Description
With the start of the Korean War on June 25 1950 two formidable opponents were to meet in the skies of North Korea in an area that was given the name “MiG Alley”: the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15 Fagot. US pilots found out that the MiG-15 climbed and dived faster, and was every bit as maneuverable. They needed a combat ready MiG-15 to evaluate performance against the F-86 Sabre in a controlled environment to give an edge to American pilots in dogfights.
Operation Moolah was launched, the Korean War effort to entice a Communist pilot to fly a MiG-15 fighter to an allied airfield for a reward of $100,000. The result? In 1953 North Korean lieutenant No Kum-Sok defected to South Korea. He flew his MiG-15 to the Kimpo airbase, received 100,000 $ and later became an US citizen. This was the first MiG-15 Fagot received by the US. Chuck Yeager flight tested this aircraft and started a trend that was to last almost 40 years.
Lieutenant No Kum-Sok defected on September 21 1953 and his MiG became the first of many owned by the US. Western countries had a look at the MiG-15 earlier that year.
