Meritorious Jet Fighter, Wang Hai's MiG-15.
The latest addition to the site is one of the greatest combat aircraft built; the truly meritorious Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15. Since the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), that is, the naughty Korea is in the news so much, I thought I'd focus on a few aircraft with connections to the so-called 'Hermit Kingdom'. The first is this rather historic MiG-15 on display in the Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution in Beijing. It was the mount of Chinese fighter pilot Wang Hai, who is credited with shooting down and damaging some nine enemy aircraft during the Korean War. Although there are nine stars on MiG-15 s/n 119079, not all his kills were made in this machine. Although it wears the markings of the Korean People's Army Air Force (KPAAF), it is possible that it is not a North Korean machine, as it is covered in tiny stencils in Chinese. During the Korean War, the PLAAF received a considerable number of MiG-15s, sending four aviation divisions of the type to fight; Wang flew with the Third Fighter Aviation Division during the war, with which it is likely 119079 served, as there is no evidence that Wang actually flew for the KPAAF. Anyway, the museum's display board for this prized item in the museum's collection translates as the Meritorious Jet Fighter, a well deserved title for a significant survivor. Click on the image to go to 119079's page.
