The Mikoyan i Gurevich MiG-15 (ASCC/NATO-codename ‘Fresco’) was the first successful jet fighter to enter service in the USSR with swept wings and capable of reaching high transonic speeds. Created by a design bureau specialised in developing high-altitude interceptors, it was a design custommade to combat such bombers as the B-29, for which purpose it received heavy armament in the form of two 23mm automatic cannons with 80 rounds per gun, and one 37mm cannon with 40 rounds. While slow-firing, and having a low muzzle velocity, such weapons provided tremendous punch: the Soviets calculated that 2-3 hits from either gun would be enough to knock out a B-29. The MiG-15 was pressed into series production in late 1948, and at least 15,000 were manufactured over the following years. This example served with the 29th Guards Interceptor Aviation Regiment in the Far East, before being handed over to the PLAAF in August 1950. (Artwork by Tom Cooper)