the actual figure was closer to 3:1. This great parity is a fantastic testament to mankind that two completely separate sets of designers can create two aircraft so close in ability, and creates an interesting quirk of history - that a slightly inferior aircraft can gain dominance over another due to on-ground factors. It also sums up the Cold War relationship between Eastern and Western technologies, where the USA would pull out the stops financially whereas the Soviets may not have the resources to fully backup their equipment to the same level.

    In the end, this clash of titans was not decided by the titans themselves, rather it was the pilots which made all the difference. The legacy of this great battle will live on for a long time, as strong as any other rivalry and as close as any other match - it truly was a bout of epic scale.

Specification:

Estimated from (Weight<empty> + ((Weight <full> - Weight <empty>)/2)) - sounds complicated, but it gives a figure (albeit a bit low)