Last War of the Superfortresses: MiG-15 versus B-29 in the Korean War 1950-53

A detailed account of the confrontations between Soviet MiG-15s and US B-29 bombers during the Korean War.

In Last War of the Superfortresses the authors provide a detailed history of the confrontation between Soviet fighters and the United States Far East Air Force’s B-29 ‘Superfortress’ bombers during the Korean War of 1950–1953, drawing on Military documents in the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation in Podolsk as well as published Western sources. The recollections of pilots who served in the 64th Fighter Air Corps, and who participated personally in the events described, are also widely used. Almost all the battles that took place between Soviet fighters and the ‘Superfortresses’ are analyzed in detail and the authors have, on the basis of a comparison of Soviet archive documents and data from published Western sources, attempted to clarify the actual losses on both sides in these battles.

Particular attention has been paid to key events in the history of the confrontation between the MiG-15 and B-29 such as the air battles of April and October 1951, which had a significant impact on the course of the Korean War and influenced the development of military aviation in both the USSR and the USA. Extensive losses in combat with the MiGs served as one of the most influential arguments for curtailing the piston engine B-36 and B-50 bomber programs and boosting development of one of the most famous aircraft in the history of global aviation – the B-52 ‘Stratofortress.’

The authors analyze the advantages and the disadvantages of the La-11 and the MiG-15bis – the principal fighters of the 64th Fighter Air Corps – from the point of view of their ability to intercept the B-29s. Attention has been paid to the tactics of the opposing sides, and to how these changed over the course of the war, along with the technical aspects of the confrontation between Soviet fighters and ‘Superfortresses’.





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