The most recent book from the folks at Specialty Press is this one on the MiG-15. In most respects, the Soviet version of the F-86 Sabre in terms of development, performance and eventual world-wide usage.

Developed as a result of work done by German scientists working for Soviet airframe makers and the stupidity of the British in allowing their most modern turbojet engines to be exported (and copied) by Soviet engine manufacturers, the MiG-15 was quite an unpleasant surprise to Allied nations fighting in Korea in late 1950. Here was an aircraft that was either the equal or superior to the best that the US and Britain had to offer.

Comparison to the F-86 is inevitable as they are now so closely tied together as a result of Korean War experience. In a nutshell, the MiG-15 was lighter (so could climb better), had more powerful armament (cannon vs machine guns), and was easier to maintain. The Sabre was faster in a straight line, could dive better (thanks to having a smaller cross section)  and had a bit more range. The Sabre used an axial flow turbojet while the MiG used the more rugged centrifugal flow version. Both aircraft were used by dozens of Air Forces and the MiGs (at least in the trainer version) lasted well into the 1990s.

Specialty Press' book on the MiG-15 covers the full history of this famous aircraft. It has a full development history, including prototype aircraft as well as a complete airframe and systems description. There is also a rather large section on the different countries that have used the aircraft and a most interesting section on its use in combat over the decades, including Korean War service.

Also as is the norm with this series, there are a huge number of photos (over 300) and a large color section. Appendices include a variant table, production table and a section for modelers. This last section is always of interest to me, just to see what is mentioned (or what is omitted). The author of this section has done a fine job of covering most of the available kits, but has somehow missed the Dragon/DML MiG-15s. Perhaps a lack of space as he is only given two pages.

Once again, an outstanding book from the fine folks at Specialty Press. This is another MUST HAVE .

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