Korean War 1950 1953 casualties table. What combat losses did the USSR suffer in the Korean War?

Between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

The war was fought with the participation of the Chinese military contingent and military specialists and units of the USSR Air Force on the side of the DPRK, and on the side of South Korea - the US armed forces and a number of states as part of the UN multinational forces.

The preconditions for the Korean War were laid in the summer of 1945, when Soviet and American troops appeared on the territory of the country, at that time completely occupied by Japan. The peninsula was divided into two parts along the 38th parallel.
After the formation of two Korean states in 1948 and the departure of first Soviet and then American troops from the peninsula, both Korean sides and their main allies, the USSR and the USA, were preparing for conflict. The governments of the North and South intended to unite Korea under their own rule, which they proclaimed in the Constitutions adopted in 1948.
In 1948, the United States and the Republic of Korea signed an agreement to create the South Korean army. In 1950, a defense agreement was concluded between these countries.

In North Korea, with the help of the Soviet Union, the Korean People's Army was created. After the withdrawal of the Soviet Army troops from the DPRK in September 1948, all weapons and military equipment were left to the DPRK. The Americans withdrew their troops from South Korea only in the summer of 1949, but left about 500 advisers there; military advisers to the USSR remained in the DPRK.
The mutual non-recognition of the two Korean states by each other and their incomplete recognition on the world stage made the situation on the Korean Peninsula extremely unstable.
Armed clashes along the 38th parallel occurred with varying degrees of intensity until June 25, 1950. They happened especially often in 1949 - the first half of 1950, numbering in the hundreds. Sometimes these skirmishes involved more than a thousand people on each side.
In 1949, the head of the DPRK, Kim Il Sung, turned to the USSR with a request for help in invading South Korea. However, considering the North Korean army to be insufficiently prepared and fearing a conflict with the United States, Moscow did not grant this request.

Despite the start of negotiations, hostilities continued. A large-scale air war broke out in the air, in which the US Air Force and Navy played the main role on the South side, and the Soviet 64th Fighter Air Corps on the North side.

By the spring of 1953, it became obvious that the price of victory for either side would be too high, and, after Stalin's death, the Soviet party leadership decided to end the war. China and North Korea did not dare to continue the war on their own. Opening of a memorial cemetery in memory of those killed in the Korean WarIn the capital of the DPRK, as part of the celebration of the anniversary of the end of the Patriotic War of 1950-1953, a memorial cemetery was opened in memory of the victims. The ceremony was attended by the country's top party and military officials. The truce between the DPRK, China and the UN was documented on July 27, 1953.

The human losses of the parties to an armed conflict are assessed differently. The total losses of the South in killed and wounded are estimated in the range from 1 million 271 thousand to 1 million 818 thousand people, of the North - from 1 million 858 thousand to 3 million 822 thousand people.
According to official American data, the United States lost 54,246 people killed and 103,284 people wounded in the Korean War.
The USSR lost a total of 315 people in Korea killed and died from wounds and diseases, including 168 officers. Over the course of 2.5 years of participation in hostilities, the 64th Air Corps lost 335 MiG-15 fighters and over 100 pilots, having shot down over a thousand enemy aircraft.
The total losses of the air forces of the parties amounted to more than three thousand aircraft of the UN forces and about 900 aircraft of the air forces of the People's Republic of China, the DPRK and the USSR.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Original taken from thinker_up V

Original taken from mondor1 The US losses in the Korean War are not just losses, but the first defeat in their history.

Original taken from pravdoiskatel77 The US losses in the Korean War are not just losses, but the first defeat in their history.

The Korean War (June 25, 1950 - July 27, 1953), which was the center of international attention, ended with an armistice after three years of bitter fighting. But this war, even today, almost 60 years later, finds its undiminished echo in people’s souls.
First defeat for the USA

Confident in their strength, the United States began aggression in Korea on June 25, 1950. The Yankees' self-confidence is not surprising: in the entire history of the American state, the United States has not suffered a single defeat. To capture the Korean Peninsula, they mobilized 30% of their ground forces, one-fifth of the Air Force, large units of the Pacific Fleet, the armies of 15 satellite countries, the South Korean army, the remnants of the defeated former Japanese army, of which there were more than two million. More than 70 million tons of military materials were thrown into the war, which was 11 times the amount spent by the United States in the Pacific campaigns.
The losses suffered by the United States in the Korean War were incredibly high. Lost 1,567,128 bayonets killed, wounded and captured, including 405,498 American soldiers. The KPA captured, damaged and destroyed 12,224 enemy aircraft, 3,064 tanks, 191 armored cars, 13,350 combat vehicles, 564 ships and vessels, 7,695 guns. Captured 925,152 small arms, 224,123 grenades, 14,449 mines, 5,788 pieces of communication equipment. US losses in the Korean War were twice as high as those in the four-year Pacific campaigns. The American newspaper "US News and World Report" writes regarding US losses in the Korean War: "US troop losses are 2 times greater than losses in 5 major wars - the War of Independence, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the American-Spanish War , war with the Philippines".
US losses in the Korean War are not just losses, but the first defeat in their history.
The barbarity of American troops

In their brutality and cruelty, the atrocities of US troops in the Korean War were unparalleled in the human imagination. “Kill just anyone”, “kill everyone living” - observing this order, the aggressors without a twinge of conscience committed unimaginable barbarities - doused living people with gasoline and burned them, buried them alive in the ground, cut off ears and noses, gouged out eyes, tore off skin... In During the war, Americans killed over 230,000 North Koreans.
In October 1950, during the period of temporary occupation of the North Korean county of Sinchon, the aggressors killed more than 35 thousand residents - a quarter of the entire population of the county. Among those killed were 16,234 children, old people and women.
American troops destroyed the cities and villages of North Korea to the ground. For example, more than 428,700 bombs were dropped on Pyongyang alone, i.e., one bomb per resident of the city. Calculating North Korea's losses, the Americans arrogantly declared: Even a century would not be enough for Korea to get back on its feet.
The atrocities of the US Army did not stop there. In gross violation of international law, biochemical weapons were used on a massive scale. From January to April 1952 alone, large quantities of containers with poisonous insects and bacteria were dropped on more than a hundred cities and counties in the DPRK. Not only the front line, but also the deep rear, peaceful cities, villages and fishing villages were subjected to napalm bombing.
In its report, the Commission of Inquiry of the International Democratic Federation of Women, after its work at the crime scene of American troops, exposes: “Such mass murders and torture in their cruelty exceed the atrocities of the Nazi fascists in the countries of Europe they temporarily occupied.” One of the French newspapers reports: “The biggest crimes of the 20th century were committed by US troops on the Korean Peninsula.”

After Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 Korea became part of the Japanese Empire. At the end of World War II, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition agreed that the Russians would disarm Japanese troops in the northern part of the country, and American troops in the southern part. The United Nations was going to grant Korea full independence. For this purpose, at the end of 1947, a UN commission was sent to the country to organize national elections. But by this point " cold war The conflict between the Western and Eastern blocs was already in full swing, and the USSR refused to recognize the authority of the commission in its zone of occupation.

In the south of the Korean Peninsula, under the supervision of a UN commission, elections were held and in August 1948 the state of South Korea was created, headed by the President. Lee Seung Man. The USSR organized its own elections in North Korea, and in September 1948 Stalin's protege came to power Kim Il Sung, who remained the leader of the country until his death in July 1994. Soviet troops withdrew from the Korean Peninsula, and in July 1949 the Americans did the same. Stalin, however, left the North Korean army far better armed than its southern neighbor. Relations between the two Koreas were very tense.

Less than a year later, on June 25, 1950, North Korean forces began the war with a surprise attack. They crossed the 38th parallel, along which the state border between the two Koreas passed. Their goal was to overthrow the South Korean government and unify the country under the rule of Kim Il Sung.

Poorly armed and poorly trained South Korean troops were unable to repel aggression from the north. Three days later, the country's capital, Seoul, surrendered to North Korean troops, who continued to advance south on a broad front. South Korea turned to the UN for help. Since January 1950, the Soviet Union refused to participate in the work of the UN due to the presence there as a permanent member of the Security Council from China of the ambassador of the Nationalist regime Chiang Kai-shek, and not from Mao's communist government. Therefore, the USSR was unable to veto the UN ultimatum to North Korea to withdraw troops. When this ultimatum was ignored by Kim Il Sung, the Security Council called on member states to provide military and other assistance to South Korea.

American naval and air forces immediately began deploying. On July 1, 1950, the first contingents of U.S. ground troops under the NATO flag, airlifted from Japan, arrived at the war front in Busan, a port on the extreme southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Additional contingents arrived by sea over the next few days. However, they were too weak and soon fled along with the South Korean troops. By the end of July, all of South Korea, with the exception of a small southeastern bridgehead around the port of Busan, had been captured by North Korean troops.

The general, who had previously led the Allied fight against the Japanese in the southwest Pacific, was appointed Supreme Commander of the UN forces in the Korean War. He organized the defense of the Pusan ​​Perimeter and by the end of August achieved double numerical superiority over the North Koreans, preparing a decisive counter-offensive.

MacArthur came up with a daring plan. He ordered an amphibious landing at Inchon in the northwestern Korean Peninsula to divert the attention of the North Koreans from the Pusan ​​bridgehead and facilitate its breakthrough.

The Inchon landing operation began on September 15, 1950. The landing involved American and South Korean Marines, who took the North Koreans by surprise, and Inchon was captured the next day. Then an American infantry division was transferred to the military area. The Americans launched an offensive deep into Korea and liberated Seoul on September 28.

On September 19, 1950, the breakthrough of the Busan perimeter began. This offensive completely threw the North Korean ranks into disarray, and on October 1, their troops fled in disarray across the 38th parallel. But the UN forces did not stop at the border of North Korea, but rushed deep into its territory. On the 19th they entered the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Nine days later, UN forces reached the Yalu River, on the border between North Korea and China.

Counterattack by anti-communist forces in 1950. Landing site shown at Inchon

Such a rapid change in the situation worried the communist government Mao Zedong, which was one of the main organizers of the Korean War. During October 1950, 180,000 Chinese soldiers were secretly and quickly deployed across the border. The bitter Korean winter has arrived. On November 27, 1950, the Chinese launched a surprise attack on UN forces, quickly sending them into disorderly flight. The lightly armed Chinese were accustomed to the winter cold, and by the end of December 1950 they reached the 38th parallel. Unable to hold them here either, the UN forces retreated even further to the south.

Seoul fell again, but by this time the Chinese offensive had lost its momentum, and UN troops managed to launch a counteroffensive. Seoul was again liberated, and Chinese and North Korean troops were driven beyond the 38th parallel. The Korean War front has stabilized.

At this stage, a split occurred in the UN forces. General MacArthur, considered the best soldier in American history, wanted to strike what he called the Chinese “sanctuary,” an area north of the Yalu River that served as an outpost for Chinese offensive operations. He was even ready to use nuclear weapons. President of the U.S.A Truman horrified by this prospect, fearing that it would provoke the Soviet Union to launch a nuclear attack on Western Europe and start a third world war. MacArthur was recalled and replaced by American General Matthew Ridgway, commander of the American Eighth Army in Korea.

Towards the end of April 1951, the Chinese launched another offensive. They managed to penetrate South Korea despite heavy losses. Once again, UN forces counterattacked and drove the Chinese and North Koreans twenty to thirty miles north of the 38th parallel.

Front line changes during the Korean War

At the end of June, the first signs appeared that the Chinese were ready for peace negotiations. On July 8, 1951, a meeting of representatives of the warring parties took place aboard a Danish ambulance ship in Wonsan Bay on the east coast of North Korea. However, it soon became clear that the Chinese were in no hurry to end the Korean War, although the UN was ready to agree to the permanent division of Korea along the 38th parallel. However, after a serious defeat, the Chinese needed time to recuperate. Therefore, they favorably greeted the UN's refusal to further offensive operations.

So both sides moved to trench warfare, which was reminiscent of the situation on the Western Front. First World War in 1915 - 1917. The defensive lines on both sides consisted of barbed wire fences, trenches with parapets made of sandbags, and deep dugouts. A major difference between the Korean War of 1950-1953 and the First World War was the widespread use of minefields. The UN forces had a significant advantage in firepower, but the Chinese and North Koreans had superior numbers.

At least sixteen countries sent troops to fight in Korea under the UN flag, and five more countries provided medical assistance. America made the largest contribution, and countries that sent troops included Britain, Belgium, Turkey, Greece, Colombia, India, the Philippines and Thailand.

At sea, the UN forces had an overwhelming advantage. Airplanes from aircraft carriers attacked North Korean territory. And the UN troops had superiority in the air. The Korean War of 1950-1953 was marked by the first air battles using exclusively jet aircraft - American F-86 Sabers fought with Soviet MiG-15s. Allied bombers, including the giant B-29s that dropped atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, attacked North Korean communications. Stormtroopers were also widely used, often with napalm bombs.

In the Korean War, attack helicopters had their say for the first time. During World War II, helicopters were rarely used, mainly for rescue missions. Now they have demonstrated their effectiveness as means of reconnaissance and detection of enemy artillery, as well as transport for the transfer of personnel and evacuation of the wounded.

There was no progress in the negotiations until mid-1953. It was not only the Chinese who created difficulties in finding a compromise. South Koreans opposed the idea of ​​two Koreas. In response, the Chinese launched a new decisive offensive in June 1953. Then the UN began to act over the head of South Korea, and while the Chinese offensive continued, a ceasefire agreement was signed on July 27, 1953 in Panmunjom.

The Korean War of 1950-1953 cost both sides almost two and a half million killed and wounded, including almost a million Chinese. She failed to end the hostility between the two Koreas, which continues to this day.

During the Korean War, Mao Zedong's son, Mao Anying, was killed in an American air raid.

Today, North Korea, which has nuclear weapons and means of delivering them, is, according to Washington, an “evil empire.” The Americans are deploying missile defense systems on the Pacific coast and sending B-2 bombers to South Korea. And against this informational background, there is an excellent reason to remember the war that 60 years ago was already raging on the Korean Peninsula. This article provides facts thatVYou may not have known about the Korean War.

A Korean girl with her brother on her back wearily walks past an American M-26 tank
June 9, 1951.

1. Origin of the 38th parallel

In 1896, the governments of Japan and the Russian Empire signed an agreement on Korea, according to which the zone of influence of each side was limited to the 38th parallel. True, after the Russo-Japanese War in 1910, the Japanese captured the entire Korean Peninsula. After the end of World War II, the American State Department, when dividing spheres of influence with Moscow, without further ado, again returned to the 38th parallel. It was the crossing of this conventional line by North Korean troops in 1950 that led to the war. Today, the 38th parallel is the border between the two Korean states.

2. For Americans, this is not a war.

Officially, the Korean War was little more than a police operation, as President Harry Truman did not even bother asking Congress for permission to formally declare war.

3. The threat of using nuclear weapons

By 1950, the history of nuclear weapons was only five years old. And the parties that had it had plans to use it in future local conflicts - such as, for example, the Korean War. Thus, in the United States, the Joint Chiefs of Staff developed a plan for launching nuclear strikes against China in the event of a full-scale intervention of this country in the Korean conflict. There was also a plan to attack the Soviet Union, but it was rejected due to the opposition of the European allies, who feared an escalation of the situation in Europe. In any case, American plans envisaged the use of nuclear weapons only in the event of “final military defeat.”

4. North Koreans captured an American general

A month after the start of the fighting, on August 25, 1950, during a skirmish in the Tajon area, while assisting wounded soldiers, Major General William Dehn, commander of the 24th Infantry Division, was shell-shocked. The general was sent to the mountains, where he spent 36 days. Here he was given all possible medical assistance, since he was wounded. During the offensive, it was repulsed by South Korean soldiers, but during the evacuation to the rear it was again captured by the enemy. He remained in captivity until the end of the war.

5. Women's participation

About 86,300 Korean War veterans are women. This is approximately 7% of all veterans of this conflict.

6. There were partisan units in the American army during the war.

With the outbreak of the Korean War, the American command had the idea of ​​organizing a partisan movement behind enemy lines. Unofficially, a secret army unit No. 8240 was formed from the Rangers and other special forces. All instructors had experience in guerrilla warfare during the Second World War and were transferred behind the front line to organize resistance units. At the same time, they were without documents and were formally dismissed from the ranks of the armed forces. It was not until 1952 that soldiers and officers officially became part of the American Army Psychological Warfare Center. By that time they had managed to train approximately 38 thousand partisans.

7. Use of dogs

During the Korean War, the US Army used about 1,500 specially trained dogs.

8. Drugs in war

In the Western press of that period there are references that the first venous injections of amphetamine date back to the Korean War. Some soldiers took a mixture of amphetamine and heroin before the injection. A large number of participants in the military conflict returned home as drug addicts.

In the skies over Korea

It is well known that Soviet pilots took part in combat operations in Korea as part of air regiments that were based in China. What is less known is that Soviet pilots directly clashed with the Americans on several occasions. Thus, 13 naval aviation pilots were killed in battles in the skies of Korea, as well as over the waters of the Yellow and Sea of ​​Japan. The first such case was noted on November 18, 1952, when four MiG-15s flew from Vladivostok into the Sea of ​​Japan. The task of the group was to monitor the strike force of the aircraft carriers Oriskany and Princeton. In the area where American ships were maneuvering, Soviet aircraft were suddenly attacked by four carrier-based Panther fighters from the aircraft carrier Oriskany. The plane of Senior Lieutenant Vladimir Ivanovich Pakhomkin was the first to be shot down. The pilot tried to reach the airfield, but the plane fell into the sea and the pilot died. By this time, the Americans had brought 8 more vehicles to the battle area: 4 Panthers and 4 Benshees. As a result of a fierce battle in conditions of numerical superiority of the enemy, two more MiG-15 pilots, captain Nikolai Mikhailovich Belyakov and senior lieutenant Alexander Ivanovich Vandaev, were shot down, since Soviet pilots were forbidden to open fire outside the combat zone, the pilots – died. Only senior lieutenant Pushkarev returned to the airfield. On the American side, one Panther fighter was damaged. Immediately after the battle, the commander of the fighter corps, General Mironenko, sent a fighter regiment to the battle area. But the aircraft carrier, without waiting for an answer, gave full speed and disappeared.

And on July 27, 1953, a transport Il-14 of the Pacific Fleet Air Force was shot down in the sky over the Yellow Sea in the territorial waters of China. The crew and all passengers died, a total of 25 people, whose remains were buried in the capital of Primorye – Vladivostok.

However, Soviet pilots also had successes, which, unfortunately, have not yet been declassified to this day. The most famous incident was that of July 29, 1953, formally after the end of the Korean War. On that day, an American RB-50 reconnaissance aircraft from the 55th reconnaissance wing of the US Air Force in the Vladivostok area was intercepted by a pair of MiG-17 fighters from 88 IAP. As a result of an attack by the Rybakov-Yablonovsky pair, the plane was shot down. From the Japanese Misawa airfield, on alert, 4 aircraft of the American rescue squadron took off towards the scene of the incident. Towards evening, American planes sent to search for the downed reconnaissance aircraft noticed two groups of three or four people in the water. The presence of 12 fishing vessels nearby was also recorded.

Throughout the day, American ships searched for the pilots, covering an area of ​​3,300 square miles. But, despite all efforts, of the 11 crew members and 6 electronic intelligence specialists, only one was found - co-pilot John Roche.

10. The Korean War is still not over

On July 27, 1953, American Lieutenant General William Harrison and North Korean General Nam Il signed an armistice agreement in Panmunjong. It was then signed by Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army of North Korea Kim Il Sung, Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army Peng Dehuai and UN Commander-in-Chief Clark.

The document stated that the truce was valid until the “signing of the final peace treaty.” Thus, the conflict has not been formally ended for more than sixty years.

The Korean War in 1950-1953 was the first clash between yesterday's allies in the anti-Hitler coalition - the Soviet Union and the United States. The main confrontation between the great powers took place in the air: jet fighters fought for supremacy in the skies for the first time. Soviet pilots emerged victorious from this war.

38th parallel

The Korean War began on June 25, 1950 - DPRK troops crossed the border with their southern neighbor, which ran along the 38th parallel, and began rapidly advancing inland. The aggression of the northerners came as a complete surprise to Western countries; South Korean troops and the UN contingent (mostly consisting of Americans) were continuously retreating. By August, 90 percent of the country was under the control of the DPRK, the southerners held only the so-called Busan bridgehead.

North Korean fighters.

However, the North Koreans failed to take it, and in the meantime the allies regrouped their forces, received reinforcements and launched a counteroffensive in September. It was as rapid as the DPRK offensive before. In just a month, most of North Korea was under the control of enemy troops. This was largely due to the total superiority of the Allies in the air.

Before the start of the war, the DPRK Air Force, according to various sources, consisted of 150-200 aircraft, mainly Soviet piston fighters Yak-9 and attack aircraft Il-10. Moreover, the Americans alone had more than 1,500 aircraft at air bases in Japan and aircraft carriers. A significant part of them were represented by F-80 "Shooting Star" jet fighters. Considering that the training of American pilots was much better than that of the North Koreans, it is not surprising that by August 1950 their Air Force was almost completely destroyed. After this, US pilots could freely bomb enemy positions and carry out raids on cities and strategic targets. With such cover, the Allied ground forces easily pushed the enemy back to the very north of Korea.

After this, China decided to enter the war; it also asked to send its troops to Korea and the Soviet Union. However, Stalin feared an open confrontation with the United States, which could escalate into World War III. Therefore, for a long time, USSR assistance was limited to sending instructors who trained Chinese and North Korean pilots, as well as several aircraft for training flights, in particular the MiG-9.

As Igor Seydov writes in the book “Red Devils in the Sky of Korea,” the Soviet side’s patience was filled with two incidents that occurred in the fall of 1950. First, the Americans shot down a Soviet A-20 reconnaissance aircraft over the Yellow Sea - all three crew members were killed. A month later, two US Air Force F-80 fighters attacked the Soviet military airfield Sukhaya Rechka, 100 kilometers from the Soviet-Korean border. Fortunately, none of the pilots were injured, but eight aircraft were damaged. The Americans only apologized, calling it a mistake of the young pilots who “accidentally” flew into Soviet territory and mistook the airfield for a North Korean one.

Incognito in the sky

Mig-15.

In October 1950, Soviet aviation units began to be transported to China. They took part in the counter-offensive of Chinese forces, although at first only as cover for strategic targets. Since the USSR did not officially participate in the war, Soviet pilots wore the uniform of Chinese People's Volunteers (CPV, in fact they were soldiers of the regular army, but China also did not want to officially declare war on the United States).

According to Seydov, upon arrival at the duty station, our pilots’ documents were taken away, and in addition, they were ordered to speak only Korean in the air. “To do this, over the course of a week they were trained in two dozen Korean phrases necessary for combat. However, the last prohibition - not to speak Russian in battle - did not last long: when the battle began, the Soviet pilots completely forgot the Korean “folklore” necessary in battle. and gave commands in Russian, thereby saving their lives more than once in battle,” the researcher writes. Also, initially, Soviet pilots were prohibited from crossing the Yalu River, behind which was the front line, and flying into the West Korean Gulf of the Yellow Sea, so as not to be captured: the US 7th Fleet and its allies dominated the sea.

American P-51 fighters.

On November 1, Soviet pilots were allowed to cross the Korean border for the first time to search for and destroy American aircraft. On the same day, the first MiG battle took place - five of our planes flew to the Andun area and soon discovered three P-51 Mustangs. As a result of the fleeting battle, one enemy plane was shot down and another was shot down. Thus, the account of the victories of Soviet pilots in the Korean skies was opened. On the same day, the MiG-15s showed themselves for the first time in combat with American jets. Three of our fighters met a dozen F-80 aircraft and suddenly attacked them from above. As a result, one “Shooting Star” was shot down, the rest, after an unsuccessful counterattack, hastened to retreat.

Note that in the first month and a half of air combat, only three Soviet MiGs were shot down, while enemy losses were many times greater. And American pilots later called the area of ​​operation of our fighters along the Korean-Chinese border “MiG Alley,” thereby recognizing that the skies in this part of the Korean peninsula were confidently controlled by Soviet aces. The President of South Korea made a proposal to the DPRK for joint development.

Equal opponent

American P-80 fighter before taking off from a base in Japan.

The introduction of Soviet air divisions into battle brought a turning point in the course of the war. It turned out that American aircraft could not fight on equal terms with the MiG-15, which is why they had to sharply reduce the number of combat sorties. Naturally, the US military command could not come to terms with this state of affairs and sent new F-86 Saber fighters to the front. It was the rivalry between the MiG-15 and F-86 that became a classic of the air war in Korea, largely because the aircraft had approximately similar characteristics.

As Vladimir Babich writes in the article “MiGs in Local Wars”, our plane was noticeably lighter than the “American”, but the “heaviness” of the Saber was compensated by the greater engine thrust. Their maximum ground speed was 1042 and 1093 kilometers per hour, respectively. At high altitudes, the MiG-15 gained an advantage in acceleration and rate of climb, while the Saber maneuvered better at low altitudes. It could also stay in the air longer, having 1.5 tons of “extra” fuel. The practical altitude ceiling was higher for the MiG - 15,100 meters, but the US Air Force fighter was not much inferior here either, its figure was 14,300. The difference was obvious only in the armament. The MiG-15 had one 37-mm and two 23-mm cannons, the Saber had six 12.7-mm machine guns.

One of the strengths of the MIG-15 was its higher lethality. In addition, having a large excess of thrust (especially at high altitude), it could shorten the distance faster than the Saber and approach the enemy. But if the Saber spotted the MiG at a safe distance, it tried to force it into a maneuverable battle (especially at low altitudes), which was disadvantageous to our fighter. Here a lot depended on the teamwork of a pair of fighters in a flight, when one attacked and the second provided cover. The two experienced pilots were virtually invulnerable in close combat.

F-86 Saber.

As Seydov writes, the first battle between the MiG-15 and Sabers took place on December 17, 1950. Military cunning helped the Americans win. In the Andun area, four of our aircraft discovered four fighters with red noses, which was reported to the leader of the group. He replied: “I see, these are ours!” - and continued the flight along the route. But unexpectedly the group was fired from behind and from above. The pilot's car caught fire, the engine stalled, and the pilot had to eject. By the way, this was the first ejection from a MiG-15 in combat conditions in the Soviet Air Force. As it turned out later, the first Sabers had the nose of the fuselage painted red to mislead the enemy, just as the MiGs had red circles around the nose of the fuselage. Therefore, after the battle, the red noses on all of ours were erased by technicians.

Soviet pilots won their first victory over the new American fighter only a week later, after a dozen battles. Our pilots were still studying the enemy and at first fell for the bait from one group of Sabers, not noticing another group of F-86s following it and in excess, and fell under its attack. During this time, the USSR lost three MiG-15 fighters.

American B-29 bomber.

Black Thursday and Black Tuesday

1951 was the most successful year for the Soviet Air Force in the Korean War; it was then that the Americans suffered the most painful defeats. Thus, April 12 went down in history as the “Black” Thursday of US aviation. On this day, the Americans carried out a massive raid on bridges over the Yalu River in the Wuijiu region. They were to be destroyed by 48 B-29 "Superfortress" bombers, which were accompanied by 76 cover fighters.

Only 44 MiGs acted against them. However, they also had an advantage: American escort aircraft flew at the speed of bombers - only 700 kilometers per hour - and at an average altitude of 7000 meters. Soviet pilots met them at an altitude of 10 kilometers and dived at full speed at different angles of attack. As a result, 10 “Superfortresses” and three enemy fighters were destroyed. After this, the leadership of the US Air Force for almost a month did not risk sending large groups of aircraft beyond the 38th parallel.

Another “black” day for American aviation was October 30 of the same year. This time, 21 flying fortresses went to bomb the Korean airfield in Namsi, which were to be covered by almost 200 fighters of various types. On the Soviet side, 44 MiGs took part in the battle, another 12 vehicles remained in reserve to cover the airfields. The fate of the battle was decided by the fact that the barrier of F-86 fighters was late in leaving - the Sabers planned to intercept Soviet planes in a slightly different area, but miscalculated. Lower class vehicles were left to protect the B-29.

As a result, 12 B-29 bombers and four F-84 fighters were destroyed, the Americans were put to flight, and not a single bomb fell on the Namsi airfield that day. Soviet pilots were missing one MiG. After this battle, the US Air Force leadership abandoned the use of Superfortresses during the day and transferred them to night flights.

Mig-15.

Americans do not admit losses

There is still no exact data on the total losses of aircraft in air battles of the Korean War. The fact is that not every victory described by the pilots could be confirmed by photographs or the remains of an enemy aircraft. The Soviet command made it a rule to keep strict statistics, when a victory was counted only if such evidence was available. Pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft were called aces. And here our military turned out to be stronger than the Americans; the best aces of the Korean War were Captain Nikolai Sutyagin and Colonel Evgeny Pepelyaev, who destroyed 21 and 19 enemy aircraft, respectively. The Americans' highest figure was 16 Soviet vehicles.

The Americans bomb the railway bridge.

According to Seydov, during the fighting in the skies of Korea, Soviet pilots conducted 1,872 air battles, in which they shot down 1,097 enemy aircraft, of which 642 were F-86 fighters and 69 B-29 bombers. USSR losses in battles amounted to 319 MiG-15 and La-11 aircraft. It is curious that American data not only differ from Soviet data, but give a radically different picture. It is alleged that in air battles they shot down more than 700 MiGs, and they themselves lost only 147 aircraft! Such a gross manipulation of facts only makes experts smile; apparently, the American command really wanted to justify the huge military expenditures in the eyes of taxpayers.