MiG Alley
미그 회랑
The nickname given by UN pilots during the Korean War to northwestern North Korea along the Yalu River, where Soviet MiG-15s from the secretly deployed 64th Fighter Aviation Corps fought U.S. F-86 Sabres in history's first large-scale jet-versus-jet dogfights. MiG Alley was the closest the superpowers came to open aerial combat during the Cold War, and both sides officially denied the presence of Soviet pilots long after the war ended.
Related historical events
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) General history of MiG Alley, its geography (Yalu River area), the deployment of the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps in November 1950, and the first jet-vs-jet air battles between MiG-15s and F-86 Sabres.
- Wikipedia (RU) Russian-language article confirming the Soviet name (Аллея МиГов), the secret deployment of Soviet pilots under Chinese/Korean markings, the radio communication rules ordering pilots to speak Korean, and the key engagements including Black Thursday (12 April 1951) and Black Tuesday (30 October 1951).
- thekwe.org Richard K. Kolb, 'In Korea, We Whipped the Russian Air Force,' VFW Magazine (August 1999): confirms that UN pilots coined the name 'MiG Alley' for the triangular area from Antung along the Yalu to Suiho and south to Sinanju; notes that Soviet pilots flew 75% of all fighter missions; details the 64th Air Defense Corps deployment with 72,000 Soviet troops including 5,000 pilots rotating through Manchurian bases.