Mikoyan–Gurevich MiG-15bis
Stepping outside the hanger into the hot noontime Arizona sun, we encounter a Mikoyan–Gurevich MiG-15bis. It was built in late 1950/early 1951 then sent to China. The markings are of the North Korean Air Force. According to Wikipedia, "The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in most applications. The MiG-15 also served as the starting point for development of the more advanced MiG-17. The MiG-15 is believed to have been the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made, with over 12,000 built. Licensed foreign production perhaps raised the total to over 18,000. The MiG-15 is often mentioned along with the North American F-86 Sabre as among the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War and in comparisons with fighters of other eras." The MiG-15 incorporated 2 23mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23KM cannons (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total) plus 1 37mm NL-37D cannon (40 rounds). Externally, it carried 2 100 kg (220 lb) bombs, drop tanks, or unguided rockets on under-wing hard points. The drop tanks are pictured here.
Size: 7360px × 4907px
Location: Mesa, AZ
Photo credit: © B. David Cathell / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: 15, 15bis, 23km, air, aircraft, arizona, bdavid, cannons, commemorative, confederate, fighter, force, gurevich, jet, mig, mikoyan, nr, nr-23km, nudelman, nudelman-rikhter, rikhter, swept, swept-wing, warbirds, wing
