The MiG-15 was a bomber-killer whose prey were the B-29 Superfortresses pounding North Korea. Accustomed to having the most advanced aircraft, the Americans were shocked to encounter the light, fast, maneuverable and heavily-armed MiG-15 (whose engines were copies of British jet engines that London had thoughtfully provided after WWII as a goodwill gesture). The technological protagonists were different, yet curiously well-matched. It was a battle much more for the prestige of the nations engaged-and the reputation of their respective aerospace industries-and for the glory of the fighter pilots involved than for its effect on the conduct or the outcome of the conflict," write authors Douglas Dildy and Warren Thompson in F-86 Sabre vs MiG-15: Korea 1950-53 by Osprey Publishing. "Here, the best from both sides sparred and dueled, fought and killed-or died-in an arena almost completely detached from the World War I-like trench warfare far below to the south, and even from the results of the war as a whole.
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