Air-to-air combat losses between the Soviet Union and the United States

After World War II, there were many instances of air-to-air combat between the Soviet Union and the United States.

Korean War

During the Korean War formally the air forces did not meet, as the Soviet Union was not a combatant in the conflict. In August 1945 the USSR declared war on Japan and commenced their offensive campaigns against the Japanese Army. Moving into Japanese occupied Korea, the Soviets gained a foothold in that region, ultimately making it North Korea, and an ally to the Soviet Union. Nearly 72,000 Soviet personnel served in North Korea and their presence was concealed by both the Soviet and American governments. Following the outbreak of the Korean War, air dogfights between USSR and US pilots were numerous. The Soviets flew planes with Chinese or North Korean markings, and were initially forbidden from speaking Russian over the airwaves. The ban was soon lifted due to obvious problems with using Korean to communicate in critical battle situations.Yevgeny Pepelyayev – top ace of the Korean War by Diego Zampini

During the conflict the American F-86 Sabre pilots claimed to have destroyed 792 MiG-15s in air-to-air combat for a loss of 78 Sabres – a phenomenal 10 to 1 kills-to-losses ratio.War Monthly (1976). MIG V Sabre, by Rodney Steel (p. 48). The Soviets claimed to have downed over 600 Sabres.Sewell, Stephen L. "Russian Claims from the Korean War 1950–53." korean-war.com. Retrieved: 19 July 2011.Zhang, Xiaoming. Red Wings over the Yalu: China, the Soviet Union, and the Air War in Korea. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press, 2002. . More recent research by Lake Dorr and Warren Thompson has claimed the actual ratio was closer to 2 : 1.Dorr, Robert F., Jon Lake and Warren E. Thompson. Korean War Aces. London: Osprey Publishing, 2005. . A 2009 RAND review concluded that the actual kill : loss ratio was 1.8 : 1 overall, and likely closer to 1.3 : 1 against MiGs flown by Soviet pilots.Stillion, John and Scott Perdue. "Air Combat Past, Present and Future." Project Air Force, Rand, August 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2009.Igor Seidov and Stuart Britton. Red Devils over the Yalu: A Chronicle of Soviet Aerial Operations in the Korean War 1950–53 (Helion Studies in Military History). Helion and Company 2014. . Page: 554. However, this ratio does not include the number of aircraft of other types (B-29, A-26, F-80, F-82, F-84, etc) were shot down by MiG-15s.

Vietnam War

Student North Vietnamese MiG pilots were sent to China and the Soviet Union for up to three years for training. Also student North Vietnamese SAM operators were sent to the USSR for about six to nine months of training.Toperczer, MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units, pp. 10–15Davies p.53 Soviet and Chinese Communist pilots were restricted to test flying MiGs which had been exported to North Vietnam from their countries.Toperczer, MiG-21 Units, p. 77Michel, p. 297 Due to the urgency brought on by Operation Rolling Thunder, and until North Vietnamese missilemen could be trained, Soviet PVO SAM Anti-Aircraft Missile operator/instructors were quickly deployed to North Vietnam in 1965, and through 1966 were reportedly responsible for downing approximately 48 US aircraft during the war.Davies, pp. 8, 40 There is one reported ace pilot from the USSR, Col. Vadim Shcherbakov who is credited with 6 air-to-air kills.

Cold War

During the Cold War many nations including the Soviet Union and the United States were fiercely protective of their airspaces. Aircraft which entered an opposing nation's airspace were often shot down in air-to-air combat. The incidents produced a heightened sense of paranoia on both sides that resulted in the downing of civilian craft. Many of the aircraft listed at that link were not shot down as a result of Cold War paranoia by US or USSR aircrews, but rather direct action by active combatants (for example, the two Air Rhodesia flights).

The table lists air combat losses outside of the war zones, such as Korean War or Vietnam War. It does not include losses to ground-based defenses, and it does not include civilian aircraft.

Date Location Plane shot downIntercepting Aircraft Interceptor Reference Baltic Sea US Navy PB4Y-2 PrivateerLa-11 "Fang" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near Vladivostok Soviet Naval Aviation A-20 bomberF4U-4B Corsair US Navy October-December 1950Near Vladivostok Soviet Air Defence Forces MiG-15P2V-3 Neptune (Defensive guns) US Navy Near Vladivostok US Navy P2V-3 NeptuneLa-11 "Fang" Soviet Air Defence Forces Sea of Japan US Air Force RB-29 SuperfortressMiG-15 "Fagot" Soviet Air Defence Forces Over the Kurile Islands US Air Force RB-29 SuperfortressLa-11 "Fang" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near Vladivostok Soviet Air Defence Forces MiG-15F9F-5 Panther US Navy Grossnick and Armstrong 1997 Sea of Japan US Air Force RB-50G SuperfortressMiG-17 "Fresco" Soviet Air Defence Forces Off the coast of Siberia US Navy P2V-5MiG-15 "Fagot" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near the coast of Hokkaido, Japan US Air Force RB-29 SuperfortressMiG-15 "Fagot" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near the coast of Hokkaido, Japan US Air Force RB-47EMiG-15 "Fagot" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near the St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea US Navy P2V-5 NeptuneMiG-15 "Fagot" Soviet Air Defence Forces Armenia, USSR US Air Force C-118MiG-17P "Fresco" Soviet Air Defence Forces Armenia, USSR US Air Force C-130AMiG-17 "Fresco" Soviet Air Defence Forces Near the Kola Peninsula, USSR US Air Force RB-47HMiG-19 "Farmer" Soviet Air Defence Forces Erfurt, East Germany US Air Force T-39 SabrelinerMiG-19 "Farmer" Soviet Air Force Gardelegen, East Germany US Air Force RB-66 DestroyerMiG-21 "Fishbed" Soviet Air Force Armenia, USSR United States Army RU-8 SeminoleMiG-17 "Fresco" Soviet Air Defence Forces

See also Post–World War II air-to-air combat losses 1958 C-130 shootdown incident 1960 RB-47 shootdown incident 1964 T-39 shootdown incident

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

Davies, Peter. F-105 Wild Weasel vs SA-2 "Guideline" SAM, Vietnam 1965–73. Osprey 2011. . Michel III, Marshal L. Clashes, Air Combat Over North Vietnam 1965–1972. Naval Institute Press, 1997. . Toperczer, Istvan. MiG-17 and MiG-19 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Combat Aircraft #25. . Toperczer, Istvan. MiG-21 Units of the Vietnam War. Osprey Combat Aircraft #29. .