Soviet MiG-15 Aces of the Korean War (Aircraft of the Aces, 82)

This book provides one of our first detailed - WONDERFULLY detailed - looks at Russian Mig pilots in the Korean War, including marvelous first hand accounts of combat as well as excellent unit records. This is the first book on the subject that I've ever seen with this level of detail - it wasn't long ago when the Russians wouldn't even ACKNOWLEDGE they had pilots in Korea.When reading this book, it's important to keep in mind that Krylov and Tepsurkaev probably had to secure the goodwill of their Russian sources in order to get such great access. Obviously, these pilots aren't going to grant interviews to someone planning a hatchet job on their military careers. Thus, the reader shouldn't be surprised that the narrative advocates and honors not just the pilots themselves, but also their interpretation of the war. Thus, you will not see any mention that these guys weren't "supposed" to be there while at the same time field a lot of strident complaints about US conduct and kill claims (I still wonder why excess US claims couldn't have been North Korean or Chinese pilots?)This "bias" may be irritating to some, but the first person accounts and detailed Russian records make it a price abundantly worth paying. Furthermore, the authors weave their way through this political minefield by diligently researching and cross referencing both US and Russian records for every encounter. The results are a rather embarrassing parade of inflated claims by both sides, with people becoming great heroes and aces for stuff that simply didn't happen. Both sides were struggling to adapt to the new speed and range of jet combat, with afterburner smoke all too often being mistaken for a dying aircraft.If you haven't read Osprey books of this kind, you have to keep in mind that these books are about records, photos and paint schemes first and literature second. However, for those who want something dramatic, visceral insight is actually very easy to get: just skip to ANYTHING written in quotes. There you'll find a wealth of white knuckle accounts as flesh and blood as any: "There was no way out. I headed right into the shell bursts. The aircraft shook and was thrown from side to side as if it were taxiing on cobblestones. I gripped the control column tightly and sat there more dead than alive..."Obviously, the majority of encounters don't have the benefit of a personal interview, and are thus just what can be gleaned from combat reports: "Having fought his way past eight escorting Sabres, Snr Lt Evgeniy Stelmakh single-handedly attacked four B-29s and managed to shoot one of them down..."If you want to actually decipher who was where when, I strongly recommend that first you download a few maps of Korea. Even so, the majority of the book is a torrent of facts, names and unit numbers, and if you're not writing things down it'll make your head spin: "17th and 523rd IAPs joined battle with the attacking fighter-bombers, while 14 MiGs from 18th GvIAP, which had climbed to 10,000 m (32,500 ft), were directed towards the B-29s..."I truly feel this book is a fabulous, ground breaking first step towards an understanding of Russian pilots in the Korean War, and with the aforementioned caveats in mind, it can serve you wonderfully no matter what your interest. Here is where its true wealth lies.

Back in September 2006, when I reviewed Warren Thompson's F-86 SABRE ACES OF THE 4TH FIGHTER WING, I commented that it would be great if Osprey had a "MiG-15 Aces of the Korean War" book in the works. Well, here 'tis...and not only is Leonid Krylov's book interesting but it's sure to be controversial as well.Russia committed many MiG-15 units to the Korean conflict. It's only recently that details of this large-scale but top-secret involvement has been documented. SOVIET MiG-15 ACES OF THE KOREAN WAR is based on 17 years of research in Russian archives and interviews with 64th Fighter Air Corps pilots.First of all, Krylov does an admirable job of relating the Korean air battles from the Soviet side including many first-hand reminiscences and combat reports. By war's end 52 Soviet MiG-15 pilots claimed five or more kills, 13 of those claimed ten or more victories. In terms of F-86s alone, those MiG pilots were credited with downing 574 Sabres while losing 335 MiGs in return...and therein lies the rub.According to USAF sources, F-86s downed over 790 MiG-15s while losing 78 Sabres in return. 78 losses vs. 574 claims; 790 claims vs. 335 losses; hmm!?! If you factor in Chinese MiGs downed by F-86s, you'll probably get close to the 790 American claims but how to reconcile the 78/574 figures?!? In truth, Krylov's book could be subtitled: "Few of These Losses Tally with USAF Figures." To his credit, Krylov, time and again, points out the disparity between Soviet and American claims/loss figures but the overall impression is one of tremendous overclaiming by the Soviets.Pilots such as Oskin, Pepelyaev, Sutyagin, Shchukin and Kramarenko were obviously skilled pilots; some had been aces in WWII. They obviously triumphed over some USAF F-86 pilots - including a few top aces - but it will take monumental research to come to a final, accurate Korean air war tally.In the meantime, SOVIET MiG-15 ACES OF THE KOREAN WAR is a good start; an obviously well-researched and well-written overview of the topic. It includes over 70 rare photographs of pilots, aircraft and gun-camera scenes. (Given the awful footage MiG-15 gun-cameras produced, it's no wonder there is such overclaiming!) Yuriy Tepsurkaev also contributes nine pages of nicely done color profiles. I would have loved an index and also a map since the MiG pilots kept referring to Korea Bay, Cape Unzenly, etc.Short and sweet summary: Highly recommended.

I thought the book was interesting read it though some political stuff but that was due the very real war with little or know thoughts that killed hundreds of thousands and made homeless millions more Korean people with out anything being resolved.

This is an excellent look at the MiG pilots who flew aircraft marked as PLA and North Korean fighters. During the Cold War the USSR never acknowledged the involvement of its pilots in Korea (despite the fact that Russian voice intercepts were monitored during aerial combat) and public acknoeledgement of their accomplishments were not made. Many of these pilots were WWII veterans who had gained notoriety fighting the Luftwaffe.For the first time we learn the names of many of these pilots, we see their pictures and we learn what units they were assigned to. The artwork illustrating the paint schemes on the MiG-15s flown during the war is very well done as well. It's a pity that no map is included to outline the operational areas where the MiGs flew.Also, the Russian author never discusses the REASON for the secrecy surrounding these pilots or the great lengths the Soviets went to perpetuate the cover story that North Korean and Chinese pilots against UN forces. Political constraints put artificial limitations on the Soviet pilots, preventing them from flying over areas in which they might be captured if shot down. I would have liked to have learned what the pilots thought of all this.Nevertheless, a very good book.

Nice book in perfect Osprey style. Nice selection of pictures, some very rare, and a good number of colors profiles. A must for everyone interested in Korea air war, with the view of the life of the " enemy " pilots. Strongly recommend

Good account from Russian side of Korean War. I would have liked more illustrations of Russian aircraft used in Korea as well as more details of all of the Russian aircraft used in that conflict.

Sehr gut recherchiert, viele neue Erkenntnisse, Fotomaterial teilweise von schlechter Qualität aber sehr interessant, sehr guteFarb- und Risszeichnungen dazu.

朝鮮戦争ではMiG-15が鮮烈なデビューを飾りましたが、本書は開戦時から1953年7月までMiG-15で戦ったソ連人パイロットの空戦記です。本書は活動の期間を6つの章に分けています。基幹となったのは中華人民共和国空軍パイロットの練成と中国の防空を担った第64戦闘機軍団で、軍団を構成する師団がローテーションでソ連国内の戦闘機師団が派遣されて戦うのですが、ローテーションの中にはサハリン駐屯の海軍航空隊もあったようで、軍団の指揮官には第二次大戦のソ連のトップエース　イワン　コジェドブが任命された時期もあったようです。本書の著者はソ連人の挙げた戦果と損失、相手側の戦果と損失を照合して、可能な限り空戦の実態を明らかにしようとしています。この本全体を見て感じるのは空戦の戦果と相手機の識別の困難さです。特に速度が速くなりそれが更に困難になるジェット機同士の空戦で顕著になった印象です。基本はMiG-15の空戦ですが夜間迎撃戦に参加したレシプロのラヴォチキンLa-11の空戦記もあります。また記事の中で当初シルバー塗装だったので被視認性が高く順次迷彩を採用していった話や第二次大戦のMe262戦闘機に対して行った様に基地の周囲で待ち伏せし離着陸時に攻撃されかなりの損害が発生したことなどが解ります。本文には多数のガンカメラ映像等のモノクロ写真とカラー塗装図（中国の国籍マークを施した機体→北朝鮮の国籍マークを施した機体→迷彩塗装を施した機体）等が視覚情報を補ってくれます。付録として第64戦闘機軍団の傘下で行動した戦闘機師団の（活動期間と基地）リストとエースリスト（こちらはエースになった順なので総撃墜数など見にくい感じです）があります。ソ連側から見た空戦の模様と、その裏付け調査も行った良書だと思います。