I enjoy see the gun pictures of the MIG when they are engaging American aircraft. The authors do an execllent job explaining how difficult it was for the Russians to verified the kills. However, there was nothing about in the book about the Russians getting together with the North Korean authorities to strengthen the radar stations and ground observers system, to help verified the air kills easily and quickly for the pilots. The Germans had a such system in World War I and World War II. In addition, the Germans had to maintain visual sight of their victims crashing to the ground while at the same time they had to avoid being shot down. Furthermore, the German pilots had to fill out very detailed combat reports in order to get confirmation of the victories.

Finally, the book does not given the political, social, and military circumstances why the Russian government send its pilots to fight in Korea. The Russian pilots just did not decide to go to Korea on their own free will for the heck of it. In addition, there was no mention of how many of the Russian MIG aces were aces from World War II.

Leonid Krylov and Yuriy Tepsurkaev's SOVIET MIG-15 ACES OF THE KOREAN WAR joins others in Osprey's 'Aircraft of the Aces' series, providing a comprehensive survey of how the USSR's top planes performed and made a big difference in Korea, surveying the first generation of jet fighters in Korea. Pilot exploits are covered in black and white and color, here.

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 not 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.

Well written by Leonid Krylov,this is a rare look through its excellent narration, vintage photography and drawings of the Soviet air crews participation in the Korean War on the side of its allies North Korea and Red China. This historical and very descriptive books reveals the photographs, the Mig-15 jet fighters and some other Russian aircraft, names and rank of the Soviet pilots (some of them dead in dogfights)during this conflict 1950-1953.
I highly recommend this book to all military aviation enthusiasts as well as military historians.

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.

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.

Nevertheless, a very good book.

Although a wide literature can be found about the USAF heroes in the Korean War, the Soviet paper was secret till recent years, but it included several pilots with over 20kills in that war.
This book offers an exhaustive view of the "Honchos" in that war, written unit by unit, day by day.
All kills are discussed, comparing gun camera footage, Soviet and North Korean papers and compares it to USAF accounts.
The book also includes a lot of contemporary footage (B/W, of course) and a lot of colour profiles of great interest for the modeller.
A must for every enthusiastinc in History (Both sides must be accounted), Modellers and MiG and VVS fans.

The book seems to be very well researched, with first hand sources. The book has a major oversite, there are no operational maps! It makes it difficult to follow where the events are happening. The author made an effort to cross reference the sources of the air to air kills, from both US and Soviet, PLAAF, and North Korean. There are lots of good color MiG-15 plates. I highly recommend it if you are interested in the "other sides" experience.

It was an eye-opener to read this book. Not so many years ago it was not widely known that any Russian pilots flew in North Korean Mig-15s during the Korean War. We thought that there were a few, but now we are presented with a study that discloses that many Russian pilots were indeed behind the controls of those Migs.
This work also emphasizes the fact that "kills" are complex numbers that are dependent on many factors. With the numbers that the Russians claim vs the numbers our side claimed, it seems that once again the true numbers are somewhere in the middle.
This work also reinforces the fact that whatever the ideology, pilots are a pretty consistent and universal breed: Professionals performing their duties.