North American | ||||||||||||
F-86 Sabre
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
F-86A Photo: Robert Deering 10/18/2012 National Museum of the USAF Wright-Patterson AFB (FFO) Dayton, Ohio |
||||||||||||
The F-86, the
USAF's first swept-wing jet fighter, made
its initial flight on Oct. 1, 1947. The
first production model flew on May 20, 1948,
and on Sept. 15, 1948, an F-86A set a new
world speed record of 670.9 mph. Originally
designed as a high-altitude day-fighter, it
was subsequently redesigned into an
all-weather interceptor (F-86D) and a
fighter-bomber (F-86H).
As a day fighter, the airplane saw service in Korea in three successive series (F-86A, E and F), where it engaged the Russian-built MiG-15. By the end of hostilities, it had shot down 792 MiGs at a loss of only 76 Sabres, a victory ratio of 10 to 1. Development of the F-86 evolved from the straight-winged FJ-1 of the U.S. Navy, and then became the inspiration for the swept-wing FJ-2, FJ-3, and FJ-4 (Designated F-1 from 1962 and later). More than 5,500 Sabre day-fighters were built in the United States and Canada. The airplane was also used by the air forces of 20 other nations, including West Germany, Japan, Spain, Britain and Australia. |
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
VARIANTS:
|
||||||||||||
|