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Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) MiG-15UTI
I photographed this former Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) MiG-15UTI, which has clearly seen better days, in a section of the former Shahezhen airbase in China.
The MiG-15 UTI 'Midget', was a tandem-seat trainer, based on the MiG-15. The MiG-15 was a jet fighter developed for the USSR. It was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters. With the Chinese entry into the Korean War conflict, the MiG-15 began to appear in the skies over Korea. Quickly proving superior to straight-wing American jets such as the F-80 and F-84, the MiG-15 temporarily gave the Chinese the advantage in the air and ultimately forced United Nations forces to halt daylight bombing.
The MiG-15 is believed to have been one of the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made, with over 12,000 built. Licensed foreign production perhaps raised the total to over 18,000. The MiG-15UTI was produced in substantial quantities, becoming the standard advanced trainer for the USSR, Soviet satellites, and client states, and remained in first-line service well into the 1970s, long after the MiG-15 fighter itself was obsolete.
AWARDS
2011 | Bronze award - International Loupe Awards
