what would dogfights be like now if jets and missiles had not been invented

[Soviet Ace]

Originally Posted by SEE

Not Props but the last Jet 'dogfights' were apparently during the Korean War between Sabre and MIG. This period was the undeclared war between USSR and USA as Russian Pilots (not Korean) flew the MIG in combat against the Sabre. The USSR were not prepared to lose MIGs or let one be captured hence the Russian piloting. Unfortunately, they didn't bank on one of their pilots defecting with a MIG.

During the dogfight period the Sabre was outclassed by the MIG IIRC apart from one well documented fight between a single Sabre and a number of MIGs. The Sabre Pilot engaged the MIGs until he ran out of Ammo and still managed to get the Sabre back in one piece.

That's also why historians and others, call the Korean War. The 'Last of the Gunfighters'. Because that's all they used. Machine-guns and Cannons. No missiles of anything like they had in the late 50s and through Vietnam. And actually, there were only a number of Russian pilots flying for the Koreans. The USSR mostly had what the Americans had in Vietnam: Military Advisors.