Korean War Fighter Aircraft 1950 - 1953

The Korean War between North Korea and South Korea began on the 25th June 1950, and lasted until an Armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953.

As WW II came to a close, in September 1945, the Soviets liberated the northern part of Korea above the 38th parallel from the Japanese occupiers, and the USA liberated the southern part from the Japanese occupiers. This led to the splitting of Korea with a northern Government adopting Communism, and a southern Government Capitalism.

In an attempt to unify North & South Korea, backed by Stalin and using Soviet weapons, the Communist North led by Kim Il-sung, invaded the South on Sunday 25th June 1950.

The first large scale Foreign Military intervention by US & United Nations forces began on the 5th July 1950. The War escalated again after China joined forces with North Korea later that year, with Chinese troops fighting US troops for the first time on the 1st November 1950.

An armistice was signed on the 27th July 1953, after the death of about 400,000 South Koreans and 500,000 North Koreans. Foreign servicemen killed were about 33,000 US, 2,100 UN, and 110,000 Chinese.

P-80 Shooting Star 1945, U.S., 600 mph

The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first operational Jet Fighter of the United States, being used extensively in the Korean War. The first Jet to Jet Aircraft battle took place on the 8th November 1950. That encounter led to Lieutenant Russell J. Brown, flying an F-80, claiming he shot down a MiG-15. Later encounters soon proved the straight-wing F-80s lacked the performance of the MiGs.

The arrival of the US designed F-86 Sabers at the end of 1950 early 1951, led to the Shooting Star being used more for ground attack and flight training. Armed with 6 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns.
Wiki Page . Large Images

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 1949, Russian, 668 mph

The MiG-15 was one of the first swept wing Jet Fighters that became famous during the Korea War, where early in the War, it was superior to all western Fighters. The MiG 15 was first seen in the Korean War in November 1950. The success of the MiG against the U.S. F-80s and British WWII designed Gloster Meteors, led to the U.S. rushing their F-86 Sabres to Korea with the first entering the war in December 1950.

The arrival of the F-86 Sabres led to one of the closest matched battles between any two Fighter Aircraft, as there was little difference in performance.

The MiG-15 was Armed with 20, 25, 30 or 40 mm cannon.
Wiki Page . Large Images

F-86 Sabre 1949, U.S., 690 mph

The F-86 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1949, becoming their top air-to-air Jet Fighter used in the Korean War. The F-86 was claimed to be able to out-turn and out-dive a MiG-15, but the MiG-15 could fly higher, accelerate faster, and climb faster.

By the end of the War, the US claimed F-86s shot down 792 MiGs, with a loss of 76 F-86, a victory ratio of about 10 - 1. This was said to be for MiGs flown by poorly trained Chinese or North Korean pilots.

Russian pilots flying MiGs in Korea, claimed a 2 - 1 kill ratio in favour of the MiG-15.

The F-86 Sabre was armed with 6 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns.
Wiki Page . Large Images

One of the most disastrous mistakes of WWII turned out to be Great Britain sending six Rolls-Royce 'Nenes' Jet Engines to Russia soon after the end of the War. Copies of that Engine powered the MiG-15 in Korea.