[Daniel Nole]

A small update of KPAFAC MiGs operations.

In Oct 6, 1951, Kozedub's 324th IAD transfered his war weary MiG-15s(RD-45F engines)to the KPAFAC 435th IAD 447th Regiment. This regiment was the first MiG equipped unit of the KPAFAC and near as certain, was the unit of No Gum-suk, the North Korean defector.

The 447th Regiment was deployed at Uiju(MiGs operated in North Korea used only Uiju and a few times Sinuiju)and start operations Nov 7, 1951.

This MiGs were sighted and spotted by recce flights and at Nov 18, F-86s straffed the base destroying four of the MiGs at ground.

The 447th was then moved to Antung for avoid more losses. Other two KPAFAC regiments were formed later by June 1952 and his pilots were trained at Anshan, main center of training of the MiG pilots. Is unknown if this two regiments were declared operational before the end of the war.

About this two MiG-15 KPAFAC regiments , Zavelin had say:

I never saw Korean pilots in action. There was a division consisting of two regiments when I was the commander of the air garrison at Anshan. We flew combat missions while they trained. Kim Il Sung did not allow them to fly combat missions, because he understood that they would be torn to pieces in one week. They were organized and trained to have their own Air Forces after we withdrew our forces, as a basis for the NKAF.
They had one more division flying Tu-2s, somewhere in the rear of Chinese territory. Chinese pilots were sitting with us at the same airfields.


The base of Anshan in Manchurie was sometimes also the a center of distribution, and maintenance of the MiGs. In general all Regiment with his tour of operations ended flew to Anshan. There the planes were checked and distributed to new fresh arrived regiments. By the middle of 1952, many of the logistic functions suporting the 64th IAK was based at Antung and the new arrived regiments taked his assigned planes directly in his allocated bases Antung(Andun) Tatung-Kao(Manpo or Myaogou) or Fencheng(Dapu).Later Myaogou became the main airfield.

The KPAFAC 447th Regiment was still a Antung at the end of the war and some sources speak also of a certain number of other KPAFAC MiG pilots flying in one of the six PLAAF MiG divisions deployed about this time.

In the last day of the war and as cited by Zhang, several MiGs were crated at Antung and send smuggled by rail or boat to North Korea(near certain Uiju). One of these MiGs was the red 2057, used later by No Gum-suk in his defection. The 2057 was a recently painted North Korean number, replacing its original Soviet tactical number.

About MiG-15's markings in Korea

In the initial periode the MiGs of the 151th GIAD and the 28th IAD flew with the insignias of the PLAAF. That included a serie of red and white stripes in the rudder.
From Dec 1, 1950 all MiGs were operated with the insignias of the KPAFAC. KPAFAC Roundels were not painted in the upper wings surfaces. Red noses dont mean as in Soviet Union deployed MiGs, a Guard Regiment, was only a ID feature. PLAAF 4th FAD MiGs in this early periode flew also with KPAFAC insignias and red noses.Some planes of the V-VS 177th IAP fly with red noses, other not.
With the arrival of the Kozedub's 324th IAD , red roses were painted in all MiGs. By January 1952 no more red noses were displayed and start the experiments and test for camoufled MiGs.
PLAAF MiGs by the end of the war were painted with the CPV tittle in the nose(Chinese People's Volunteers). Insignias if displayed, were always the KPAFAC roundels.
Also PLAAF MiG-15s of aces or notoury pilots displayed stars for kill markings , like de MiGs of Wang Hai, Zao Baothong, Zhang Jihui, etc.
To this day I have nothing found about one MiG displaying a Dragon painted in the fuselage. A MiG wearing something like this was reported as shot down May 18, 1953.

Daniel