[WingTips] MiG-15bis

In today's guide we will be taking a look at the Origins of the MiG-15bis as well as diving into the performance and play style of the aircraft.

Intro

Welcome to the WingTips guide on the MiG-15bis/J-2. If you find anything yourself confused by anything in the guide, feel free to contact me in the comments or on the WingTips discord: https://discord.gg/WbpfejKt
If you also happen to not like the guide for any reason at all then of course constructive criticism is much obliged.

With that out of the way lets move into Today's guide.

A soviet legend is born...

First taking flight in 1947, The MiG-15 was the soviet unions first swept wing jet fighter. It featured an engine based on the Rolls Royce Nene, the Klimov VK-1. It was brought into service in 1950 just as the Korean war had begun. The Korean war would create ample opportunity for the MiG to prove itself a worthy competitor to the Wests newest jets, notably the American F-86 Sabre. The MiG proved to be a very effective aircraft especially early in the conflict however as time progressed, the MiG found itself losing to american sabres (this could be boiled down to the more experienced pilots serving the USAF). Never the less for it's time it was an incredibly powerful aircraft. It had an outstanding rate of climb and service ceiling as well as a high top speed and powerful cannons. The plane was so good that it became the single most produced jet fighter ever (over 16,000) and served with around 60 different nations, with North Korea still operating them today as trainers.
The plane was also produced in China as the 'J-2' so this guide applies to the Chinese J-2 as well.
This legacy carries with it, high expectations. So how does it fare in war thunder today?

Specification

The MiG-15bis is a 1st generation, swept wing jet fighter for the Soviet Union (East Germany, Russia and also China). It currently sits at a battle rating of 8.3 which puts it up primarily against the F-86 Sabre, G.91 and Mystere IIC .
It comes equipped with a Klimov VK-1 Centrifugal flow, turbo jet engine making 2,450 Kgf (5,401 lbf) giving it a power/weight ratio of 0.62 with 8 minutes of fuel. This makes it an exceptionally quick accelerating jet for it's BR.

The MiG-15bis Performance Specification:
Top Speed: 1076 km/h (668 mph) at Sea Level
Service Ceiling: 15496 m (50,840 ft)
Turn time: 20.7 seconds
Rate of climb: 50 m/s (9843 ft/min)
Takeoff run: 474 m (1558 ft)

Loadouts:

-Main Armament-
(Mounted into the bottom fuselage)

x2 NR-23 (23mm) cannons with 80 rounds each (160 total)
x1 N-37D (37mm) cannon with 40 rounds

-Secondary Weapons-

x2 S-21 Rockets
x2 FAB-250M-46 (250kg) Bombs
x2 FAB-100M-43 (100kg) Bombs
x16 S5K Rockets
x16 S5M Rockets

Pros and Cons:

.Excellent acceleration
.Good turn rate
.Good energy retention
.Flaps are highly effective with good deployment speeds
.Guns are powerful at close range
.10 mm armour plates in front of the pilot
.Adequate air brake
.Light weight (under 4 tons)
.Decent survivability
.Small target
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.Horrible roll rate
.2 different guns with low velocities -> hard to aim
.Poor high speed acceleration
.Average top speed (a fair bit slower than F model sabres)
.Compresses at high speed
.Cannons have a tendency to spark (mainly the 37mm)
.No modern equipment such as a 'Ballistic Computer' or 'Fire and forget' Missiles.

Simulator Exclusive:

.Excellent rear visibility
.Smooth handling when not pushed to the limit.
.Good low speed flight characteristics
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.No Radar/Radar Rangefinder
.Questionable front visibility -> thick bars


Additional Information:

With regards to the Battle Rating, it is a very highly debated change as the BR is generally considered to be to low (The same goes for its counterpart the F-86F-25/30 Sabre). Because of this, it is entirely possible that it's BR could change again in the future (probably back to 8.7).

S-21 Rockets with the 'Rocket Activation Distance' are useful for Air to Air combat as they are super simple to utilise. They also don't hinder the performance of the plane very much.

Flying Tips

The MiG-15bis is, by nature, a simple and light weight air superiority fighter. It's Air frame is light and it's wings are wide. This gives it excellent turning capabilities at all speeds and this should be exploited when ever you get a good opportunity (except at high speeds because of compression).

The excellent energy retention is also a quality of this plane that you should try to make the utmost use of. Especially when you combine this with its really good rate of climb, you end up with a plane that can out manoeuvre just about anything it likes in a vertical dogfight.

On the subject of the climb rate, it currently has the highest rate of climb of any plane at it's Battle Rating of 8.3. Although this title doesn't extend to 8.7 as there are planes there that possess slightly higher climb rates such as the Scimitar and J29D/F. Never the less its still highly competitive right up to the peak of its BR bracket. So with that said, it's a good idea to climb at the beginning of a game in-order to gain some altitude to use over your enemies, this will minimise the likely hood of a whole enemy team pouncing you all at once like seagulls. Of course there are other approaches you can take at the start of a game such as flanking or rushing. Though if your new the climbing option is probably the safest for you as the others methods require more experience to execute safely.

One of the biggest things that makes the MiG different from it's western counterparts, is the choice of armament. It has cannons that are slower firing than say the ADEN's or .50 cal.
It's because of this slow rate of fire that people find the guns hard to master. This problem is only catalysed more by the abysmal roll rate and there being 2 different guns. While not bad guns per say, the 23mm is some what underwhelming given the rate of fire and the 37mm cannon, in true soviet fashion, has a nasty tendency to spark. They do perform reasonably well at close range if your a good shot. but they don't perform nearly as well as the 20mm and 30mm auto cannons of the western powers - especially at long ranges.

My advice for aiming the cannons on the MiG is pritty simple, fire the guns at close range and in short bursts. If you're not hitting your targets in a turn, you probably need to lead your guns more.

That concludes today's guide on the MiG-15bis.
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If you find anything confusing about the guide or you want to make a suggestion, feel free to contact me in the comments or on the WingTips discord: https://discord.gg/Jqc39VkTEs

New skin by SuperFulcrum for the Chinese J-2 at https://live.warthunder.com/post/964850

Sources

https://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-jet-that-shocked-the-west-180947758/

https://www.britannica.com/technology/MiG-15

Warthunder Wiki page