Crucially, the XP-86 would not be able to meet the required top speed of 600 mph (970 km/h);North American had to quickly come up with a radical change that could leapfrog it over its rivals. The North American F-86 Sabre was the first American aircraft to take advantage of flight research data seized from the German aerodynamicists at the end of the war. This data showed that a thin swept wing could greatly reduce drag and delay compressibility problems which had bedeviled even prop-powered fighters such as the Lockheed P-38 Lightning approaching the speed of sound. By 1944, German engineers and designers had established the benefits of swept wings based on experimental designs dating back to 1940. Study of the data showed that a swept wing would solve their speed problem, while a slat on the wing’s leading edge which extended at low speeds would enhance low-speed stability.
Because development of the XP-86 had reached an advanced stage, the idea of changing the sweep of the wing was met with resistance from some senior North American staff. Despite stiff opposition, after good test results were obtained in wind tunnel tests, the swept-wing concept was eventually adopted. Performance requirements were met by incorporating a 35° swept-back wing, using NACA 4-digit modified airfoils, using NACA 0009.5-64 at the root and NACA 0008.5-64 at the tip.with an automatic slat design based on that of the Messerschmitt Me 262 and an adjustable stabilizer.It should be noted that many Sabres had the “6-3 wing” (a fixed-leading edge with 6 inches extended chord at the root and 3 inches extended chord at the tip) retrofitted after combat experience was gained in Korea.This modification changed the wing airfoils to the NACA 0009-64 mod at the root and the NACA 0008.1-64 mod at the tip
Delays caused by the major redesign meant that manufacturing did not begin until after World War II. The XP-86 prototype, which would lead to the F-86 Sabre, was rolled out on 8 August 1947. At the controls of George Welch, the maiden flight occurred on 1 October 1947 from Muroc Dry Lake (now Edwards AFB), California.
The United States Air Force’s Strategic Air Command had F-86 Sabres in service from 1949 through 1950. The F-86s were assigned to the 22nd Bomb Wing, the 1st Fighter Wing and the 1st Fighter Interceptor Wing.The F-86 was the primary U.S. air combat fighter during the Korean War, with significant numbers of the first three production models seeing combat.
The F-86 Sabrejet is owned by Cactus Airforce. It is currently in storage awaiting restoration.
The North American F-86 Sabre (sometimes called the Sabrejet) was a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as America’s first swept wing fighter which could counter the similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high speed dogfights over the skies of the Korean War. Considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in the Korean War, the F-86 is also rated highly in comparison with fighters of other eras. Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable, and continued as a front-line fighter in numerous air forces until the last active operational examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994.
Its success led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. Variants were built in Canada and Australia. The Canadair Sabre added another 1,815 airframes, and the significantly redesigned CAC Sabre (sometimes known as the Avon Sabre or CAC CA-27), had a production run of 112. It was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.
| Crew: | 1 |
| Length: | 37 ft 1 in (11.4 m) |
| Wingspan: | 37 ft 0 in (11.3 m) |
| Height: | 14 ft 1 in (4.5 m) |
| Wing area: | 313.4 sq ft (29.11 m²) |
| Empty weight: | 11,125 lb (5,046 kg) |
| Loaded weight: | 15,198 lb (6,894 kg) |
| Max. takeoff weight: | 18,152 lb (8,234 kg) |
| Powerplant: | 1 × General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet, 5,910 lbf (maximum thrust at 7.950 rpm for five min) (26.3 kN) |
| Maximum speed: |
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| Stall speed: | 124 mph (power off) (108 knots (200 km/h)) |
| Range: | 1,525 mi, (2,454) |
| Service ceiling: | 49,600 ft at combat weight (15,100 m) |
| Rate of climb: | 9,000 ft/min at sea level (45.72 m/s) |
| Wing loading: | 49.4 lb/ft² (236.7 kg/m²) |
| Lift-to-Drag: | 15.1 |
| Thrust/weight: | 0.38 |
| Guns: | 4 × 7.62x51mm M60C machine guns |
| Rockets: | variety of rocket launchers; e.g: 2 Matra rocket pods with 18 SNEB 68 mm rockets per pod |
| Bombs: | 5,300 lb (2,400 kg) of payload on four external hardpoints, bombs were usually mounted on outer two pylons as the inner pairs were plumbed for 2 200 US gallons (760 L) drop tanks which gave the Sabre a more useful range. A wide variety of bombs could be carried (max standard loadout being 2 1,000 lb bombs plus two drop tanks), napalm canisters and could have included a tactical nuclear weapon. |
Several people involved with the development of the F-86, including the chief aerodynamicist for the project and one of its other test pilots, claimed that North American test pilot George Welch had unofficially broken the sound barrier in a dive with the XP-86 while on a test flight on 1 October 1947. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on 14 October 1947 in the rocket-propelled Bell X-1 during level flight, making it the first true supersonic aircraft. Five years later, on 18 May 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, flying a “one-off” Canadian-built F-86 Sabre Mk 3, alongside Chuck Yeager.Col. KK Compton won the 1951 Bendix air race in an F-86A with an average speed of 553.76 mph.
