Keywords: MiG-15bis Kimpo Sep 1953.jpeg en In April 1953 the U S Far East Command made an offer of 100 000 for the first MiG-15 delivered intact No enemy pilot took advantage of this offer and when the Korean Truce went into effect on July 27 1953 the UN still had not acquired a MiG-15 for flight-testing On Sept 21 1953 personnel at Kimpo Air Base near Seoul Korea were surprised to see a MiG-15 suddenly land downwind and roll to a stop The plane was piloted by a 21-year old Senior Lt Kum Sok No of the North Korean Air Force who had decided to fly to South Korea because he was sick and tired of the Red deceit Shortly after landing at Kimpo Air Base the young pilot not only learned of the 100 000 reward but also that his mother had been safely evacuated from North to South Korea in 1951 and that she was still alive and well The MiG-15 was taken to Okinawa where it was first flown by Wright Field test pilot Capt Tom Collins Subsequent test flights were made by Capt Collins and Maj Chuck Yeager The airplane was next disassembled and airlifted to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Ohio in December 1953 where it was reassembled and given exhaustive flight-testing The United States offered to return the MiG to its rightful owners but when no country claimed the airplane it was transferred to the museum in 1957 At his request No came to the United States changed his name and became a U S citizen He graduated from the University of Delaware was joined by his mother and was later married Interestingly just below the gunsight on Lt No's MiG-15 was the following admonition in red Korean characters Pour out and zero in this vindictive ammunition to the damn Yankees After considerable flight-testing the United States offered to return the airplane to its rightful owners The offer was ignored and in November 1957 it was transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force for public exhibition Today it carries its original number 2057 The original caption states that this photo was taken at Okinawa however there are 4th and 51st FIW F-86s in the background which were based in Korea http //www defenseimagery mil U S DefenseImagery photo VIRIN http //www dodmedia osd mil/DVIC_View/Still_Details cfm SDAN HFSN9807385 JPGPath /Assets/1986/Navy/HF-SN-98-07385 JPG HF-SN-98-07385 USAF 1953-09 PD-USGov Aircraft captured by the United States Korean People's Air Force in the Korean War Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bis MiG-15s in the Korean War Black and white photographs of aircraft No Kum-Sok Kimpo Air Base |