Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, other users

Preliminary note: This is a special post as we realized that we had forgot to post one set of MiG-15bis drawings.
The MiG-15bis was the main fighter of many countries during the early 1950s and in some cases even way beyond. The countries covered in this post are:

• Cambodia: Apparently the Royal Khmer Air Force, established in 1954 bought initally a small amount of MiG-15bis. They served until the MiG-17 arrived in 1963. However, as we couldn't find graphical evidence, (and most probably the MiG-17s of the Royal Khmer Air Force were mistaken with the MiG-15)  the drawing should be considered as purely speculative.
• Guinea-Bissau: One source claims that Guinea-Bissau had one MiG-15bis intended to be used as an advanced trainer. It was supplied in as late as 1974 (when the country got the independence from Portugal) but it was most probably mistaken with a MiG-17. We decided to drawn it nonetheless but with graphical evidences lacking, it should be taken as speculative.
• Mongolia: Being an Eastern Bloc country, it comes no surprise that the MiG-15bis composed the main fighter force of the Mongolian People's Army Air Force. Forty-eight of them were supplied by the USSR in the early 1950s and were kept in active service until most of them were replaced by the MiG-17 in the late 1950s.
• USSR: Being the home country of the MiG-15bis, it formed the bulk of the fighter force of the Soviet Air Forces (VVS). It served from 1950 until the mid 1950s when it was gradually replaced by the MiG-17 and was deployed everywhere were the VVS was. From East-Germany to the Far East, almost every VVS fighter regiment saw the MiG-15bis serving among their ranks. It was also used in acrobatical squadrons which increased even more its popularity among the Soviet citizens.
• North Vietnam: One source claims that the MiG-15bis served with the North Vietnamese Air Force from its foundation in 1954 and was replaced in 1963 by the MiG-17. However, that data is wrong as the NVAF was founded in 1963 with the MiG-17 being the first jet fighter to serve there. Most probably as the MiG-17 and the MiG-15 can be easily mistaken, everything comes from a misunderstanding. Anyway, we couldn't let the chance pass and we drawn a speculative MiG-15bis in North Vietnamese colours.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea-Bissau_Air_Force

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_People%27s_Air_Force

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongolian_People%27s_Army_Air_Force

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Air_Forces

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_Air_Force

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Prototypes and rare versions

In this post we're covering many sub-variants, prototypes and dedicated versions of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis (excluding the MiG-15UTI which will have its series of own posts.
The MiG-15Pbis was a variant with just six exemplars built that featured a Torij radar mounted in a radome placed in the nose. It was armed with just the 37mm N-37 cannon to fit the radar equipment, just six of them were built with the first one being completed and flown on 23rd April 1949. It was built by the Moscow Aircraft Factory Number 155, in Moscow from converting a regular MiG-15bis. The remaining 5 were built by Kuybyshev Aircraft Factory Number 1 "Stalin", located at the Russian city of Kuybyshev in 1951. All six of them were used to train pilots in the usage of aircraft-mounted aerial-radars.
The MiG-15Rbis was a reconnaissance variant of the regular MiG-15bis. Three-hundred and sixty-four of them were manufactured by the Gorky Aircraft Factory Number 21, at Gorky, in Russia from 1951 to 1952. To incorporate the reconnaissance gear which consisted on a single AFA-BA/40 daytime camera, one gun was removed so it was armed with just the N-37 cannon and a single N-23 23mm cannon. It had a range of 1045km (649,33 milles) without external fuel tanks and it's worth mentioning that it differed from the Czechoslovakian version as this one was based on the MiG-15bis and the Czechoslovakian version was based on the regular MiG-15. It served with the VVS (Soviet Air Force), the Bulgarian People's Air Force (which, as we couldn't find a pic, the drawing should be considered as speculative) and the Cuban Air Force (which we also couldn't find a pic, so the drawing should be considered as speculative) performing low-level recon missions.
The MiG-15Sbis was a variant with integrated fuel tanks added into the wings in order to achieve a greater range. It had a range of 1200km (745.64 milles), it was produced in 1951 by the Saratov Aircraft Factory Number 22 in Saratov, Russia, which produced all 45 of them. It was armed like a regular MiG-15bis and only saw brief service with the VVS.
The MiG-15bis(ISh) was a ground-support variant. Only 4 of them were manufactured plus other 12 which were converted from the MiG-15bis. All of them were produced or converted by the Research Institute of Air Force for Aircraft Operations and Repairs in 1958. As it was intended for ground-support duties, it had an additional underwing hardpoint to carry a wide arrangement of bombs and/or air-to-ground rockets, apart of the traditional N-37 and NR-23 guns.
The MiG-15bisR was a recon variant locally produced in Czechoslovakia at the town of Kbely by Letecké opravny Kbely n.p.. Seventy-six of them were converted from regular MiG-15bis (or its Czechoslovak licensed version built by Aero) during a production period starting in 1960 until 1963.
As in its Russian counterpart, in order to fit the photographical equipment, it was underarmed with just one NR-23 gun.
Lastly, we have the MiG-15bisSB which was a ground-attack version also built and converted by Letecké opravny Kbely n.p. from either regular MiG-15bis or MiG-15bisR aircraft. Production started as late as 1968 and lasted until 1978 having manufactured 72 machines plus an unknown number of conversions. It featured hardpoints to carry a set of ground-attack rockets (most notably the LR-130 and the LR-55 rocket launcher) and up to six OFAB-100 bombs.
Most of them served with the Czechoslovak Air Force during the 1960s and the 1970s and, apparently, some of them were exported to Iraq where they served in the Iraqi Air Force, however, as we couldn't find any photo or pic whatsoever of the MiG-15bisSB under Iraqi colours, the pic should be taken as speculative.

Sources.
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196279
3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196286
4. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/60332
5. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196285
6. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53557
7. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/60333
8. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196279

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Korean war. Part four.

As we previously mentioned, the MiG-15's menace forced the USAF to cancel the daytime raids in favour of night radar-guided missions fron November 1951 onwards. That supposed a threat for Communist defenses as their only specialized night-fighting unit was equipped with the outdated propeller-driven Lavochkin La-11 which was totally inadequate for intercepting the B-29. Therefore, part of the regiment was re-equipped with the MiG-15bis and another night-fighting unit joined the Soviet forces in Manchuria, causing American bombers to suffer losses again.
On 10th June 1952, between 21:50 and 22:30 four MiG-15bis attacked a formation of B-29s over Sonchon and Kwaksan. Lt. Col. Mikhail I. Studilin seriously damaged a B-29A, forcing it to land at Kimpo Air Base, close to Seoul. Some minutes later Maj. Anatoly Karelin shot down two more superfortress. Their wingmen also managed to damage one B-29 each. Eventually Karelin achieved the ace status by shoting down six B-29, all of them at night. After those actions, the B-29's nightly raids were cancelled for two months.
The MiG-15 wasn't as effective against the Marine Corps' ground-based F3D Skynight which overtook the role of the F-94 Starfire after proving its ineffectiveness. The F3D had some concers regarding performance, however it compensated with their search radar that allowed the Skynight to see their targets clearly, while the MiG-15's directions to find bomber formations were of little use in detecting escorting fighters. On the night of 2-3rd November 1952 a Skynight piloted by Maj. William Stratton and Hans Hoagland as radar operator damaged a MiG-15bis piloted by Cpt. V. D. Vishnyak. Shortly later, on the night of 8-9 November another Skynight shot down the MiG-15bis of Lt. Ivan P. Koyalov who ejected safely. During that first months of operations of the F3D, the Skynights claimed five MiGs for no losses on their own and no B-29 escorted by them were lost to the enemy. However, on the night of 16th January 1953 a Skynight almost was shot down by a MiG-15bis when the Skynight of Cpt. George Cross and Master Sgt. J.A. Piekutowski was seriously damaged in an attack by a Soviet MiG-15bis. The Skynight made it back home in Kunsan Air Base with difficulty. Later, on the night of 29th May 1953 Chinese MiG-15 pilot Hou Shujun shot down a F3D over Anju killing the radar operator (whose remains were found in the year 2001) and making the pilot, Cpt. James B Brown to go MIA.
The MiG-15bis also had to face planes from the Royal Navy. In fact, on 8th August 1952 a Hawker Sea Fury belonging to the Royal Navy and piloted by Peter "Hoagy" Carmichael shot down a MiG-15bis making the Sea Fury one of the few propeller aircraft to shot down a jet fighter after the end of the World War II. On 10th September 1952 a Vought F4U Corsair shot down another MiG-15bis but the F4U was shortly later shot down by another MiG.
According to Soviet sources, the MiG-15s of the 64th IAK (the fighter corps which included all the subordinated units that took part in the conflict) made a total of 60450 daylight combat sorties, 2779 night ones, engaged the enemy in 1683 aerial battles and 107 of them at night claiming to have shot down a total of 1097UN aircraft over Korea including 647 F-86s, 185 F-84s, 118 F-80s, 28 F-51s, 11 F-94s, 65 B-29, 26 Gloster Meteors and 17 aircraft of various types.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force and the North Korean Air Force (the union of those two air forces received the name of United Air Army) had also the MiG-15 and MiG-15bis in their rows. Despite the complains of the USSR about the Chinese being too slow on introducing more MiG-15 regiments into the conflict, by 1951 there were only two Chinese fighter regiments operating over Korea, both of them in the night-fighter duties. As they weren't completely trained and equipped, they were commited to the defence of China, but saw some action against USAF's recon aircraft, some of which went very deep into China.
As by September 1951 the aerial supremacy was almost in Communist hands, plans were laid down to deploy Chinese and North Korean fighter regiments into Korean soil, outside of China. Except for some brief period in January 1951, it wasn't until 25th September 1951 that the PLAAF's MiG-15s saw action. That day 16 MiG-15s engaged a formation of F-86s with pilot Li Yongtai claiming a victory at the cost of a MiG and its pilot. The North Korean fighter regiment got into action one year later, in September 1952 and, from then until the end of the war, the United Air Army claimed to have shot down 211 F-86s, 72 F-84s and F-80s and 47 aircraft of other types at the cost of 116 Chinese pilots and 231 aircraft including 224 MiG-15s, three Lavochkin La-11s and 4 Tupovlev Tu-2s. Many Chinese pilots achieved the ace status, among them Zhao Baotong with 7 victories, Wang Hai, with 9 and both Kan Yon Duk and Kim Di San with 5 each.
It's not known the number of North Korean MiG-15s lost during the conflict but, according to defectors, it should be at around 100 for the whole war. Therefore a total of 659 MiG-15s were lost during the Korean War at the cost of 224 F-86 Sabres. However numbers are not completely clear and they could vary.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15#The_Korean_War_(1950–1953)
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Korean war. Part three.

In the end of January 1952, the 303rd IAD was replaced with the 97th IAD which was composed of 16th and 148th IAP. The next month, the 324th IAD was replaced by the 190th IAD which was composed of 256th, 494th and 821st IAP. These new units were poorly trained with most of the pilots having only 50-60 hours flying the MiG. Therefore, those units suffered higher losses by the now better prepared American Sabre pilots. During this period, at least two Soviet pilots achieved the ace status, Major Arkadiy S Boytsov and Vladimir N Zabelin with six and nine victories respectively.
From February 1952 to July 1952 a total of 81 MiG-15s were lost and 34 pilots were killed by F-86 Sabres, at the cost of only 68 UN aircraft, including 36 F-86s. The greatest losses came on 4th July 1952 when a total of eleven MiGs were shot down by Sabres with one pilot KIA. This was done in the context of the secret "Maple Special" Operation which was a plan conceived by Col. Francis Gabreski to cross the Yalu river (which marked the border between North Korea and China and was strictly forbidden, at least officially) and catch the MiGs unaware when they were taking off or landing, as they were in disadvantage, flying slow, at low level and, depending on the situation, short on ammo and fuel.
Even under those circunstances, the MiG pilots managed to score two important victories against American aces, like when on 10th February 1952 Maj. George Andrews Davis Jr. , an ace credited with 14 victories, 10 of which confirmed by communist forces, was shot down and killed. It's not clear who shot down him and it's authorship was disputed between 1st Lt. Mikhail A Averin and the Chinese Zhang Jihui. Later, during that same 4th July 1952, some few seconds after shooting down 1st Lt. M. I. Kosynkin, Cpt. Clifford D. Jolley (who would achieve ace status later in the war) was forced to eject from his crippled F-86E after being caught by surprise a MiG-15bis flown by 1st Lt. Vasily R. Krutkikh.
In May 1952 new and better trained Soviet units arrived in Korea, the 133rd and 216th IADs. They replaced the 190th and 97th IADs by July 1952 and, even if they couldn't achieve aerial superiority, as the American forces were well prepared now, they certainly neutralized American air superiority in the area between September 1952 and July 1953 when the cease-fire was signed. In September 1952 another Soviet unit, the 32nd IAD also started combat operations. As usual, the victories/losses numbers are debated both by American and Russian historians, but on at least three occasions Soviet MiG-15 pilots gained the upper hand against Sabre aces.
The first one took place on 7th April 1953 when the ace Cpt. Harold E. Fischer was shot down over Manchuria shortly after damaging a Chinese and Soviets MiGs over Dapu airbase. The attacker's identity is disputed between 1st Lt. Grigory N. Berelidze and the Chinese pilot Han Dechai.
The second one took place some few days later, on 12th April 1953 when Cpt. Semyon A Fedorets who was a Soviet ace with 8 credited victories, shot down the F-86E of Norman E Green, but was however, shortly attacked by the future American top ace of the Korean war Cpt. Joseph McConnell. In the ensuing dogfight, they shot each other down, ejecting and being rescued safely.
The third one took place on the days prior to the armistice, on 20th July 1953 when, during a raid deep into Manchuria, and after having shot down two Chinese MiGs, Majors Thomas M Sellers and Stepehn L Bettinger (who was an ace credited with 5 kills), tried to catch by surprise two Soviet MiG-15s that were landing in Dapu. The Soviet pilots skillfully forced the Americans to overshoot, reversed direction and shot both down. Cpt. Boris N Siskov forced Bettinger to bail out and his wingman 1st Lt. Vladimir M. Klimov killed Major Sellers. That was Siskov's fifth victory, making him the last ace of the Korean War and those were also the two last Sabres shot down by Soviet aircrafts during the war.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Korean war. Part two.

After those first encounters, the main characteristics of the main aerial battles for the rest of the war were shown. Both MiG-15 and MiG-15bis had higher ceiling than the Sabre and could also accelerate faster than the F-86A/E/Fs thanks to its better thrust-to-weight ratio. The MiG-15's climbing rate was also better than the F-86A and the F-86E one, however the F-86F matched the MiG-15's rate. The MiG-15 had also a better turn radius above 10.000m (33.000ft) and, with its 37mm N-37 cannon and two 23mm NR-23 cannons, was better armed than the F-86.
However, the MiG was slower at low altittudes and had a less sophisticated World War II-era gyroscopic gunsight than the Sabre.
Therefore, if the MiG-15bis managed to engage the Sabre in the vertical plane, or in the horizontal one above 10.000m, it gained a significant advantage and could easily escape from the Sabre by climbing to its ceiling knowing that the Sabre couldn't. Anyway, below 8000m (26.247ft) the Sabre had a slight advantage over the MiG in most aspects except for the climb rate, especially if the Soviet pilot decided to fight in the horizontal plane.
That's why the main mission of the MiG-15, during the Korean war, wasn't to fight the F-86 Sabre, but to intercept the formations of B-29 Superfortress. That task was assigned to elite VVS (Soviet Air Force) units in April 1951 like the 324th IAD leaded by Colonel Ivan Kozhedub or, in June that same year, the 303rd IAD of General Georgiy A. Lobov.
Due to the Black Thursday, the USAF stopped their strategic bombing campaign until they decided to resume them in October 22 when a mission was launched to neutralize the North Korean aerodromes of Namsi, Taechon and Saamchan in order to inflict more losses to the MiG-15. On 22nd October 1951 a formation of 56 MiG-15bis intercepted nine B-29s which were escorted by 34 F-86s and 55 F-84Es. Despite their numerical inferiority, the Soviet pilots managed to shot down eight B-29s and two F-84Es, for the price of a single MiG-15. The USAF called that day "Black Tuesday". That and the Black Thursday, forced the USAF to abandon the precision day-bombing campaign and switch to radar-oriented night raids.
From November 1951 to January 1952 both UN and Communist forces tried to achieve aerial superiority or, at least, deny it to the enemy, over the Yalu river. Therefore the intensity of aerial combats reached peaks not seen yet between MiG-15 and F-86 pilots. During the period from November 1950 to January 1952 no less than 40 Soviet pilots were credited as aces, with five or more victories. The first Soviet pilot to achieve that status was Cpt. Stepan I. Naumenko on 24th December 1950 with Cpt. Sergei Kramarenko being the second one to achieve it on 29th July 1951. Around 16 more Soviet pilots became eventually aces and the most successful one was Maj. Nikolay Sutyagin with 22 victories, 13 of them confirmed by the USAF. He was followed by Col. Yevgeny Pepelyaev with 19 claims, 15 confirmed and Maj. Lev Shchukin with 17 claimed and 11 verified.
Thanks to the technical advantage of the MiG specially at high altittudes, the MiG leaders were able to dictate the tactical situation at least until the battle was started. They could decide to fight or to stay out. The advantage of the radar control from the ground also allowed the MiGs to pass through the gaps in the F-86 control pattern.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Korean war. Part one.

The Soviets had secretly been deploying MiG-15 squadrons close to the North Korean border, in the Manchurian province of Antung in August 1950 and were already training Chinese pilots in mainland China when China entered the war supporting North Korea. By October, the Soviet Union had agreed to provide state-of-the-art MiG-15 fighters together with trained crews to flight them. At the same time, agreed to supply both the Chinese and North Koreans with their own MiG-15s and train their pilots.
In November, the 50th IAD (Soviet Fighter Regiment) joined the war with its MiG-15s and their noses painted red and in North Korean Markings and more units were moved to the Far East Theatre.
Despite many successful clashes where the MiG-15 appeared victorious, on 9th November the first loss of a MiG-15 took place when a Grumman F8F that had took-off from the USS Philippine Sea carrier shot down a MiG-15.
In order to counter the MiG-15 menace, three squadrons equipped with the F-86 Sabre, America's only swept-wing fighter of the time, were rushed to the Far East in December 1950. On 17th December Lt.Col. Bruce H. Hinton forced Major Yakov N. Yefromeyenko to eject from his burning MiG. During the following days both sides clashed with both sides exaggerating their claims on aerial victories. The USAF claimed eight MiGs and the Soviets claimed twelve F-86s when actual losses were three MiGs and at least four F-86s.
That same month, the Soviet 324th IAD Division arrived to Antung, the main base of the Soviet units, formed mainly with elite units, among them Col. Ivan Kozhedub, who was the top Soviet ace of the World War II and it wasn't until April 1951 that they entered into action.
The main mission of the MiG-15 wasn't to clash against the F-86 but to intercept the large formations of B-29 Superfortress. One of those action took place on 12th April 1951 when a formation of 44 MiG-15s faced an USAF formation of three squadrons of B-29 Superfortress (44 bombers) escorted by 96 F-80 and F-84 fighters. The Soviets managed to lure the escorts away and shot down three B-29 and badly damage 7 bombers more and 11 F-80 shot down. Due to that action, which is known as the "Black Thursday" in the USAF, bomber operations were put on hold for three months, switching from day bombings in large formations to night bombing in small formations.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15#The_Korean_War_(1950–1953)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MiG_Alley
3. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis / WSK-Mielec Lim-2, Polish users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis equipped the Polish Air Force during the 1950s. Since June 1951 the MiG-15 equipped the Polish 1st Fighter Regiment with additional fighter regiments being set up shortly later. On 23rd January 1953 the first MiG-15bis arrived in Poland, which equipped the 5th Fighter Regiment.
Most of the MiG-15bis of the Polish Air Forcem probably up to 20 copies, were used to compare with the previous version, the regular MiG-15, which was already being manufactured locally as the WSK-Mielec Lim-1, and most of them were integrated into the air force serving most of them with the regiments based in the north.
As it happened with the MiG-15, it was decided to manufacture the MiG-15bis locally under the denomination of WSK-Mielec Lim-2. The first copy rolled out of the factory on 17th September 1954, only after 17 days of the last Lim-1 exemplar. It was produced until 23rd November 1956 with 500 or 530 (depending on the source) exemplars being built by WSK located in Mielec, Poland.
The Lim-2 was equipped with a single Klimov VK-1A engine which delivered a power of 6041lb of thrust (26.87kN) and was locally manufactured under the denomination of Lis-2.
Some Lim-1s were modernized in 1956 by the LZR (Lotnicze Zaklady Remontowe) receiving the unofficial denomination of Lim-1.5 and some of them replaced their guns for tow-equipment in order to tow targets for anti-air regiments. Another sub-variant was the Lim-2 Streak which was a regular Lim-2 equipped with a special smoke-extending device which was mainly used in air parades.
By 1955  almost every fighter regiment and squadron was equipped with Polish manufactured Lim-1 or Lim-2 as the Yakovlev Yak-23 was withdrawn from service and sent to flying schools. Most of the Fighter Regiments were based in the north of Poland, along the Baltic coast, patrolling the airspace from possible NATO intruders like Lockheed U-2 incursions (which they couldn't intecept as it was beyond its service ceiling) or shooting down propaganda balloons sent from West Germany. Franciszek Jarecki, a Polish pilot defected from Poland to Denmark on 5th March 1953 receiving that way the reward the CIA gave for every defector who could bring a piece of Soviet technology, allowing that way the western technicians to examine the aircraft for the first time. He flew from Slupsk, in northern Poland to the Danish island of Bornholm in just some few minutes. There the American specialists, called by Danish authorities, thoroughly checked the aircraft. Jarecki was granted the American citizenship, received a reward of 50.000$ of the time and, according to international regulations, the aircraft was taken back to Poland by ship some weeks later.
The Lim-2 remained in service until mid-1955 when the first MiG-17F entered service with the 5th Fighter Regiment and they were gradually withdrawn from active service.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15
2. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotnictwo_ludowego_Wojska_Polskiego (translated)
3. https://www.polot.net/wsk_mielec_lim_2_mig_15_bis_english_version/historia
4. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis - Czechoslovak users

As Czechoslovakia became one of the USSR satellite countries, since the communist coup d'etat of 1948, their air force had been receiving Soviet made material since that year.
Therefore, during the years following the coup d'etat, both army and air force underwent several reforms and purges.
One of those, rather radical, reforms, fall back onto the air force as, in 1951 the 1st 2nd and 3rd Air Defence Districts of State territory were created, as well as the 15th Fighter Air Corps, which was equipped, almost entirely with either MiG-15, MiG-15bis or their Czechoslovak copies, Aero S-102 (which has already been covered in a previous post) and Aero S-103 (the Czechoslovak copy of the MiG-15bis) because, since 1948, they were replacing their fighters like the locally built Avia S.99 (a local copy of the Messerschmitt Bf.109G with a new engine), Supermarine Spitfires or De Havilland Mosquitoes.
The 15th Air Fighter Corps was comprised of 1st, 3rd, 5th and 166th Fighter Air Divisions. This last one, the 166th, became, in the late 1950s the 2nd Fighter Air Division.
The Aero S-103 was the license-built copy of the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis. It was manufactured by Aero Vodochody n.p., at Odolena Voda, Czechoslovakia, where around 620 exemplars were manufactured.
Both the MiG-15, the MiG-15bis and their Czechoslovak copies equipped the Air Force of Czechoslovakia from the early 1950s until the mid-to-late 1950s when they were replaced with the more capable MiG-17. Some of them were exported to Arab countries like Egypt and Syria where they saw action in the Suez Crisis. Some outdated MiG-15bis were retained by training units and used as advanced trainers, which could be identified by the blue bands painted on the fuselage.
In 1968 around 75 old MiG-15bis were reconverted into ground-attack airplanes, equipping them with either bombs or air-to-ground missiles. Some of these are known to have been sold to Iraq, which incorporated them into their air force in the early 1970s, however they didn't seem to be very successful since the available data about them is rather scarce. They were named as MiG-15bisSB.
One dogfight between two Czechoslovak Aero-103s and two American F-84E Thunderjet took place on 10th March 1953 over the village of Merklín, in the Czechoslovak Bohemian region when the Czechoslovak Air Force detected two American F-84E Thunderjet fighters flying above Czechoslovak soil. The Czech pilot Jaroslav Srámek shot down one American Republic F-84E Thunderjet belonging to the 53rd Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 36th Fighter-Bomber wing and repelled the other. The American pilot, Lt. Warren G. Brown, managed to eject from the aircraft which crash-landed in West-German territory, approximately 35km (22mi) from the border, and survived.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Czechoslovak_Air_Force
2. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/53180
3. https://forum.valka.cz/topic/view/196279
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15#Other_events
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_battle_over_Merklín
6. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Chinese and Albanian users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich was the second jet fighter to serve with the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Air Force (PLAAF), the first one was the MiG-9.
They saw action first, under PLAAF's colours in the Korean war, and, after that conflict, the USSR supplied China with hundreds of them and they received the denomination of Shenyang J-2 for those serving with the PLAAF and Shenyang F-2 for the exported ones, to give the appearance that they were manufactured in China, in spite of having being manufactured abroad, in the USSR.
They played a role in the First Taiwan Strait crisis. After the end of the Korean War, China turned its attention towards Taiwan, as it was controlled by the Kuomintang. Chinese MiG-15bis engaged the outnumbered Chinese Nationalist Air Force (CNAF) and they helped with the occupation of two strategic island groups by the Communists forces in 1954. As the United States was backing the Taiwan government since 1951, the CNAF was equipped with F-86 Sabres since 1955. Therefore, MiG-15bis and F-86 Sabres clashed three years later, in 1958 at the Quemoy crisis, AKA Second Taiwan Strait crisis. Throughout the decade of the 1950s, the PLAAF's MiG-15bis and the CNAF's Sabres kept clashing in spontaneous skirmishes and, during the Quemoy crisis, a CNAF's Sabre achieved the first air-to-air kill with an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile against a MiG-15bis.
The Chinese MiG-15bis were outdated by the MiG-17 which was also locally manufactured under the denomination of Shenyang J-5. Many of the J-2s were sold to Albania, which kept them active under either fighter or advanced trainer role until the early 1990s.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15#Taiwan_Straits_crisis
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, Egyptian users

Egypt adquired two MiG-15, MiG-15bis and MiG-17 Squadrons from Czechoslovakia in 1955 with the consent and approval of the USSR. They arrived just in time to take part in the 1956 Suez Channel crisis. When the crisis began, the Egyptian Air Force had four squadrons equipped with MiG-15 and MiG-15bis but their pilots were poorly trained to flight them.
In the morning of 30th October, they saw their first aerial action in the middle-east when they intercepted a formation of four English Electric Canberras belonging to the RAF which were on a reconnaissance mission over the Suez Canal Zone. They managed to damage one of the Canberras. Later that same day, Egyptian MiG-15bis attacked Israeli troops at Mitla pass and El Tamed, located both of them in the Sinai peninsula and destroying half a dozen vehicles. Therefore, the Israeli Air Force doubled their combat patrols over the canal zone and two MiGs were taken down by Israeli Dassault Mysteres, although the MiGs managed to attack land troops.
The next day, on 31st October, the Egyptian Air Force managed to shot down two Israeli Dassault Ouragan fighters, forcing one of them to crash-land in the desert. That same day, Franco-British forces began to systematically bomb Egyptian air bases destroying at least eight MiG-15s on the ground, many other types of aircraft and forcing the remaining forces to disperse. The remaining aircraft managed to perform ground attack missions, but the Egyptians had already lost the air superiority.
Back to the 30th October, Egyptian MiGs managed to shot down two Israeli aircraft, a Piper Cub, a Gloster Meteor F.8 and later, on 1st November, they managed to shot down a Dassault Ouragan which was scored by the Egyptian pilot Faruq El-Gazzavi. Another MiG-15 was damaged and the pilot ditched in lake Bardawil, where the aircraft was salavaged by Israeli forces.
After the crisis, the remaining MiG-15bis were repainted with the colours of the United Arab Republic and were the backbone of their fighter force until they were soon replaced by the MiG-17.

Sources:
1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15#Suez_Canal_Crisis_(1956)
2. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, various Middle-eastern & African users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis was used by many Middle-Eastern and African countries. Among them we can find:

• Afghanistan: Back in the mid-1950s the Royal Afghan Air Force underwent a modernization process which made it to withdraw from active service completely outdated aircraft like the Hawker Hind. They bought material almost exclusively from the USSR as it was the cheapest option and, by 1960 their air force was composed of around 100 aircraft, including MiG-15bis fighters and Il-28 bombers. As the country was one of the most conflictive in the region, they weren't never written-off and were most likely used in the many conflicts that the country underwent through the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s and most of the fighters were, most probably, destroyed. As our main source was a quite blurry photo where the registration numbers can't be read, the registration should be taken as speculative.
• Algeria: When Algeria achieved its independence and the Algerian Air Force was created, many Arab countries donated second-hand material, like Egypt, which donated some MiG-15, MiG-15bis and MiG-15UTIs. As, by the 1960s the MiG-15bis were outdated, they were employed as advanced trainers until they were withdrawn when they were replaced by more modern types. As we couldn't find reliable graphical source, the drawing should be taken as speculative.
• North Yemen: As the North Yemen Air Force was supplied, theoretically, by Western powers, the MiG-15bis that served with the North Yemen Air Force were, most likely, captured exemplars. As we couldn't find graphical evidence, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Iraq: When the monarchy was overthrown in Iraq, in the 14th July 1958 revolution, the revolutionary government turned to the USSR looking for new aircraft suppliers. They bought mainly MiG-17s but also some MiG-15bis and MiG-15UTIs which, except for the MiG-17 (which was the most advanced type that the IAF had in inventory during this stage), were used as trainers or advanced trainers. As we couldn't find definitive graphical source, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Pakistan: Apparently, the Pakistan Air Force had a small number of MiG-15 in the very late 1950s. They were most probably some Afghan or even Soviet defector aircraft which landed there and it was interned and repainted. Their fate is unknown and, as there are very little references to the MiG-15bis, the drawing should be considered as speculative.
• Somalia: Together with the Chinese-built MiG-17s (Shenyang F-5), in the year 1960 they were supplied with both Chinese-built MiG-15UTIs (Shenyang FT-2) and second (or even third) hand MiG-15bis which were intended to be used as advanced trainers. Most likely they were used in the Ogaden war in 1977 and the subsequent wars until they were destroyed. As there aren't graphical references, the drawing should be taken as speculative.
• South Yemen: When the South Yemen Republic was created in 1967, it had the support of the USSR, which supplied their Air Force with MiG-15bis, MiG-15UTIs, MiG-17 and MiG-21. They most likely saw combat in the war against their Northern neighbours and were all of them destroyed. Again, the drawing should be taken with a grain of salt as it's speculative.
• Syria: Back in 1955 Syria ordered 24 MiG-15bis fighters and 4 MiG-15UTIs from Czechoslovakia. This order was followed the next year by another batch of additional 24 MiG-15bis. All those fighters were delivered to Egypt which, by October 1956, their pilots were still undergoing training when Israel, backed by the United Kingdom and France, attacked in the course of the Suez Crisis. Most of them were destroyed in the ground during that conflict and, in the afterwards, the Syrian Air Force, ordered the more modern type MiG-17PF.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghan_Air_Force

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algerian_Air_Force

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Yemen

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraqi_Air_Force

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Pakistan_Air_Force

6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_Air_Force

7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Yemen

8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yemeni_Air_Force

9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Air_Force

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis - Various users

Edit: Sorry, we forgot to upload the pic. The have been added now.
The MiG-15bis was used by many countries and some of them evaluated captured exemplars, like the Republic of China (Taiwan) or the USA.

• Cuba: The only American user to equip the MiG-15bis in their air force. Shortly after the end of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 the Cuban government starts negotiations with the USSR for buying armament. After some negotiations, the first 41 MiG-15bis arrived disassembled to Havana in May 1961 together with another MiG-15Rbis (the reconnaissance version), MiG-15UTI (the trainer version) and MiG-19P. During June 1961 they were assembled with the help of Soviet advisors. They were assigned to the newly created "Primer Escuadrón de caza 'Carlos Ulloa'", named after a fallen pilot who died at the Bay of Pigs invasion. They saw action patrolling the Cuban airspace during the Cuban missile crisis and some times there were even some interception flights against American fighters. Some Cuban MiG-15s were involved in the attack on the CIA ship Rex and some skirmishes until 1964 when they were replaced by the MiG-17. On Cuban hands they worked together with their more advanced models like the MiG-19 or the MiG-21, which, as they were more advanced, required better trained pilots which the Cuban Air Force lacked (they were undergoing training in Eastern bloc countries like Czechoslovakia) so, as the MiG-15bis was easier to fly, it was well liked by their pilots. Nowadays many of them are conserved in the Cuban Air Force Museum.
• Republic of China (ROC) (Taiwan): During the many clashes and dogfights of the 1950s and part of the 1960s between the ROC airforce and the People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) one Shenyang J-2 (PLAAF's designation for the MiG-15bis which, unlike the MiG-15UTI it was never manufactured in mainland China) defected to Tao-Yuan, in the island of Taiwan. It was the 3rd March 1962 when the pilot Liu-Chen, belonging to the 8th Squadron, 6th Division, 16th Group, 3rd Wing departed from Lu-Qiao airport located in the city of Zhejiang to Tao-Yuan airbase in Taiwan. The aircraft was repainted in ROC's colours, was test-flown by the ROC's Air Force and nowadays it's preserved at the ROC's museum in Taipei.
• United States of America: During the course of the Korean war, a North Korean pilot, No Kum Sok, defected with his MiG-15bis from Sunan airbase (at the outskirts of Pyongyang) to Kimpo airbase in South Korea on 21st September 1953. Luckily for him, he wasn't neither chased by North Korean fighters because he was too far away when the alarm was raised nor American fighters as the radar in Kimpo was temporarily shut down and he landed the opposite way in the runaway, almost hitting a F-86 Sabre which was landing at the same time from the opposite direction. No Kum Sok was given a reward of 100.000$ offered by the Operation Moolah and he moved on to live in the USA. His aircraft was taken shortly after from Kimpo to Okinawa, in Japan, where it was repainted with USAAF markings and was test flown by Cpt. H.E. Collins and Maj. Chuck Yeager. It was later shipped to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, in Dayton, Ohio, after diplomat efforts to return it to North Korea turned unsuccessful and nowadays it's displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

Sources:

1. http://www.urrib2000.narod.ru/EqMiG15.html (translated)

2. http://www.hobbymastercollector.com/HA2411.html

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Moolah

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Kum-sok

5. Salamander Books - The Complete Book of Fighters

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, various European users

The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis, which basically was an improved variant of the MiG-15, was introduced in 1950 and soon equipped the fighter force of many eastern bloc/Warsaw pact countries. Among those countries, there are the following:

• Bulgaria: After the end of the Korean war, where the MiG-15bis showed its capabilities, in 1955 the old propeller-driven Soviet-build fighters were replaced by MiG-15 and MiG-15bis entering the Bulgarian Air Force in the jet age, even if they had been already operating a very small number of Yakovlev Yak-17 fighters. They were gradually replaced by the MiG-17 during the next years.
• German Democratic Republic: When the Air Forces of the National People's Army was formed in 1956, they were initially equipped with the MiG-15bis which were replaced soon after with the introduction of the MiG-17F/PF and the MiG-15bis was soon relegated to advanced trainer duties.
• Hungarian People's Republic: Like other neighbouring countries of the eastern bloc or Warsaw Pact, until mid-1950s their Air Forces were equipped with World War II Soviet propeller aircrafts even if they received a small amount of Yakovlev Yak-23 as interim fighters. As that material had to be modernized, they received both MiG-15 and MiG-15bis which replaced every previous fighter type and were replaced by the more advanced MiG-17
• Socialist Republic of Romania: The Air Force of the Socialist Republic of Romania received their first jet aircrafts in 1951. They were an amount of Yakovlev Yak-17UTI trainers which were used to train pilots into the usage of jet aircraft. Soon after, in 1954, the Romanian Air Force received both the MiG-15 and MiG-15bis which replaced the old propeller-driven outdated fighters, which, in Romania, some of them were still Messerschmitt Bf.109G-6.

Sources:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikoyan-Gurevich_MiG-15

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Air_Force

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Forces_of_the_National_People%27s_Army

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungarian_Air_Force

5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Air_Force