MiG-15bis 7616, U.S. Air Force (1:72)

In 1948 Russia developed a jet fighter with 35 degree swept-wings and named it the l-310. The plane performed poorly because of the under powered engine. At this time Britain donated a new far superior Rolls-Royce Nene engine to Russia who quickly copied the engine and renamed the Klimov RD-45. The l-310 with the new engine was renamed the MiG-15 and in 1950 a new variant with improved avionics and an even more powerful engine took to the sky as the MiG-15bis.

On September 21, 1953 a defecting North Korea pilot No Kum-Sok flew his MiG-15bis '2057' to South Korea. Anxious to recover valuable intelligence data the aircraft under went considerable test flying. One of the test pilots was Chuck Yeager and the other was Tom Collins who is the reason for the TC on the aircraft. Eventually the US offered to return the aircraft to its rightful owners but there was no response. In 1957 the aircraft was transferred to the National Museum of the USAF for public display.

Specifications (MiG-15bis)

Country of origin - Russia
Manufacturer - Mikoyan-Gurevich
Role ' fighter/interceptor
Crew ' 1 X pilot

Performance
Engine - 1 X 5,952 pound thrust Klimov VK-1 turbojet
Maximum Speed at Sea Level - 668mph (1,075km/hr)
Ceiling - 50,855ft. (15.5km)
Range - 1,156miles (1860km)

Weight
Empty - 8,115lbs. (3,681kg)
Max Takeoff - 13,327lbs. (6,045kg)

Dimensions
Wing Span ' 33ft. 0.75in. (10,08m)
Length ' 35ft. 7.5in. (10,86m)
Height ' 12ft. 1.75in. (3,70m)

Armament
1 X 37-mm N-37 cannon
2 X 23-mm NS-23 or NR-23 cannon
Up to 1,100 pounds of mixed stores on under-wing hard-points