<p>The North American F-86 Sabre, best-recalled for prevailing over the MiG-15 in Korea but used by numerous air forces, owes its creation to a project authorized in 1943 by company president J. H. 'Dutch' Kindelberger and taken up by a design team under J. Lee Atwood and Ray Rice. By late 1944, the company was at work on its model NA-134, which would emerge as the US Navy's FJ-1 Fury, a conventional jet fighter with a straight, thin wing set low on the fuselage and a straight-through flow of air from nose inlet to jet exhaust. This design, powered by a 4,000-lb (17.79-kN) thrust Allison TG-180, soon to be known as the J35, offered little advantage over the identically-powered Republic XP-84. Soon, however, with L. P. Greene taking over North American's design effort, German research on sweptback wings was exploited and Kindelberger made a bold policy decision. Rather than merely proceed with an already good design, the company went for the revolutionary swept wing. The Soviet Union was taking the same course with the MiG-15, which flew in 1947, although British fighters well into the 1950s would be handicapped by the straight-wing configuration.
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<hi style=hdr1>First Flight</hi>
<p>The first of three XP-86 prototypes (45-59597/59599) was rolled out 8 August 1947, powered by the J35-C-3 engine (developed by General Electric but manufactured first by the Chevrolet Division and later the Allison Division of General Motors). On 1 October 1947, the first flight was made by company test pilot George Welch. The prototype exceeded the speed of sound in a dive for the first time on 26 April 1948 and was formally delivered to the USAF on 30 November 1948. An initial order for 33 F-86As (47-605/637) powered by the more advanced 5,000-lb (22.24-kN) thrust General Electric J47-GE-3 turbojet resulted in the first flight of an F-86A on 20 May 1948. The first operational F-86As were delivered in March 1949 to the 9th Fighter Squadron, part of the 1st Fighter Group, at March AFB, California. The name Sabre was adopted on 4 March 1949. Much later in their service lives, some F-86As were converted as DF-86A drone-control and RF-86A reconnaissance craft.
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<p>The F-86B designation was briefly assigned to a minor variant among the 554 airframes eventually delivered in the F-86A series. The F-86C designation was temporarily assigned to a significantly different aircraft which was redesignated YF-93A.
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<p>The F-86D was a radar-guided, rocket-armed all-weather fighter intended for ground-controlled intercept (GCI) of Soviet bombers penetrating North American air space. Briefly known as YF-95A, the first of two YF-86D service-test aircraft (50-577/578) was flown on 22 December 1949 by Welch, and although no radar was yet available it had the giant nose radome and chin inlet beneath, which would characterize the series. There were delays and difficulties in the development of the interceptor, powered by 7,650-lb (34.03-kN) thrust (with afterburning) General Electric J47-GE-13, equipped with APS-6 radar and Hughes fire-control system, and armed with 24 2.75-in (70-mm) folding-fin aircraft rockets (FFAR) in a retractable nose tray. The first operational F-86D was delivered on 5 March 1951. On 19 November 1952, Captain J. Slade Nash piloted an F-86D (51-2495) to a world air speed record of 699.9 mph (1,126.35 km/h) in a sea-level dash at Salton Sea, California. Some 2,504 of the F-86D interceptors were delivered and served with the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) and units in Europe, as well as in the Air National Guard (ANG) and the air forces of Denmark, Japan and South Korea.
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<hi style=hdr1>Improved Day-Fighter</hi>
<p>The F-86E was an improved day-fighter Sabre with an 'all-flying tail'. The tailplane became a primary control surface, the elevators merely increasing its effect, and artificial feel was added for the first time in a production fighter. The first F-86E flew in 1950, was operationally employed by the USAF, and became the basis for production of a series of Sabres built under license by Canadair Limited in Montreal. The six variants of Canadair Sabre totalling 655 airframes for Canada, Germany, South Africa and Colombia are outside the scope of this work. The only Canadair machines assigned a USAF designation were the 120 F-86E-6(CAN) airframes built with US funding, many of which served with the UK's Royal Air Force. In the mid-1980s, however, numbers of Canadair-built Sabres were arriving in the USA for conversion to QF-86 target drones at the US Navy Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, California.
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<p>The first example of the F-86F model (51-2850) was flown on 19 March 1952 by George Smith. The F-86F was initially built in Los Angeles as previous North American machines had been but, given the urgency of the Korean War, a second production line was established at the firm's former Curtiss plant in Columbus, Ohio. The F-86F had a new wing leading edge extended 6 in (15 cm) at the root and 3 in (7.5 cm) at the tip, with small boundary layer fences introduced for the first time. This '6-3' wing improved the Sabre's maneuverability at high altitude, and the F-86F was rushed to Korea where earlier F-86A and F-86E machines were regarded, by some, as less agile than the MiG-15. By the time the 1950-53 Korean War reached its peak, all three Sabre fighter wings on the peninsula had converted to the F-86F model, 2,540 of which were manufactured. Two F-86Fs were converted as two-seat TF-86F trainer prototypes. An RF-86F reconnaissance variant was originated in Japan. In the 1980s, a number of QF-86F drones were serving the US Navy at Point Mugu. It would be impossible to list every country which eventually obtained used F-86F airframes (Tunisia being an example of how far afield the type went), but among early major users were South Africa, Korea and Japan.
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<p>The designation F-86G was briefly applied to a variant of the all-weather interceptor powered by the J47-GE-33 and eventually delivered as an F-86D.
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<p>A major change in the Sabre airframe was marked when the first of two service-test YF-86H aircraft (52-1975/1976) was flown on 30 April 1953 by Joseph Lynch. The production F-86H, built in Columbus, introduced the 9,300-lb (41.37-kN) thrust General Electric J73-GE-3 turbojet and was intended to be armed with four 20-mm cannon, although the first 116 of 473 built retained the six 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine guns of all other American day-fighter Sabres. Never exported, the re-engined F-86H arrived too late for combat in Korea but was widely used by USAF and ANG units. A few were converted to QF-86H target drones for the US Navy at China Lake, California.
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<p>The F-86J appellation went to a converted F-86A (49-1069) powered by the 7,275-lb (32.36-kN) thrust Avro Orenda turbojet, which was used on most Canadian-built Sabres but no other USAF machines.
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<p>The two service-test YF-86K Sabres (52-3630 and 52-3804), the first flown on 15 July 1954 by Ray Morris and both converted from F-86D standard, introduced a version of the radar-equipped, all-weather interceptor armed with four 20-mm cannon instead of FFAR rockets. The F-86K, the first production example of which (53-8273) was introduced to service in 1955, was intended primarily for export to NATO allies. Of 341 built, 221 were assembled from knockdown kits by Fiat in Italy. Italy and West Germany were principal F-86K operators.
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<p>The F-86L was a conversion of the F-86D and a further development of the all-weather interceptor, being refitted with 2 ft (0.61 m) wider wings and datalink capability for the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. Some 981 were converted for service with the USAF's Air Defense Command and a few reached Thailand and other users.
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<p>The US Navy's straight-wing FJ-1 Fury was followed in service by the FJ-2, FJ-3 and FJ-4, all sweptwing, navalized Sabres. On 18 September 1962 when the US system for designating military aircraft was changed, the FJ-3 and FJ-4 Fury acquired the new F-1 designation. By that time, however, their service career was nearly over. A Sabre variant was also manufactured by Commonwealth in Australia.
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<p>Well over 7,300 Sabres were manufactured, 6,874 with USAF designations and serial numbers.
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<hi style=hdr1>Combat</hi>
<p>When China entered the Korean War in November 1950, its MiG-15s based on the Manchurian side of the Yalu River quickly established supremacy over the F-51s, F-80s and F9F Panthers in the combat zone. On 8 November 1950, the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing was despatched from Dover AFB, Delaware and, taking its F-86A Sabres across the Pacific by sea, began combat operations at Seoul's Kimpo AB on 17 December. Their first mission drew blood. Flying at 32,000 ft (9,754 m) at a speed of 472 mph (760 km/h), Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton of the wing's 336th Fighter Squadron in an F-86A (49-1236), callsign 'Baker Lead', began the classic ploy that would continue throughout the war, the fighter sweep along the Yalu where the Americans deliberately placed themselves in position to be engaged by the MiGs. At that point, incredible as it seems with today's intelligence-gathering methods, Hinton and his wingmen had no information about the armament or maneuverability of the MiG-15. When the MiGs took the bait, Hinton ordered Baker Flight to jettison wing tanks. Hinton pulled into a turning MiG-15, watched the Chinese pilot discard his wing tanks, and used the advantage of the F-86A's superior acceleration in a dive to close rapidly. Although his F-86A was redlined at (restricted to) Mach 0.95, Hinton was at almost the speed of sound when he fired a short burst of 0.5-in (12.7-mm) fire. The Chinese fighter broke up in pieces and the F-86 had its first kill.
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<p>The F-86A, F-86E and F-86F used in Korean combat are usually reported to have been at a maneuvering disadvantage with the MiG-15 and to have prevailed only because of superior pilot skill. It is true that many American fighter pilots were World War II veterans. Most, however, believe that their airframe, too, was superior. This is especially so with regard to the F-86F with the '6-3' wing and, most importantly, the only radar-ranging gunsight on any fighter in the war. Captain Manuel 'Pete' Fernandez spoke highly of the gunsight and of the Sabre's stability at high angles of attack. On 10 May 1953, Fernandez, of the 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, flying an F-86F (51-2857), callsign 'John Dog Lead', found himself in a furious maneuvering situation at medium altitude where the MiG-15 supposedly had the greatest advantage. Outnumbered and in a critical fuel situation, Fernandez was able to turn inside his opponents each time they closed in. He found the Sabre's 0.5-in (12.7-mm) machine guns more accurate at greater range than the MiG's 23-mm and 37-mm cannon, although other pilots tended to berate the 50-caliber round's low hitting power. When 10 F-86Fs were refitted with four 20-mm cannon and sent to Korea under Project Gunval, the American cannon also proved farther-reaching and more accurate than the MiG's weapons, although posing maintenance problems not encountered with the machine guns. Fernandez, who finished as the war's third-ranking ace with 14 MiG kills, was adamant about the Sabre's overall superiority and was by no means alone.
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<p>Although the F-86 is often reported to have achieved a remarkable 12-to-1 kill ratio over the MiG-15, revised analysis makes the actual figure roughly 7-to-1, still so extraordinary as to be unmatched in any other air campaign in history. F-86s shot down 792 MiG-15s while sustaining 78 air-to-air losses. The UK's future Air Marshal, John Nichol, shot down a MiG-15 while flying an F-86 on a USAF exchange tour. Of 40 American aces in Korea, 39 flew the F-86. The ranking aces were Captain Joseph D. McConnell Jr with 16 kills and Major James Jabara with 15. The final air-to-air kill of the war was an Ilyushin Il-12 transport downed on 27 July 1953 by Captain Ralph S. Parr, flying an F-86F (51-12959).
<item><hi format=bold>Powerplant:</hi> one 5,910 lb (26.28-kN) thrust General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet engine
<item><hi format=bold>Performance:</hi> maximum speed 695 mph (1,118 km h) at 40,000 ft (12,192 m); initial climb rate (clean) 9,300 ft (2,835 m) per minute; service ceiling 48,000 ft (14,630 m); range with drop tanks 1,270 miles (2,044 km)
<item><hi format=bold>Weights:</hi> empty 10,890 lb (4,939 kg); maximum take-off 20,357 lb (9,234 kg)
<item><hi format=bold>Dimensions:</hi> span 37 ft 1 in (11.31 m) (later increased); length 37 ft 6 in (11.44 m); height 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m); wing area 288 sq ft (26.76 m<su>2</su>)
<item><hi format=bold>Armament:</hi> six 0.5-in (12.7-mm) fixed forward-firing machine guns, plus provision for two 1,000-lb (454-kg) bombs or various other bombs, rockets or other ordnance with or without two 200-US gal (757-liter) tanks
