MiG-15

The MiG-15 was a single-seat transonic jet fighter designed by the Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich bureau, entering Soviet service in 1949. It was among the first successful jet fighters to use swept wings to fly efficiently near the speed of sound, a feature that gave it a decisive performance advantage over the straight-winged jet and propeller fighters it met early in the Korean War, most famously in engagements against American F-86 Sabres along the Yalu River. Production was extensive: the MiG-15 is believed to be one of the most-produced jet aircraft in history, with more than 13,000 built in the Soviet Union alone, plus several thousand more manufactured under license in China, Poland and Czechoslovakia. Its combat debut over Korea alerted Western air forces to the pace of Soviet jet development and directly spurred accelerated fighter programs in the United States and its allies.