North American F-86 Sabre

Design and development

Initial proposals to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat high-altitude day fighter aircraft/escort fighter/fighter bomber were made in late 1944, and were derived from the design of the straight wing FJ Fury being developed for the U.S. Navy.[2] Performance requirements were met by incorporating a 35 degree swept-back wing with automatic slats (Messerschmitt Me 262 airfoil and Me 262 HG II wing sweep)[3][4] into the design. Manufacturing was not begun until after World War II as a result. The XP-86 prototype, which would become the F-86 Sabre, first flew on 1 October 1947[5] from Muroc Dry Lake, California.[6]

The USAF 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.[7]

The F-86 was produced as both a fighter-interceptor and fighter-bomber. Several variants were introduced over its production life, with improvements and different armament implemented (see below). The XP-86 (eXperimental Pursuit) was fitted with a J35-C-3 jet engine that produced 4,000 lbf (18 kN) of thrust. This engine was built by GM's Chevrolet division until production was turned over to Allison.[8] The J47-GE-7 engine was used in the F-86A-1 producing a thrust of 5,200 lbf (23 kN) while the General Electric J73-GE-3 engine of the F-86H produced 9,250 lbf of thrust.[9] 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 fighter-bomber version (F-86H) could carry up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg) of bombs, including an external fuel-type tank that could carry napalm.[10]

Both the interceptor and fighter versions carried six Browning M3 .50 in (12.7 mm) caliber machine guns in the nose (later versions of the F-86H carried four 20 mm cannons instead of machine guns). Guns were harmonized to converge at 1,000 ft (300 m) in front of the aircraft with one tracer bullet for every five rounds. Most rounds used during the Korean War were API (armor-piercing incendiary) bullets containing magnesium, which were designed to ignite upon impact but performed poorly above 35,000 ft (11,000 m) as the oxygen levels are insufficient to sustain combustion at that height. Initially fitted with the Mark 18 manual-ranging computing gun sight, later models used A-1CM radar ranging gunsight which used radar to compute the range of a target. This would later to prove a significant advantage against MiG opponents over Korea, and fitted to later supersonic fighters such as the F-100 and F-105.[citation needed]

Unguided 2.75 inch (70 mm) rockets were used on some of the fighters in target practice, but 5 inch (127 mm) rockets were later used in combat operations. The F-86 could also be fitted with a pair of external jettisonable fuel tanks (four on the F-86F beginning in 1953) that extended the range of the aircraft.

The F-86 Sabre was also license produced by Canadair Limited in Montreal as the Canadair Sabre. The final variant of the Canadian Sabres, the Mk 6, is generally rated as being one of the most capable of all Sabre variants built anywhere.[11] The last Sabre to be manufactured by Canadair Ltd. (Sabre #1815) now resides at the Western Canada Aviation Museum (WCAM)'s permanent collection in Winnipeg, Canada after being donated by the Pakistan Air Force.[12]

[edit] Breaking sound barrier and other records
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of the Canadair F-86 with Chuck Yeager.
Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of the Canadair F-86 with Chuck Yeager.

The F-86A set its first official world speed record of 570 mph (920 km/h) in September 1948.[13]

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 dived the XP-86 through the sound barrier while on a test flight 26 April 1948.[14] (Chuck Yeager went supersonic in 1947 in the rocket powered Bell X-1, the first aircraft to sustain supersonic speeds in level flight, making it the first "true" supersonic aircraft.)[15]

On 18 May 1953, Jacqueline Cochran flying a Canadian-built F-86E alongside Chuck Yeager, became the first woman to break the sound barrier.[1]

On 18 November 1952, F-86D-20-NA (SNc.51-2945) set a speed record of 698.505 mph (1,124.135 km/h). Captain J. Slade Nash flew over a three km course at the Salton Sea in California at a height of only 125 ft (38 m). Another F-86D broke this world record on 16 July 1953, when Lt. Col. William Barnes flying the first F-86D-35-NA (51-6145) in the same path of the previous flight, achieved 715.697 mph (1,151.803 km/h).

Specifications (F-86F-40-NA)
Orthographically projected diagram of the F-86 Sabre.

Data from The North American Sabre[63]

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)
* 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)
* Fuel provisions Internal fuel load: 437 gallons (1,650 l), Drop tanks: 2 x 200 gallons (756 l) JP-4 fuel
* Basic mission wing loading: 58 lb/sq ft
* Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0132
* Drag area: 3.8 sq ft (0.35 m²
* Aspect ratio: 4.78

Performance

* Maximum speed: 687 mph 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, 1,105 km/h at 6446 m, 1,091 and 964 km/h at 6,960 m.)
* Range: 1,525 mi, (1,753 NM, 2,454 km)
* Service ceiling 49,600 ft at combat weight (15,100 m)
* Rate of climb: 8,100 ft/min at sea level (41 m/s)
* Thrust/weight: 0.38
* Stalling speed (power off): 124 mph (108 kt, 200 km/h)
* Landing ground roll: 2,330 ft, (710 m)
* Lift-to-drag ratio: 15.1
* Time to altitude: 5.2 min (clean) to 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

Armament

* Guns: 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns (1,602 rounds)

Various bombs (2 x 1,000 lb, 450 kg bombs, standard load) e.g napalm canisters, air-to-ground rockets. Four pylons presents, but only two dedicated to ordnances, while the other two were for auxiliary tanks, total load up to 2,400 kg (900 kg bombs and 1,500 l fuel), included a nuclear tactical weapon.