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Subject: North American F-86 Sabre
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_F-86_Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet
fighter aircraft. Produced by North AmericanAviation, the Sabre is best known as
the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the
similarly-winged Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights over the skies of the
aircraft in that 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 Although it was developed in the late 1940s and was outdated by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 '50s, 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. The Sabre was by far the most-produced
Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.
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
World War II. This data showed that a thin swept wing could greatly reduce drag
and delay compressibility problems that 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 that extended at low speeds would enhance low-speed stability.
Role
Fighter aircraft
National origin
United States
Manufacturer
North American Aviation
First flight
1 October 1947
Introduction
1949, with USAF
Retired
1994, Bolivia
Primary users
United States Air Force
Japan Air Self-Defense Force
Spanish Air Force
Republic of Korea Air Force
Number built
9,860
Unit cost
US$219,457 (F-86E)
Developed from
North American FJ-1 Fury
Variants
CAC Sabre
Canadair Sabre
North American F-86D Sabre
North American FJ-2/-3 Fury
Developed into
North American FJ-4 Fury
North American YF-93
North American F-100 Super Sabre
The F-86 entered service with the United States Air Force in 1949, joining the
1st Fighter Wing's 94th Fighter Squadron and became the primary air-to-air jet
fighter used by the Americans in the Korean War. While earlier straight-winged
jets such as the F-80 and F-84 initially achieved air victories, when the swept
wing Soviet MiG-15 was introduced in November 1950, it outperformed all UN-based
aircraft. In response, three squadrons of F-86s were rushed to the Far East in
December. Early variants of the F-86 could not outturn, but they could outdive
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. The
heavier firepower of the MiG (and many other contemporary fighters) was
addressed by fielding eight cannon armed Fs in the waning months of the war.
Despite being able to fire only two of the four 20 mm cannon at a time, the
experiment was considered a success. The MiGs flown from bases in Manchuria by
Chinese, North Korean, and Soviet VVS pilots were pitted against two squadrons
of the 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing forward-based at K-14, Kimpo, Korea.
By the end of hostilities, F-86 pilots were credited with shooting down 792 MiGs
for a loss of only 78 Sabres, a victory ratio of 10:1. More recent research by
Dorr, Lake and Thompson has claimed the actual ratio is closer to 2:1. The
Soviets claimed to have downed over 600 Sabres, together with the Chinese
claims, although these are thought by some to be an overcount as they cannot be
reconciled with the 78 Sabres recorded as lost by the US. A recent RAND report
made reference to "recent scholarship" of F-86 v MiG-15 combat over Korea and
concluded that the actual kill:loss ratio for the F-86 was 1.8:1 overall, and
likely closer to 1.3:1 against MiGs flown by Soviet pilots. Based on Soviet
archival data, 335 Soviet MiG-15s are known to have been admitted as lost by the
Soviets over Korea. Chinese claims of their losses amount to 224 MiG-15s over
Korea. North Korean losses are not known, but according to North Korean
defectors their air force lost around 100 MiG-15s during the war.
Thus a total of 659 MiG-15s are admitted as being lost, all but a handful to
F-86 Sabres, while USAF claims of their losses amount to 78 F-86 Sabres,. Of the
41 American pilots who earned the designation of ace during the Korean war, all
but one flew the F-86 Sabre, the exception being a Navy Vought F4U Corsair night
fighter pilot.
Specifications (F-86F-40-NA)
General characteristics
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)
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)
Fuel provisions Internal fuel load: 437 US gallons (1,650 L), Drop tanks: 2x200
US gallons (760 L) JP-4 fuel
Performance
Maximum speed: 687 mph (1,106 km/h) at sea level at 14,212 lb (6,447 kg) combat
weight also reported 678 mph (1,091 km/h) and 599 at 35,000 feet (11,000 m) at
15,352 pounds (6,960 kg). (597 knots (1,106 km/h) at 6446 m, 1,091 and 964 km/h
at 6,960 m.)
Stall speed: 124 mph (power off) (108 knots (200 km/h))
Range: 1,525 mi, (2,454 km)
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)
lift-to-drag: 15.1
Thrust/weight: 0.42
Armament
Guns: 6 X 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine guns (1,800 rounds in total)
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.
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