NORTH AMERICAN SABRE^45
North American F-86F Sabre
Max speed: 695mph (1,118km/h)
at 40,000ft
Engine: One General Electric
J47-GE-27 axial- ow
turbojet
Power: 5,910lb thrust
Length: 37ft 6in (11.44m)
Wingspan: 37ft 1.5in (11.31m)
Height: 14ft 8.75in (4.47m)
Armament: 6 x .50-calibre (12.7mm)
M-3 machine guns with
a rate of re of 1,100
rounds per minute
and an ammunition
supply of 1,802 rounds
or 267 rounds per gun;
provision for up to 6 x
500lb (227kg) or 1,000lb
(454kg) bombs or other
weapons loads plus
2 x 200 US gal (755lit)
jettisonable fuel tanks
Max T/O weight: 20,357lb (9,234kg)
Max range: Combat radius 680 miles
(1,086km), with tanks
1,270 miles (2,044km)T
he rst swept-wing warplane in US
ghter inventory, the F-86 Sabre
would be immortal if it had never
done anything except rack up victory after
victory over Soviet-built MiG-15 ghters
during the Korean War of 1950 to 1953.
But when it entered service it was also the
fastest aircraft on the planet.
In 1944, North American Aviation (NAA)
submitted a design for a jet-propelled day
ghter that could also be used as a dive-
bomber or escort ghter. The US Army Air
Forces (USAAF) were still using the term ‘P’
for ‘pursuit’ when they issued a June 1945
contract to NAA for construction of three
XP-86 prototypes, with the ‘X’ pre x indicating
‘experimental’ status. The original straight-
wing design became a swept-wing thanks to
study of German aerodynamics. The rst XP-86
prototype ew on 1 October 1947 at Muroc,
California – the future Edwards Air Force Base- piloted by North American test pilot George
Welch and powered by a non-standard 3,750lb
thrust General Electric J35 turbojet engine.
Welch pronounced the aircraft ‘a super ship to
y’ and ‘without doubt, a world-beater’.
The F-86A Sabre was an all-metal, low-wing
cantilever monoplane with tricycle landing
gear, bubble canopy and 35-degree swept
wing. To minimize the depth of the fuselage in
the cockpit area, the shape of the duct leading
from the inlet to the engine was changed from
a circular to an elliptical shape. The pilot of
the Sabre sat on an ejection seat enclosed in a
bubble canopy with windshield partitions. The
cockpit controls included conventional stick,
throttle and rudder pedals, and a succession of
gunsights that were new to the jet era.
When the rst F-86A Sabres entered service
in 1949, it was recognised as a spectacular
combat aircraft and F-86A models were in
combat in Korea as early as December 1950.
Early variants of the F-86 could not out-turn,
but they could out-dive the MiG-15, although
the MiG-15 was superior to the early F-86
models in ceiling, acceleration, rate of climb
and zoom. With the introduction of the F-86F
in 1953, the two aircraft were more closely
matched, with many combat-experienced pilots
claiming a marginal superiority for the
F-86F. All were rated in the 650mph
class with a 600-mile combat
radius and a service ceiling
of over 45,000ft. Versions
were manufactured in
Australia, Canada,
Italy and Japan.matched, with many combat-experienced pilots
claiming a marginal superiority for the
F-86F. All were rated in the 650mph
class with a 600-mile combat
radius and a service ceiling
of over 45,000ft. Versions
were manufactured in
Australia, Canada,
Italy and Japan.Left: The XP-86 prototype was revealed to the
world on 24 November 1947, some eight weeks
after its maiden ight on 1 October 1947. An
NAA press release disclosed only that it had
‘successfully completed initial ight tests’.Below: North American F-86A-5 Sabre, 49-1225,
own by Maj Richard D. Creighton of the 336th
FIS during the Korean War.