Thanks for sharing.
Really surprised to see the USA's kill to loss ratio vs. the Mig-15, especially since the Panther was deemed to be so inferior to the Mig, which of course it is, in terms of top speed and climb rate.
A 3.5:1 kill ratio, and after this encounter, a 5.5:1 one, is pretty astounding. I know the Migs had trouble turning tightly at high speeds, but presumably the Russian pilots were better trained and more experienced than their Chinese and North Korean allies. Either that is not the case, or the turn rates are even more critical than we've been led to believe in air combat.
Of course, perhaps the US pilots were simply much better than their opponents. The kill ratios seem to indicate that.
Note – the Mig has a lower wing-loading than the Panther, so perhaps if they'd just slowed down when fighting their enemy, they might have performed better. Theoretically, given that, they should be better at turning than the Panthers – then again, perhaps the straight wings of the USN jets makes them superior at that than the swept wings of the Soviet ones.
ponders nirvana.