During the Korean Conflict, the Soviet Union provided Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 Fighters to the Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF) to fight against NATO Air Forces in the south. The Soviet Union also provided experienced pilots to assist North Korean and Chinese pilots with their new aircraft and train them on effective tactics. The Soviet Union also sent new pilots to the Eastern Combat zone in order to acquire experience fighting against American pilots. Most encounters between NATO and North Korean/USSR pilots was fairly one sided with NATO pilots winning. Not because they had better aircraft, but because the NATO pilots were experienced from fighting against either Japanese or German Pilots less than a decade earlier.
The Soviet pilots were limited in that they were not allowed to fly too close to NATO lines or to fly over the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan. These young pilots were limited to remaining over North Korea and its armies. On occasion, an experienced cadre member from the advisor group would take to the sky and fly combat missions alongside young Russians or North Korean pilots against the Americans.
When the F86 Sabre was introduced to the Korean Theatre in November and December 1950, the MiG-15 remained the dominant aircraft. It was the skill and experience of the pilots that established NATO dominance in the sky. When the F86F model came out near the end of the war, finally there was an aircraft that could match the flight characteristics of the MiG-15. When the Experienced Russian pilots flew against F86 Sabres, the Americans noticed a discernable difference between these experienced pilots and their North Korean counterparts. The Americans quickly assigned a nickname to the Superior Russian pilots; HONCHO; the Japanese borrowed word meant “Big Shot”. It came to define a group of Soviet pilots who gave their American counterparts a thrill to dogfight.
This Roleplay focuses on a fictional battalion from the 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (USSR). These 20 aircraft flew KPAAF marked MiG-15 aircraft in North Korea during the early 1950s. Our characters will be members of one of three squadrons of the 72nd Guard Fighter Aviation Regiment (USSR). The squadrons fly out of Anshan Airport in Liaoning Province, China from 12 December 1950 through to the end of the war.
A Soviet squadron consists of eight aircraft and eight pilots. The squadron commander holds the rank of Major and would have fought against the Germans in the Eastern Front. There are three Captains serving as flight leaders who are also veterans of the Eastern Front. The remaining four pilots are lieutenants who may have seen some combat in 1945, but most likely are new pilots. There is also one Lieutenant Colonel, commanding the battalion of the 72nd Regiment. This commander flies with his wingman, a Captain or a senior lieutenant. Both of these pilots are veterans of the Eastern Front.
The pilots in the 1st Battalion, 72nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (USSR) will live and die over MiG Alley…
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