File:MiG-15 "Fagot" and F-86 "Sabre" (5888292585).jpg

Seen at Pacific Aviation Museum, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor.

Although this hangar is a survivor of the 1941 Japanese attack (and has a few bullet holes to prove it), these planes date from a decade later, from the Korean War, that saw the first-ever dogfights between jet aircraft.

The MiG-15 made up the backbone of the Communist forces. The USSR was not directly involved in the combat operations, so the Korean War MiG-15s were flown by North Korean and Red Chinese pilots, though some key aces of the Korean War were indeed Soviet.

The F-86 was used by the United States Air Force. The British used their own jet fighter, the Gloster Meteor, in smaller numbers, while other Allied combatants in the Korean War, including South Korea, had to do with at best propeller aircraft.

The dogfights primarily took place over the "MiG Alley," the portion of North Korea between Pyongyang and China; the MiG pilots had the luxury of escaping into Chinese airspace when at a disadvantage, as the US pilots were not allowed to pursue the MiGs into China. The F-86 was considered the superior aircraft, and its pilots were far more successful than the MiG-15 pilots, though in reality, the MiG-15 had its own strengths, and the F-86's success owed more to the higher experience levels of Allied pilots compared to the Communist pilots.