7.
THE ESSENCE OF AGILITY
As the Korean War began, the situation looked bleak for the U.S. pilots and their allies fighting under the United Nations flag. North Korea, along with the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China, could field more jets, and also flew superior planes. The American-made F-86 Sabre had entered active service only the preceding year and was unproven in combat. The Sabre’s swept-back wings cut a fine profile, but few experts considered it equal to its Soviet-produced counterpart, the MiG 15, which matched the Sabre on most performance dimensions and surpassed it on a few critical attributes. The MiG could ascend quicker than the Sabre, operated better at high altitudes, and had a large advantage in its thrust-to-weight ...
