Razor Sharp - Nine Fascinating Facts About the F-86 Sabre

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Razor Sharp - Nine Fascinating Facts About the F-86 Sabre
By Michael Jabbra/ Weapons and Technology/ Military History Now (MHN)/ militaryhistorynow.com

""The first Sabres were deployed to Korea after front-line Russian jets appeared over the 38th Parallel."

THE F-86 SABRE was the principal U.S. Air Force fighter during the Korean War. Developed in the late 1940s by North American Aviation, it served in the militaries of many nations for decades after its combat debut.

Here are some fascinating facts about America’s iconic early jet fighter.

It was inspired by a German design
The Sabre originally began as a straight-wing jet, but aerospace engineers at North American altered the design mid-stream to incorporate swept back wings. They made the change after being granted access to German data from tests of the Messerschmitt 262, the world’s first operational jet fighter.

It was the first serious challenger to the Soviet MiG-15
The first Sabres were deployed to Korea after front-line Russian jets appeared over the 38th Parallel. MiG-15s could easily outperform slower U.S. aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang, the F9F Panther, and the F-80 Shooting Star. Sabres almost immediately shifted the balance to the West. The first kill of a MiG-15 by a Sabre was on December 17, 1950. It was scored by Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton. There would be many others to come....."

The North American F-86 Sabre was the United States Air Force’s top first-generation jet fighter. (Image source: WikiCommons)


Richard

 

[plpgma]

Razor Sharp - Nine Fascinating Facts About the F-86 Sabre
By Michael Jabbra/ Weapons and Technology/ Military History Now (MHN)/ militaryhistorynow.com

""The first Sabres were deployed to Korea after front-line Russian jets appeared over the 38th Parallel."

THE F-86 SABRE was the principal U.S. Air Force fighter during the Korean War. Developed in the late 1940s by North American Aviation, it served in the militaries of many nations for decades after its combat debut.

Here are some fascinating facts about America’s iconic early jet fighter.

It was inspired by a German design
The Sabre originally began as a straight-wing jet, but aerospace engineers at North American altered the design mid-stream to incorporate swept back wings. They made the change after being granted access to German data from tests of the Messerschmitt 262, the world’s first operational jet fighter.

It was the first serious challenger to the Soviet MiG-15
The first Sabres were deployed to Korea after front-line Russian jets appeared over the 38th Parallel. MiG-15s could easily outperform slower U.S. aircraft such as the P-51 Mustang, the F9F Panther, and the F-80 Shooting Star. Sabres almost immediately shifted the balance to the West. The first kill of a MiG-15 by a Sabre was on December 17, 1950. It was scored by Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Hinton. There would be many others to come....."

The North American F-86 Sabre was the United States Air Force’s top first-generation jet fighter. (Image source: WikiCommons)


Richard

Thank you, Richard, for these fascinating facts about the F-86. As I'm sure you know (given that you took the time to post these F-86 facts), the F-86 timeframe was also when Edwards Air Force Base was at it zenith -- testing everything that flew and honing the skills of so many of our greatest pilots (many of whom would also join the Gemini and Apollo programs). Keep posting these kind of articles and I'll continue reading them!