In early November 1950, one week after the ground forces of the Chinese People’s Volunteers entered the North Korean war, because the Chinese People’s Volunteers had almost no air combat power, the air superiority was firmly in the hands of the United Nations, headed by the U.S. Army, so the Soviet Air Force wanted to cover the Chinese People’s Volunteers. For ground operations, a large number of air forces were also sent in secret to fight, and a large number of advanced MiG fighters were also provided to the Chinese army to form China's own aviation division.
After the middle of 1951, Chinese and Soviet Air Force MiG-15 fighter jets repeatedly fought with UN fighters, and fought fiercely with them over the plains on the south bank of the Yalu River, which caused a huge impact on the UN air force. The loss formed the famous "MiG Corridor", which was also the area where most of the air battles occurred during the entire Korean War. In order to avoid the expansion of the war due to the Soviet Union’s participation in the war, the United States adopted a silent attitude towards the Soviet Air Force’s participation in the war. At that time, US Secretary of Defense Vandenberg explained at the press conference: "China became an air force power almost overnight."
Why are the powerful United Nations Air Forces unable to seize air superiority in the MiG Corridor airspace? The most important factor is the mysterious and elite Soviet pilots in Eastern Europe. Stalin ordered the Defense Minister Marshal Vasilievsky to be responsible for dispatching aviation divisions to China, and strictly required all Soviet soldiers to wear the uniforms of the Chinese People's Volunteers and strictly restricted the combat area of their pilots. Its commander is the Soviet air combat hero Kozhdub of World War II. Many Soviet pilots have experienced the brutal baptism of World War II and have extremely rich combat experience.
In fact, the command system of the Soviet Air Force is independent of the Chinese army, but the main airport is still located in China near Anton. It is very close to the Yalu River, and has a great advantage over the United Nations fighter aircraft in its voyage. In addition, the US military also expressly prohibits its air force units from entering the territory of China to fight. Therefore, for most of the time, the Sino-Su MiG fighters at these airports can take off, land, and assemble freely. U.S. pilots once mentioned in interviews that when they were patrolling the airspace near the Yalu River, they could see from a distance that fighters at airports in China were taking off in an orderly manner and could not attack. After the formation of Chinese and Su MiG fighters was completed, they could immediately engage in air combat with the U.S. military with a high advantage. . Although Stalin required strict confidentiality of Soviet troops participating in the war, the coalition forces actually learned of the intervention of the Soviet Air Force by monitoring radio communications soon after the Soviet Union joined the ranks of air combat. However, throughout the Korean War, the United Nations also chose to remain silent. So as not to expand the war.
The Mige Corridor is like an ancient arena. In this limited area, most of the air battles take place here, because the United Nations forces led by the US military have shown that they have not lost the area. The control of air supremacy, and the Soviet Union and China's willingness to build forward airports southward is not high, so both sides will go to this area for air combat, which has become a common practice for the warring parties. In terms of the distance that both sides need to fly, the average stay time of the US military's main fighter F-86 is about 20 minutes. Judging from the results, the US military has indeed suppressed the volunteers' ability to use air supremacy on the Korean Peninsula. However, after a prolonged confrontation, the US military's strategic attempt to cut off the Chinese military's transportation line by bombing was ultimately unfulfilled. It can be said that there is no absolute winner on either side of the war.
In 2000, the former commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force Wang Hai wrote in his autobiography "My Combat Career": "At the beginning of the Korean War, the Chinese People’s Volunteers Air Force was still quite young and weak. Air combat was mainly fought by the Soviet Air Force." During the entire war, 12 Soviet air divisions participated in air combat. The total number of air forces participating in the battle was 72,000, and in 1952, it reached 25,000-26,000 at its peak. The Soviet Air Force’s fighters shot down 1,097 enemy aircraft, and the anti-aircraft artillery shot down 212 enemy aircraft. According to statistics from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Soviet aviation lost 335 aircraft and 120 pilots on the Korean battlefield. The total loss of Soviet soldiers in this war was 299.
Chinese People's VolunteersThe reason why the five victories and five victories on the Korean battlefield was inseparable was inseparable from the heroic participation of the Chinese and Soviet air forces. The formation of the MiG Corridor greatly ensured the smooth flow of the volunteers’ logistics line and ensured the volunteers’ combat supplies. The supply made an indelible contribution to the final victory of the Korean War.
