MiG Alley: Sabres vs. MiGs over Korea

By Warren E. Thompson & David R. McLaren
Specialty Press, 2002
ISBN 1-58007-058-2
Hardcover, 192 Pages
$39.95

Reviewed by Chris Banyai-Riepl

The first jet aircraft combat took place in the skies over Korea and quickly developed into a duel between the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15.  Both of these aircraft were well designed and in the hands of an experienced operator either could come out on top.  This book takes a look at the American side of the conflict, detailing the day to day operations through recollections and anecdotes from the pilots that flew the skies over Korea.  The book takes a chronological approach, starting with the early F-86As that were hopelessly outnumbered and moving through the F-86E and F models and finally finishing up with the secret Gunval Sabres, F-86s fitted with cannons instead of machine guns.

In addition to the great text that puts you in the cockpit of Sabres, you also get an amazing amount of photos of Korean era Sabres, most in color.  A detailed record of every F-86 that served in Korea is also included, providing information that isn’t found in any other reference.  You get a comprehensive list outlining the fate of every single F-86 in Korea as well as a listing of all the Sabre losses and a day-by-day listing of confirmed Sabre kills.  If you want to know what your favorite F-86 did during the Korean War as well as afterwards, that information is in here.

With this year marking the 50th anniversary of many of the fiercest air battles over Korea this book is a timely release and should rekindle much interest in building Korean War Sabres.

Our thanks to Specialty Press for the review sample.  This book is available from their website for $39.95 plus a $4.95 shipping & handling fee.