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The F-86, the USAF's first swept-wing jet fighter, made its initial flight on October 1, 1947. The first production model flew on May 20, 1948, and on September 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.

More than 5,500 Sabre day-fighters were built in the U.S. and Canada. The airplane was also used by the air forces of 20 other nations, including West Germany, Japan, Spain, Britain, and Australia.

TYPE XF-86 F-86A F-86B F-86C F-86E F-86F TF-86F

Number built/Converted 3 554 0 2 800 2500 2

Remarks Prototype day-fighter 1st prod. model 188 canceled; to F-86A-5 YF-93A; Imp. F-86A Imp. F-86A Imp. F-86E Two-place trainer

SPECIFICATIONS (F-86A)
Span: 37 ft. 1 in.
Length: 37 ft. 6 in.
Height: 14 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 13,791 lbs. loaded
Armament: Six .50-cal. machine guns and eight 5 in. rockets or 2,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: One General Electric J-47 turbojet of 5,200 lbs thrust.
Cost: $178,000
Crew: One

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 685 mph
Cruising speed: 540 mph.
Range: 1,200 miles
Combat Ceiling: 49,000 ft

* - Many more F-86Ks built under license agreements

SPECIFICATIONS (F-86D)
Span: 37 ft. 1 in.
Length: 40 ft. 4 in.
Height: 15 ft. 0 in.
Weight: 19,975 lbs. loaded
Armament: Twenty-four 2.75 in. Mighty Mouse folding fin aircraft rockets (FFAR)
Engine: One General Electric J-47 turbojet of 7,650 lbs thrust.
Cost: $344,000
Crew: One

PERFORMANCE
Maximum speed: 715 mph
Cruising speed: 550 mph.
Range: 800 miles

Curtsy of The AIR FORCE MUSEUM

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The J73 engine was developed by the General Electric Company from the J47 engine in the early 1950s. The more powerful J-73 was used in F-86H aircraft instead of the J47 as in earlier series F-86s. In September 1954, during the National Aircraft Show at Dayton, Ohio, a J73 engine powered an F-86H to a world's speed record of 649.302 mph for a 500-kilometer closed course in the General Electric Trophy Event. At the same show, the J73-powered F-86H also established a Thompson Trophy Event record of 692.818 mph over a 100-kilometer closed course.

The engine on display is similar to the J73-GE-3 series engine used in the F-86H aircraft. Part of the case has been cut away to reveal the engine's internal components.

General Electric J73 Turbojet

SPECIFICATIONS :
Model:           J73-GE-3E
Compressor: 12-stage axial
Turbine:         two-stage axial
Thrust:   8,920 lbs. max.
Weight:  3,650 lbs.
Max. RPM: 7,950
Max. Operating Altitude:  65,000 ft.
Cost: $145,000

Curtsy of The AIR FORCE MUSEUM

The General Electric J-73 Also Powered the F-86-L

By Joe Baugher

 

The XP-86 Saber

 

The North American F-86 Sabre was without question one of the greatest fighter aircraft of all time, ranking right up there with such aircraft as the Fokker D.VII, the Sopwith Camel, the Supermarine Spitfire, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Focke Wulf Fw 190, the Mitsubishi Zero, and the North American P-51 Mustang. It first entered service with the USAAF in 1949, and was instrumental in denying air superiority to the Communist forces during the Korean War. After the Korean War ended, many Sabres entered service with dozens of foreign air arms, becoming the primary fighter equipment of many Allied nations. It was built under license in Canada, Japan, Italy, and Australia. Its service was so long-lived that the last operational F-86 was not withdrawn from service until 1993, which must be some sort of record for a combat aircraft.

The F-86 Sabre began its life as North American Aviation's company project NA-134, which was originally intended for the US Navy. As the war in the Pacific edged toward its climax, the US Navy was making plans to acquire jet-powered carrier-based aircraft which, it was hoped, could be pressed into service in time for Operation Olympic-Coronet, the invasion of Japan planned for May 1946. The Navy had planned to acquire four jet fighters, the Vought XF6U-1 Pirate, the McDonnell XFD-1 Phantom, the McDonnell XF2D-1 Banshee, and the North American XFJ-1 Fury.

Work on the NA-134 project began in the late autumn of 1944. The NA-134 had a straight, thin-section wing set low on a rather tubby fuselage. It featured a straight-through flow of air from the nose intake to the jet exhaust that exited the aircraft under a straight tailplane. The wing was borrowed directly from the P-51D, and had a laminar-flow airfoil. It was to be powered by a single General Electric TG-180 gas turbine which was a license-built version of the de Havilland Goblin. The TG-180 was designated J35 by the military and was an 11-stage axial-flow turbojet which offered 4000 lb.s.t. at sea level. The Navy ordered three prototypes of the NA-134 under the designation XFJ-1 on January 1, 1945. On May 28, 1945, the Navy approved a contract for 100 production FJ-1s (NA-141).

At the same time that North American was beginning to design the Navy's XFJ-1, the USAAF issued a requirement for a medium-range day fighter which could also be used as an escort fighter and a dive bomber. Specifications called for a speed of at least 600 mph, since the Republic XP-84 Thunderjet already under construction promised 587 mph. On Nov 22, 1944, the company's RD-1265 design study proposed a version of the XFJ-1 for the Air Force to meet this requirement. This design was known in company records as NA-140. The USAAF was sufficiently impressed that they issued a Letter Contract on May 18, 1945 which authorized the acquisition of three NA-140 aircraft under the designation XP-86.

The Navy's XFJ-1 design had to incorporate some performance compromises in order to support low-speed carrier operations, but the land-based USAAF XP-86 version was not so constrained and had a somewhat thinner wing and a slimmer fuselage with a high fineness ratio. However, the XP-86 retained the tail surfaces of the XFJ-1.

The XP-86 incorporated several features not previously used on fighter aircraft, including a fully-pressurized cockpit and hydraulically-boosted ailerons and elevators. Armament was the standard USAAF equipment of the era--six 0.50-inch Browning M3 machine guns that fired at 1100 rounds per minute, with 267 rounds per gun. The aircraft was to use the Sperry type A-1B gun/bomb/rocket sight, working in conjunction with an AN/APG-5 ranging radar. Rocket launchers could be added underneath the wings to carry up to 8 5-inch HVARs. Self-sealing fuel tanks were to be fitted, and the pilot was to be provided with some armor plating around the cockpit area.

In the XP-86, a ten percent ratio of wing thickness to chord was used to extend the critical Mach number to 0.9. Wingspan was to be 38 feet 2 1/2 inches, length was 35 feet 6 inches, and height was 13 feet 2 1/2 inches. Four speed brakes were to be attached above and below the wings. At a gross weight of 11,500 pounds, the XP-86 was estimated to be capable of achieving a top speed of 574 mph at sea level and 582 mph at 10,000 feet, still below the USAAF requirement. Initial climb rate was to be 5850 feet per minute and service ceiling was to be 46,000 feet. Combat radius was 297 miles with 410 gallons of internal fuel, but could be increased to 750 miles by adding a 170 gallon drop tank to each wingtip. As it would turn out, these performance figures were greatly exaggerated.

A mock-up of the XP-86 was built and approved on June 20, 1945. However, early wind tunnel tests indicated that the airframe of the XP-86 would not be able to reach the desired speed of 600 mph. It is highly likely that the XP-86 project would have been cancelled at this time were it not for some unusual developments.

After the surrender of Germany in May of 1945, the USAAF (along with a lot of other air forces) was keenly interested in obtaining information about the latest German jet fighters and in learning as much as they could about secret German wartime research on jet propulsion, rocket power, and ballistic missiles. American teams were selected from industry and research institutions and sent into occupied Germany to investigate captured weapons research data, microfilm it, and ship it back to the USA.

By the summer of 1945, a lot of German data was pouring in, much of it as yet un-translated into English. As it turned out, German aeronautical engineers had wind-tunnel tested just about every aerodynamic shape that the human mind could conceive of, even some ideas even only remotely promising. A particular German paper dated 1940 reported that wind tunnel tests showed that there were some significant advantages offered by swept wings at speeds of about Mach 0.9. A straight-winged aircraft was severely affected by compressibility effects as sonic speed was approached, but the use of a swept wing delayed the effects of shock waves and permitted better control at these higher speeds. Unfortunately, German research also indicated that the use of wing sweep introduced some undesirable wing tip stall and low-speed stability effects. American researchers had also encountered similar problem with the swept-wing Curtiss XP-55 Ascender, which was so unstable that it flipped over on its back and fell out of the sky on one of its test flights.

In 1940, these German studies were of only theoretical interest, since no powerplants were available even remotely capable of reaching such speeds. However, such studies caught the attention of North American engineers trying to figure out ways to improve the performance of their XP-86.

It would do no good to build an aircraft capable of high speeds that would be so unstable that it would fall out of the sky at low speeds. The cure for the low-speed stability problem that was worked out by North American engineers was to attach automatic slats to the wing leading edges. The wing slats were entirely automatic, and opened and closed in response to aerodynamic forces. When the slats opened, the changed airflow over the upper wing surface increased the lift and produced lower stalling speeds. At high speeds, the slats automatically closed to minimize drag.

In August of 1945, project aerodynamicist L. P. Greene proposed to Raymond Rice that a swept-wing configuration for the P-86 be adopted. Wind tunnel tests carried out in September of 1945 confirmed the reduction in drag at high subsonic speeds as well as the beneficial effect of the slats on low speed stability. The limiting Mach number was raised to 0.875.

Based on these wind-tunnel studies, a new design for a swept-wing P-86 was submitted to the USAAF in the fall of 1945. The USAAF was impressed, and on November 1, 1945 it readily approved the proposal. This was one of the most important decisions ever made by the USAAF--had they not agreed to this change, the history of the next forty years would undoubtedly have been quite different.

North American's next step was to choose the aspect ratio of the swept wing. A larger aspect ratio would give better range, a narrower one better stability, and the correct choice would obviously have to be a tradeoff between the two. Further tests carried out between late October and mid November indicated that a wing aspect ratio of 6 would be satisfactory, and such an aspect ratio had been planned for in the proposal accepted on November 1. However, early in 1946 additional wind tunnel tests indicated that stability with such a narrow wing would be too great a problem, and in March the design reverted to a shorter wingform. An aspect ratio of 4.79, a sweep-back of 35 degrees, and a thickness/chord ratio of 11% at the root and 10% at the tip was finally chosen.

All of these changes lengthened the time scale of the P-86 development in comparison to that of the Navy's XFJ-1. The XFJ-1 took to the air for the first time on November 27, 1946, but the XP-86 still had almost a year more of work ahead of it before it was ready for its first flight.

On February 28, 1946, the mockup of the swept-winged XP-86 was inspected and approved. In August of 1946, the basic engineering drawings were made available to the manufacturing shop of North American, and the first metal was cut. So excited was the USAAF over the performance of the XP-86, on December 20, 1946, a Letter Contract for 33 production P-86As was approved by the USAAF. No service test aircraft were ordered. Although the 4000 lb.s.t. J35 would power the three XP-86 prototypes, production P-86As would be powered by the General Electric TG-190 (J47) turbojet offering 5000 lb.s.t.

The wing of the P-86 was to be constructed of a double-skin structure with hat sections between layers extending from the center section to the outboard edges of the outer panel fuel tanks. This structure replaced the conventional rib and stringer construction in that region. This new construction provided additional strength and allowed enough space in the wing for fuel tanks.

The wing-mounted speed brakes originally contemplated for the XP-86 were considered unsuitable for this type of wing, so they were replaced by a hydraulic door-type brake mounted on each side of the rear fuselage and one brake mounted on the bottom of the fuselage in a dorsal position. The speed brakes opened frontwards. These speed brakes had the advantage in that they could be opened at any attitude and speed, including speeds above Mach One.

The first of three prototypes, 45-59507, was rolled out of the Inglewood factory on August 8, 1947. It was powered by a Chevrolet-built J35-C-3 turbojet rated at 4000 pounds of static thrust. The aircraft was unarmed. After a few ground taxiing and braking tests, it was disassembled and trucked out to Muroc Dry Lake Army Air Base, where it was reassembled.

Test pilot George "Wheaties" Welch took the XP-86 up into the air for the first time on October 1, 1947. The flight went well until it came time to lower the landing gear and come in for a landing. Welch found to his shock that the nosewheel wouldn't come down all the way. After spending forty minutes in fruitless attempts to shake the nosewheel down into place, Welch finally brought the plane in for a nose-high landing. Fortunately, the impact of the main wheels jolted the nosewheel into place, and the aircraft rolled safely to a stop. The swept-wing XP-86 had made its first flight.

The maximum speed of the XP-86 was over 650 mph, 75 mph faster than anything else in service at the time. With the bubble canopy, the pilot's field of vision was excellent. The noise and vibration levels were considerably lower than those of other jet-powered aircraft. However, the J35 engine did not produce enough thrust, and the XP-86 could only climb at 4000 feet per minute. However, since production P-86As were to be powered by the 5000 lb.s.t. General Electric J47, no one was too worried.

On October 16, 1947, the USAF gave final approval to the Fixed Price contract for 33 P-86As, plus they authorized 190 P-86Bs. The P-86B was to be a strengthened P-86A for rough-field operations.

There is actually a possibility that the XP-86 rather than the Bell XS-1 might have been the first aircraft to achieve supersonic flight. During some of his early flight tests, George Welch reported that he had encountered some rather unusual fluctuations in his airspeed and altitude indicators during high speed dives, which might mean that he had exceeded the speed of sound. However, at that time, North American had no way of calibrating airspeed indicators into the transonic range, so they were not sure just how fast Welch had gone. On October 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager exceeded Mach 1 in the XS-1. Although the event was kept secret from the general public, North American test crews heard about this feat via the grapevine and persuaded NACA to use its equipment to track the XP-86 in a high-speed dive to see if there was a possibility that the XP-86 could also go supersonic. This test was done on October 19, five days after Yeager's flight, in which George Welch was tracked at Mach 1.02. The tests were flown again on October 21 with the same results. Since Welch had been performing the very same flight patterns in tests before October 14, there is the possibility that he, not Chuck Yeager, might have been first to exceed the speed of sound.

In any case, the fact that the XP-86 had exceeded the speed of sound was immediately classified, and remained so for several months afterward. In May of 1948, the world was informed that George Welch had exceeded Mach 1.0 in the XP-86, becoming the first "aircraft" to do so (an aircraft being defined as a vehicle that takes off and lands under its own power). The date was set as April 26, 1948. This flight did actually take place, but George Welch was not the pilot. In fact, it was a British pilot who was checking out the XP-86 who inadvertently broadcasted that he had exceeded Mach 1 over an open radio channel. However, the facts soon became common knowledge throughout the aviation community--the June 14, 1948 issue of *Aviation Week* published an article revealing that the XP-86 had gone supersonic.

The XP-86 could go supersonic in a dive with only a moderate and manageable tendency to nose-up, although below 25,000 feet there was a tendency to roll which made it unwise to stay supersonic for very long. Production Sabres were limited to Mach 0.95 below 25,000 feet for safety reasons because of this roll tendency.

XP-86 number 45-59597 was officially delivered to the USAF on November 30, 1948. By that time, its designation had been changed to XF-86.

Phase II flight tests (those flown by USAF pilots) began in early December of 1947. . An Allison-built J35-A-5 rated at 4000 lbs of static thrust was installed for USAF tests. The second and third XP-86 prototypes (45-59598 and 45-59599 joined the test program in early 1948. There were different from the first prototype as well as being different from each other in several respects. Nos 1 and 2 had different fuel gauges, a stall warning system built into the control stick, a bypass for emergency operation of the hydraulic boost system, and hydraulically-actuated leading-edge slat locks. The number 3 prototype was the only one of the three to have fully-automatic leading-edge slats that opened at 135 mph. Nos. 2 and 3 had SCR-695-B IFF beacons and carried the AN/ARN-6 radio compass set.

For the second and third prototypes, the ventral brake was eliminated, and the two rear-opening side fuselage brakes were replaced by brakes which had hinges at the front and opened out and down. These air brakes were adopted for production aircraft.

Prototype number 3 was the only one to be fitted with armament. The armament of six 0.50-inch M3 machine guns were mounted in blocks of three on either side of the cockpit. Ammunition bays were installed in the bottom of the fuselage underneath the gun bay, with as many as 300 rounds per gun. The guns were aimed by a Mk 18 gyroscopic gunsight with manual ranging.

In June of 1948, the new US Air Force redesignated all Pursuit aircraft as Fighter aircraft, changing the prefix from P to F. Thus the XP-86 became the XF-86. XP-86 number one was officially delivered to the USAF on November 30, 1948. The three prototypes remained in various test and evaluation roles well into the 1950s, and were unofficially referred to as YP-86s. The number 1 prototype crashed in September of 1952 after logging 241 flying hours, whereas numbers 2 and 3 were finally retired from service in April of 1953.

Specifications of the XP-86:

One Chevrolet-built J35-C-3 turbojet rated at 4000 pounds of static thrust. Dimensions: wingspan 37 feet 1 7/16 inches, length 37 feet 6/1/2 inches height 14 feet 9 inches. Weights: 9730 pounds empty, 13,395 pounds gross, 16,438 pounds maximum takeoff. Performance: Maximum speed of 599 mph at sea level, 618 mph at 14,000 feet, and 575 mph at 35,000 feet. Initial climb rate was 4000 feet per minute. An altitude of 20,000 feet could be attained in 6.4 minutes, and 30,000 feet in 12.1 minutes. service ceiling was 41,300 feet. Takeoff run was 3030 feet, and the aircraft could clear a 50-foot obstacle in 4410 feet.

Developing The XP-86

 

 

North American F-86A Sabre

 

The P-86A was the first production version of the Sabre. North American had received an order for 33 production P-86As on November 20, 1946, even before the first XF-86 prototype had flown.

The P-86A was outwardly quite similar to the XP-86, with external changes being very slight. About the only noticeable external difference was that the pitot tube was moved from the upper vertical fin to a position inside the air intact duct.

The P-86A incorporated as standard some of the changes first tested on the third XP-86 prototype. The front-opening speed brakes on the sides of the rear fuselage were replaced by rear-opening brakes, and the underside speed brake was deleted.

The P-86A was equipped with the armament first tested on the third XP-86--six 0.50-inch machine guns in the nose, three on each side of the pilot's cockpit. The guns had a rate of fire of 1100 rounds per minute. Each gun was fed by an ammunition canister in the lower fuselage holding up to 300 rounds of ammunition. The ammunition bay door could be opened up to double as the first step for pilot entry into the cockpit. The P-86A had two underwing hardpoints for weapons carriage. They could carry either a pair of 206.5 US-gallon drop tanks or a pair of 1000-lb bombs. Four zero-length stub rocket launchers could be installed underneath each wing to fire the 5-inch HVAR rocket, which could be carried in pairs on each launcher.

However, the most important difference between the P-68A and the three XP-86 prototypes was the introduction of the 4850 lb.s.t. General Electric J47-GE-1 (TG-190) in place of the 4000 lb.s.t. J35. The two engines had a similar size, the J47 differing from the J35 primarily in having a twelfth compressor stage.

The first production block consisted of 33 P-86A-1-NAs, ordered on October 16, 1947. These were known as NA-151 on North American company records. Serials were 47-605 through 47-637. Since there were officially no YP-86 service test aircraft, this initial production block effectively served as such.

The first production P-86A-1-NA (serial number 47-605) flew for the first time on May 20, 1948. The first and second production machines were accepted by the USAF on May 28, 1948, although they both remained at Inglewood on bailment to North American for production development work. Aircraft no. 47-605 was not actually sent to an Air Force base until April 29, 1950. It remained at WPAFB until May of 1952, when it was retired to storage at the Griffiss Air Depot.

In June of 1948, the P-86 was redesignated F-86 when the P-for-pursuit category was replaced by F-for-fighter

The F-86A-1-NA fighters could be recognized by their curved windshields and the flush-fitting electrically-operated gun muzzle doors that maintained the smooth surface of the nose. These muzzle doors opened automatically when the trigger was pressed to fire the guns, and closed automatically after each burst.

The cockpit of the F-86A remained almost the same as that of the XP-86, although certain military equipment was provided, such as an AN/ARC-3 VHF radio, an AN/ARN-6 radio compass, and an AN/APX-6 IFF radar identification set. The IFF set was equipped with a destructor which was automatically activated by impact during a crash or which could be manually activated by the pilot in an emergency. This was intended to prevent the codes stored in the device from being compromised by capture by the enemy.

The F-86A was provided with a type T-4E-1 ejection seat, with a manually-jettisoned canopy.

The F-86A-1-NA's empty weight was up to 10,077 pounds as compared to the prototype's 9730 pounds, but the higher thrust of the J-47 engine increased the speed to 673 mph at sea level, which made the F-86A-1-NA almost 75 mph faster than the XP-86. Service ceiling rose from 41,200 feet to 46,000 feet. The initial climb rate was almost TWICE that of the XP-86. The F-86A was one hot ship!

In the summer of 1948, the world's air speed record was 650.796 mph, set by the Navy's Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak research aircraft on August 25, 1947. Like the record-setting Lockheed P-80R before it, the Skystreak was a "one-off" souped-up aircraft specialized for high speed flight. The USAF thought that now would be a good time to show off its new fighter by using a stock, fully-equipped production model of the F-86A to break the world's air speed record.

To get the maximum impact, the Air Force decided to make the attempt on the speed record in the full glare of publicity, before a crowd of 80,000 spectators at the 1948 National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio. The fourth production F-86A-1-NA (serial number 47-608, the cold weather test aircraft) was selected to make the record attempt, and Major Robert L. Johnson was to be the pilot. According to Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) rules, a 3km (1.86 mile) course had to be covered twice in each direction (to compensate for wind) in one continuous flight. At that time, the record runs had to be made at extremely low altitudes (below 165 feet) to enable precise timing with cameras to be made.

On September 5, 1948, Major Johnson was ready to go and flew his F-86A-1-NA serial number 47-708 on six low-level passes over the course in front of the crowd at Cleveland. Unfortunately, timing difficulties prevented three of these runs from being clocked accurately. In addition, interference caused by other aircraft wandering into the F-86A's flight pattern at the wrong time prevented some of the other runs from being made at maximum speed. Even though the average of the three runs that were timed was 669.480 mph, the record was not recognized as being official by the FAI.

Further attempts to set an official record at Cleveland were frustrated by bad weather and by excessively turbulent air. Major Johnson then decided to move his record-setting effort out to Muroc Dry Lake (later renamed Edwards AFB), where the weather was more predictable and the air less turbulent. On September 15, 1948, Major Johnson finally succeeded in setting an official record of 670.981 mph by flying a different F-86A-1-NA (serial number 47-611, the armaments test aircraft) four times over a 1.86-mile course at altitudes between 75 and 125 feet.

In the autumn of 1948, problems with the J-47-GE-1 engine of the early F-86As forced a momentary halt to F-86 production. It was followed by a few J47-GE-3s, and in December the J47-GE-7 became available, which offered 5340 lb.s.t. and full production resumed.

By March of 1949 the last F-86A-1-NA (47-637) had been delivered. Most of the 33 F-86A-1-NAs built were used for various tests and evaluations, and none actually entered squadron service.

The first production block to enter squadron service was actually the second production batch, 188 of which were ordered on February 23, 1949. They were assigned the designation of F-86A-5-NA by the USAF, but continued to be carried as NA-151 on company records. Serials were 48-129 to 48-316. These were powered by the J47-GE-7 jet engine. Deliveries began in March of 1949 and were completed in September of 1949.

The F-86A-5-NA had a V-shaped armored windscreen which replaced the curved windscreen of the F-86A-1-NA. The A-5 dispensed with the gun doors of the A-1 in the interest of maintenance simplicity. A jettisonable cockpit canopy was introduced. The A-5 introduced underwing pylons capable of carrying a variety of bombs (500 and 1000-pounders) or underwing fuel tanks of up to 206 gallons in capacity. A heating system was provided for the gun compartments, and stainless steel oil tanks and lines were provided for better fire resistance.

In May of 1949, beginning with the 100th F-86A aircraft, an improved canopy defrosting system was installed and a special coating was applied to the nose intake duct to prevent rain erosion. Earlier airframes were retrofitted to include these changes.

The 116th F-86A was provided with a new wing slat mechanism which eliminated the lock and provided a fully automatic operation.

A contract for 333 additional F-86As was received on May 29, 1948, and the final contract was approved on February 23, 1949. These aircraft were assigned a new designation of NA-161 on North American company records, but continued to be designated F-86A-5-NA in USAF records. Their serials were 49-1007 to 49-1229. These were powered by the General Electric J47-GE-13 engine which offered 5200 pounds of static thrust. The cockpit wiring was simplified. New 120-gallon drop tanks, developed specifically for the F-86, were introduced during this production run. Deliveries commenced in October of 1949 and were completed by December of 1950. The 282nd F-86A aircraft had a redesigned wing trailing edge with shorter chord aileron and greater elevator boost. Deliveries commenced October 1949 and ended in December 1950.

Another innovation introduced with the NA-161 production batch was a new type of gun aiming system. All earlier F-86As had been equipped at the factory with Sperry Mark 18 optical lead computing gunsight, which was quite similar to the type of gunsight used on American fighter aircraft in the latter parts of World War 2. When the pilot identified his target, he set the span scale selector lever to correspond to the wingspan of the enemy aircraft he was chasing. He then aimed his fighter so that the target appeared within a circle of six diamond images on the reflector. Next, he rotated the range control unit until the diameter of the circle was the same as the size of the target. When the target was properly framed, the sight automatically computed the required lead and the guns could be fired.

Beginning with the first NA-161 aircraft (49-1007), the A-1B GBR sight and AN/APG-5C ranging radar were provided as factory-installed equipment. This new equipment was designed to automatically measure the range and automatically calculate the appropriate lead before the guns were fired, relieving the pilot of the cumbersome task of having to manually adjust an optical sight in order to determine the range to the target. When activated, the system automatically locked onto and tracked the target. The sight image determined by the A-1B was projected onto the armored glass of the windscreen, and the illumination of a radar target indicator light on the sight indicated time to track target continuously for one second before firing. This system could be used for rocket or bomb aiming as well as for guns.

In the last 24 F-86A-5-NAs that were built, the A-1B GPR sight and AN/APG-5C ranging radar were replaced by the A-1CM sight that was coupled with an AN/APG-30 radar scanner installed in the upper lip of the nose intake underneath a dark-colored dielectric covering. The APG-30 radar was a better unit than the AN/APG-5C, with a sweep range from 150 to 3000 yards. The A-1CM sight and the APG-30 ranging radar were both retrofitted to earlier A-5s during in-field modifications. These planes were redesignated F-86A-7-NA. However, some F-86A-5-NAs had the new A-1CM GBR sight combined with the older AN/APG-5C radar. These were redesignated F-86A-6-NA.

Some consideration given to replacing the J47 engine with the improved J35-A-17 that was used in the F-84E. This engine was tested in the first XP-86. Flight tests between November 28, 1949 and March 1951 indicated that the performance remained much the same as that of the F-86A-1-NA but with a slightly better range. However, the improvement was not considered significant enough to warrant changing production models.

Some F-86As were re-engined with the J47-GE-13 engine, rated at 5450 lb.s.t., but their designation did not change.

All F-86As were initially delivered with the pitot head located inside the air intake duct. It was found in practice that false airspeed readings could be obtained due to the increased airflow within the intake duct, so North American decided to move the pitot head to the tip of a short boom that extended from the leading edge of the starboard wingtip. All F-86As were later retrofitted with the wingtip boom when went through IRAN (Inspect and Repair as Necessary).

Internal fuel capacity of the F-86A was 435 gallons, carried in four self-sealing tanks. Two of the tanks were in the lower part of the fuselage, one of them being wrapped around the intake duct just ahead of the engine and the other being wrapped around the engine itself. The other two fuel tanks were in the wing roots. Usually the F-86A carried two 120-gallon drop tanks, although 206.5 gallon tanks could be fitted for ferry purposes.

Ground attack weapons could be installed in place of the jettisonable underwing fuel tanks. Choices include a pair of 100, 500 or 1000-pound bombs, 750-pound napalm tanks, or 500 pound fragmentation clusters. Alternatively, eight removable zero-rail rocket launchers could be installed. These mounted sixteen 5-inch rockets. When external armament was fitted in place of the drop tanks, combat radius was reduced from 330 to 50 miles, which was not a very useful distance.

The first USAF combat organization to receive the F-86A was the First Fighter Group based at March AFB in California, with the famous "Hat in the Ring" 94th Squadron being the first to take delivery when they traded in their F-80s for the F-86A-5-NA during February of 1949. The 27th and 71st Squadrons were equipped with F-86A-5-NAs next, and by the end of May of 1949 the group had 83 F-86As on strength. This group was charged with the aerial defense of the Los Angeles area, which, coincidentally, is where the North American Aviation factory was located. Next to get the F-86 the the 4th Fighter Group based at Langley AFB, charged with the defense of Washington, D.C, and then the 81st Fighter Group, based at Kirtland AFT and charged with the defense of the nuclear bomb facilities at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Next came the 33rd Fighter Group based at Otis AFB in Massachusetts, charged with defending the northeastern approaches into the USA. In January of 1950, all air defense units were redesignated as Fighter Interceptor Groups (FIGs) or Fighter Interceptor Wings (FIWs) as a part of the Air Defense Command.

In February of 1949, there was a contest held by the First Fighter Group to choose a name for their new fighter. The name *Sabre* was selected, and was made official on March 4, 1949.

The first Sabres that went to Reserve units were assigned to the 116th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Air National Guard, which received its first F-86As on December 22, 1950.

The following Wings were issued with the F-86A:
 

• 1st Fighter Interceptor Wing (27th, 75st and 94th Squadrons)
   
• 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing (334th, 335th, 336th Squadrons)
   
• 33rd Fighter Interceptor Wing (58th, 59th and 60th Squadrons)
   
• 56th Fighter Interceptor Wing (61st, 62nd, 63rd Squadrons)
   
• 81st Fighter Interceptor Wing (78th, 89st, 92nd Squadron)

The F-86A was replaced in active USAF service by the F-86E beginning in the autumn of 1951. As F-86As left active USAF service, they were refurbished, reconditioned and transferred to Air National Guard units in the United States. The first ANG units to get the F-86A were the 198th Squadron in Puerto Rico, the 115th and 195th Squadrons at Van Nuys, California, the 196th at Ontario, and the 197th at Phoenix, Arizona.

 

Specification of F-86A-5-NA:

Engine: One General Electric J47-GE-13 turbojet with a maximum sea level static thrust of 5200 pounds. Dimensions: Wingspan 37.12 feet, length 37.54 feet, height 14.74 feet, and wing area 287.9 square feet. Weights: 10,093 pounds empty, 14,108 pounds takeoff, 13,791 pounds combat. Performance: Maximum speed 679 mph at sea level, 601 mph at 35,000 feet. Initial climb rate was 7470 feet per minute at sea level. An altitude of 40,000 feet could be reached in 10.4 minutes. Service ceiling was 48,000 feet. The ground run at sea level was 2430 feet, and a 50-foot obstacle could be cleared in 3660 feet. Armament: Six 0.50-in machine guns with 300 rpg. There were two underwing hardpoints for weapons carriage. They could carry either a pair of 206.5 US-gallon drop tanks or a pair of 1000-lb bombs. Four zero-length stub rocket launchers could be installed underneath each wing to fire the 5-inch HVAR rocket, which could be carried in pairs on each launcher.

 

Serial Numbers of North American F-86A Sabre

47-605/637 	North American P-86A-1-NA Sabre 
			c/n 151-38432/38464
48-129/316 	North American F-86A-5-NA Sabre 
			c/n 151-43498/43685
49-1007/1339	North American F-86A-5-NA Sabre 
			c/n 161-1/333

 

 

The RF-86A

 

Photographic reconnaissance had proven to be a special problem during the Korean War. Both the Lockheed RF-80A and the North American RB-45C Tornado reconnaissance aircraft had proven that they could not operate unescorted in airspaces where MiGs were active. A faster reconnaissance aircraft was needed, and it was decided that a reconnaissance version of the F-86A might fit the bill.

However, at the time no reconnaissance version of the F-86 was being planned by either North American Aviation or the USAF. Out in the field, several pilots of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Kimpo AB, Korea requested permission to convert some F-86s to the reconnaissance role. Approval was readily given, and the project came to be known as *Project Honeybucket*.

A pair of tired F-86As (48-187 and 48-217) were ferried to Tachikawa AB, Japan for the first conversion. One problem was that there was very little room inside an F-86 fuselage for the long-range cameras needed for the reconnaissance mission. However, it was found that if the lower pair of 0.50-inch guns on the right-hand side of the fuselage were removed, there was enough room for a small focal length K-25 camera scrounged from an RB-26C. The camera was mounted horizontally, but a series of mirrors allowed the camera to shoot vertically out of a small opening cut under the right side of the nose. All three guns in the left side of the fuselage plus the remaining top gun in the right side of the fuselage were retained.

The first *Honeybucket* F-86As were returned to Kimpo in October of 1951 and the first operational missions were flown. These missions were uually flown with the Honeybucket aircraft as the lead ship of a four-ship flight of F-86s.

In late 1951, the conversion of six more F-86As to reconnaissance configuration was authorized under the name *Project Ashtray*. In these, the compartment below the cockpit was enlarged and fitted with constant temperature air conditioning for a forward oblique 24-inch K-11 camera and two 20-inch K-24 cameras mounted lengthwise with a mirror arrangement to provide vertical coverage. The Ashtray aircraft were all officially designated RF-86A. The RF-86A could be distinguished from the fighter version by the presence of a pair of camera bay fairing bulges underneath the forward fuselage just ahead of the wings. Some had a K-14 "dicing" camera installed in the upper forward part of the nose in place of the APG-30 radar. Some had open apertures for the cameras, but others had sliding doors that opened only when the cameras were in use. Most RF-86As were unarmed, although some retained the upper pair of 0.50-in machine guns with limited ammunition capacity. Aircraft converted to RF-86A included 48-183/187, 48-196, 48-217, 48-246, and 48-257. In addition, both *Honeybucket*F-86As were brought up to Ashtray configuration

Five RF-86A aircraft went to the 67th Wing's 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. On combat missions, the RF-86A was usually able to evade interception and was able to perform missions that were more hazardous than the typical reconnaissance flights. However, the photos taken were often fuzzy or blurred due to vibrations or the high speeds at which the aircraft operated. A modified mirror installation helped to solve the vibration problem, but the slow speed cameras continued to cause problems until they were replaced by the higher-speed K-14.

Surviving RF-86As were replaced by RF-86Fs in Korea and passed on to the 115th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the California Air National Guard. They were still flying as late as June of 1959.

 

 

The F-86B

 

While the first production F-86s were under construction, North American's team was also working on a USAF requirement for a Sabre with larger landing gear tires that would be suitable for rough airfields. This at first sight sounds like a fairly simple and straightforward thing to do--what could be easier, one might ask, than for designers simply to increase the size of its landing gear tires? However, as is often the case, this turned out to be one of those requirements which had far-reaching implications, needing many more changes than one might initially think--larger tires required larger wheelbays which in turn required a seven-inch wider fuselage in order to accommodate them. Change one small thing and you end up having to redesign the entire airplane :-)

These larger-wheeled aircraft ended up being so different from the production F-86A that they were designated F-86B. However, the development of higher-pressure tire designs and better wheel brakes eliminated the need for larger tires, and North American recommended on December 1, 1946 that work on the F-86B be discontinued and that the contract for 190 F-86Bs be transferred to an order for 188 F-86A-5-NAs and two F-86Cs. This proposal was accepted by the USAF, and on December 16, 1948 the F-86B was officially cancelled.

 

 

The F-86-C / YF-93A

 

One of the problems of early jet fighters was their relatively limited range and endurance as compared to their piston-engined predecessors. The USAAF wanted to acquire jet powered escort fighters capable of defeating enemy interceptors, but most of the early jet fighter designs lacked sufficient range to escort bombers all the way to their targets. Since the USAAF had found by painful experience in World War II that fighter escort was absolutely vital for the survival of bombers in enemy airspace, they considered all sorts of proposals for markedly increasing the range of jet fighter escorts, some of which bordered on the bizarre. Some thought that the range problem could be solved by having the bombers tow their escorting fighters into the combat zone, and several experiments were made with B-29s or B-36s towing P-80 or P-84 jet fighters. Other proposals involving having jet fighters operate in parasite fashion from the bellies of large bombers, the best known example of this idea being the McDonnell XF-85 Goblin. Other ideas included the use of mixed power concepts such as that which produced the Convair XP-81. Others involved the construction of large, bulky fighters that were virtually flying fuel tanks, e.g., the Bell XP-83.

Initial attempts to produce jet-powered fighters with the endurance of piston-engined aircraft (e.g. the Bell XP-83 and the Convair XP-81) were disappointing, and in early 1946, the USAAF informally requested proposals for a "penetration fighter" with a combat radius of at least 900 miles and a performance capable of meeting all opposing fighters on more than equal terms. In addition, the USAAF wanted to keep the gross weight of the aircraft below 15,000 pounds. They didn't ask for much, did they? :-)

Lockheed submitted the XF-90 and McDonnell entered the XF-88 in response to this proposal, and the USAAF ordered prototypes of both designs in the spring of 1946. In late 1947, North American entered the penetration fighter fray with a proposal for an extensively revised version of the F-86A.

North American's penetration fighter proposal began life as company project NA-157 on December 17, 1947. In order to keep costs down, the NA-157 retained the swept-wing and the tail assembly of the F-86A, but almost everything else was different. For one, it had an entirely new engine. The engine was to have been the Pratt & Whitney J48-P-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet rated at 8000 lb.st. with afterburning. The J48 was an American-built version of the Rolls Royce Tay. Since the J48 was significantly larger than the J47 of the F-86A, the fuselage had to be increased both in width and in length. In order to meet the range requirement, additional fuel tankage had to be added, bring the total fuel capacity to 1580 gallons. Since the NA-157 was a larger and heavier aircraft than the F-86A, the landing gear was significantly more robust, with twin wheels being used on the main landing gear.

In December of 1947, the USAF ordered two examples of the NA-157 under the designation F-86C, reflecting its Sabre ancestry. Serials were 48-317 and 48-318.

Armament of the F-86C was to have been six 20-mm cannon (with 225 rpg), and an SCR-720 search radar was to have been mounted in the nose. Since the radar set now took up the nose, the air intakes for the turbojet had to be relocated to the sides of the fuselage. These side intakes used special NACA-designed flush-mounted air scoops in the hopes of reducing aerodynamic drag. The air brakes on the sides of the F-86A fuselage were replaced by a single large slab-type brake mounted on the fuselage belly.

In the penetration fighter competition, the USAF initially favored the North American design because of its commonality with other Sabre variants, and in June of 1948 they supplemented the contract for the two F-86Cs with a contract for 118 production aircraft. At that time, it was decided that there were so many differences between the F-86C and the production Sabre that the F-86C should be assigned a new F-number--it was redesignated YF-93A.

It would seem that the F-93 would be assured of a long and fruitful career with the USAF. However, the F-93A production contract was suddenly cancelled in February of 1949. Several reasons were given. One reason was that the projected performance of the B-47 Stratojet was such that it probably would not need a fighter escort. Perhaps the most important reason was a severe reduction in the military budget for FY 1949. With limited funds available, it was decided to give priority to interceptors and to strategic bombers. In addition, a Senior Officers' Board felt that no production order for any penetration fighters should be awarded until a competitive flyoff between the three contenders could be carried out.

Even though the production contract had been cancelled, work on the two YF-93A prototypes (48-317 and 318) continued so that they could be entered in the penetration fighter contest. The YF-93A was actually the last of the three penetration fighter competitors to take to the air. The McDonnell XF-88 competitor had flown on October 20, 1948, and the Lockheed XF-90 had made its first flight on June 3, 1949. The YF-93A did not roll out of the factory until late 1949, and was trucked out to Muroc Dry Lake for flight testing. George Welch took the YF-93A (48-317) on its maiden flight on January 24, 1950.

The flyoff between the Lockheed XF-90, the McDonnell XF-88, and the North American YF-93A took place in the summer of 1950. On August 15, 1950, the Evaluation Board declared the McDonnell XF-88 to be the winner of the contest. However, McDonnell's victory was rather hollow, since no penetration fighters were ever actually manufactured or placed in service because the development of long-range, high-speed jet bombers such as the B-47 and the B-52 eliminated any real need for penetration fighters. In addition, wartime pressures mandated that priority be given to the procurement of existing types for use in Korea.

The two YF-93As were eventually handed over to NACA's Ames Laboratory at Moffett Field, California for comparison tests of the flush air intakes. Late in their lives, both prototypes were fitted with more conventional air intake scoops extending over the NACA flush intakes. The test results indicated that the standard intakes were actually a better design for high-speed flight than the original flush intakes. At one point in their service lives, both planes had their rear fuselages modified to accept a production F-86D tailpipe and stabilizer housing. They were used by NACA as flight test and chase aircraft well into the mid 1950s, and played an important role in testing for most of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft ranging from F-101 to F-106. They were both retired and scrapped in the late 1950s.

Specification of North American YF-93A:

Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J48-P-6 turbojet rated at 6000 lb.st. dry and 8750 lb.st. with afterburner. Performance: Maximum speed 708 mph at sea level, 622 mph at 35,000 feet. Initial climb rate 11,960 feet per minute. Maximum range on internal fuel 2000 miles. Service ceiling 46,800 feet. Dimensions: Wingspan 38 feet 9 inches , length 44 feet 1 inch, height 15 feet 8 inches, wing area 306 square feet. Weights: 14,035 pounds empty, 21,610 pounds gross, 26,516 pounds combat. Armament: Six 20-mm cannon in the nose.

More On The F-86-C / YF-93A

 

 

The F-86D

 

In the late 1940s, being faced for the first time with the possibility of a strategic bombing attack on the US mainland by Soviet strategic bombers, the US government began a massive effort to develop an effective defense of US airspace. In support of this effort, the USAF had decided on the Northrop F-89 Scorpion as the interceptor of choice that would provide for the aerial defense of North America until the supersonic "1954 Interceptor" (the Convair F-102/F-106) would be ready. However, problems with the XF-89 prototype led the Air Force to consider possible alternatives in case the F-89 project failed. These alternatives included a modified Lockheed TF-80C which evolved into the F-94 Starfire, as well as a highly modified version of the F-86 Sabre.

On March 28, 1949, North American Aviation began engineering design work on an all-weather interceptor version of the F-86. The project was known as NA-164 by the company. The USAF showed immediate interest in the project, and on April 7, 1949 the company felt sufficiently confident that they began work on a production version, which was known as the NA-165.

Up to that time, all-weather jet interceptors had always been two-seaters, and the NA-164/165 was the first attempt to build a single-seat all-weather jet interceptor. An on-board radar-guided intercept system would provide for the all-weather capability, and an afterburning jet engine would be used to provide the extra boost needed to reach high speeds and high altitudes in a hurry, an essential feature for an interceptor. The omission of the second seat made for a simpler adaptation of the existing Sabre airframe. However, the choice of a single-seat format required sophisticated electronic systems to replace the second crew member, making it necessary to employ some of the earliest computers used in aviation.

An afterburning General Electric J47-GE-17 turbojet was selected as the powerplant for the NA-164/165, and was provided with an electronically- controlled fuel scheduling system which was designed to relieve the pilot of the tedious task of having to watch the engine behavior constantly. A single throttle lever control worked through an electronic fuel selector which determined the amount of fuel to be fed to the engine and correlated the entire engine and afterburner behavior for optimal efficiency. In the promotional literature of the day, this engine was referred to as a "blowtorch with a brain".

An AN/APG-36 search radar was to be carried in the nose. In order to fit the search radar into the nose, the nose air intake had to be lowered and reshaped to make space above it for a 30-inch dielectric radome covering the 18-inch antenna of the search radar.

Instead of using conventional cannon armament, plans were made for the armament to consist of a battery of twenty-four 2.75-inch "Mighty Mouse" Folding Fin Aircraft Rockets (FFARs), all mounted in a retractable tray in the aircraft's belly. The FFAR, developed jointly by North American and the Navy, was based on the German R4 rocket of World War II. The use of an all-rocket armament was quite innovative for the time, although a more conventional 20-mm cannon installation was studied as a standby plan.

The rearward-sliding canopy of the F-86A was replaced by a clamshell canopy hinged at the rear. It was anticipated that the clamshell canopy would make for easier and safer ejection in the event of an emergency. The aircraft was to be fitted with an all-flying horizontal tail, and the controls were to be completely hydraulic.

In February 1950, the rocket armament was selected and all plans for the standby 20-mm cannon were dropped.

On July 19, 1949, the Secretary of the Air Force formally endorsed the Sabre interceptor project. A Letter Contract for two NA-164 aircraft and 122 NA-165 aircraft was made out on October 7, 1949. Since the NA-164/165 was a substantially new aircraft with only 25 percent commonality with the original F-86A, the USAF decided to give the new interceptor a new F-number and assigned it the designation F-95. The announcement of the first successful USSR atomic bomb test a short while earlier gave a certain sense of urgency to the F-95 project. A formal contract was approved on June 2, 1950, with 31 more examples being added to the order to bring the total to 153.

Responsibility for the electronic fire control system was assigned to the Hughes Aircraft Corporation. On November 18, 1949, the Hughes company proposed that the system be designed so that the rocket attack on the enemy aircraft would be made from a lead collision course instead of from the traditional tail pursuit curve. Hughes evolved the E-4 system for this purpose. Until the 250-kW E-4 was available, the less-capable E-3 50-kw system would be fitted to the first 37 production F-95 aircraft.

The first NA-164 rolled out of the NAA plant in September of 1949. At that time, it was still known as the YF-95A, and was so labeled on its nose. Oddly enough, the two YF-95A prototypes had serials numbered after the beginning of the production run (the YF-95A had serials 50-577/578, and production F-95s began with serial number 50-455).

Neither the rocket armament nor the fire control system were yet available, and in order not to delay testing both prototypes were initially delivered and flown without them. In addition, conventional F-86A controls were fitted, and the sliding canopy and V-shaped windscreeen of the F-86A were retained. An early version of the afterburning J47-GE-17 engine was fitted, limited to 5000 lb.s.t. dry and 6650 lb.s.t. with afterburning.

50-577 went by truck to Muroc on November 28, 1949, The first flight was made on December 27, 1949, the redoubtable George Welch being at the controls. Throughout 1950, North American test pilots made some 74 flights to evaluate engine electronic controls and to check out the function of the afterburner.

The prototype Hughes E-3 fire-control system was received at NAA on May 26, 1950 and was installed in the second YF-95A (50-578) and tested during September. On October 17, 1950, this aircraft went to Hughes for two years of development testing.

The retractable rocket pack with twenty-four 2.75-inch "Mighty Mouse" FFAR (Folding-Fin Aircraft Rockets) rockets was fitted to 50-577 which went to Inyokern, the Navy's rocket range at China Lake, California for firing tests. The 1.75-inch rocket had a 7.55-pound explosive warhead, a velocity of 2500 feet/second at burnout, and a range of 4500 yards. First trials were carried out in February of 1951. The launcher took only a half-second to extend, and the FFARs could be fired in groups or in salvo from the launcher. The stabilizing fins were foldable, being clustered around the aft end of the rocket and snapping into position after clearing the launcher.

For political reasons the designation of the F-95 was changed to F-86D on July 24, 1950. The reasons for the change are sort of murky. North American company officials explained that the reason for the designation change was that separate appropriations must be made by Congress to allocate funds for "new" types of aircraft, but "developments" of existing types come under another budget category, making the F-86D a much easier "sell" to Congress than the F-95A. However, the USAF claimed that that the real reason for the change was the fact that a contractor could justify larger unit costs for a "new" aircraft than it could for a "development" of an existing one. Even though the USAF initially had agreed that the F-86D was substantially a "new" aircraft and designated it F-95A, in order to save the taxpayers some money they convinced North American management to agree that the plane was simply a "logical extension" of the existing F-86 and the designation was changed to F-86D.

The pressure of the Korean War led to fears that a Soviet attack on the US mainland could come at any time, and orders for the F-86D were dramatically stepped up. An order for 188 F-86D-20-NAs under the NAA number NA-177 was approved on April 11, 1951. Another contract for 638 F-86D-25 through D-35 aircraft was approved on July 18, 1951, the company designation for these aircraft being NA-173. A total of 979 production F-86Ds were now on order.

The first production version was the F-86D-1-NA. The first F-86D-1-NA (50-455) was delivered to the USAF in March of 1951. This aircraft had the production configuration--with clamshell canopy, increased vertical tail surface area, and the all-flying horizontal tail which had been lowered slightly. The aircraft also had the production version of the J47-GE-17 engine, which offered 5425 lb.s.t. dry and 7500 lb.s.t. with afterburner. The rear fuselage of the D-1 was redesigned to have a mush smaller exhaust opening than the prototypes, and small vortex generators were added to both the stabilizer and the rear fuselage to break up potential drag in these areas. All D-1s had the E-3 fire control system.

The all-flying horizontal tail had an artificial feel for the pilot. It had more positive longitudinal control than the F-86A's tail, eliminating the phenomenon of control reversal that took place at high subsonic speeds. However, the all-flying tail took a bit of getting used to. It was very sensitive, and when a pilot was flying at high speeds at low altitudes he could inadvertently induce a violent oscillating pitching maneuver. However, the pitching could be halted by the pilot simply releasing the controls. Some system changes helped to reduce this problem, but the F-86D always required careful piloting throughout its entire career.

The F-86D-1-NA had an empty weight of 13,677 pounds and a combat weight of 16,292 pounds. It had a top speed of 692 mph at sea level and an initial climb rate of 12,200 feet per minute. This was less than the 707 mph promised at the time of the contract in June of 1950. Nevertheless, the F-86D-1 was quite a bit faster than the contemporary Northrop F-89C Scorpion (650 mph) and the Lockheed F-94C Starfire (640 mph). Consequently, the F-86D was chosen for two-thirds of the Air Defense Command's wings, and became the dominant ADC interceptor during the late 1950s.

In the meantime, F-86D-1-NA acceptances were agonizingly slow because of delays in delivery of the Hughes E-3 fire control system, as well as by problems with the electronic fuel controls. The last F-86D-1 was not delivered to the USAF until October of 1952, three years after the original letter contract had been issued.

The next production version was the F-86D-5-NA, which was the first to be equipped with the E-4 fire control system. The first production Hughes E-4 fire control system was received in December 1951, nearly three months late. The E-4 was five times as powerful as the E-3 system, but the first few examples of the E-4 that were delivered had extremely poor quality control, with serious defects like incorrect wiring, wrong vacuum tubes, loose hardware, and the like. It was not until July of 1952 that the first E-4 equipped aircraft, the F-86D-5-NA (serial number 50-492) was delivered for testing.

The 26 F-86D-5-NAs were followed by 36 F-86D-10s which introduced a power-operated rudder without a trim tab.

The 54 F-86D-15s introduced a single-point ground refueling receptacle for faster mission turnaround times. Other changes on the D-15 included installation of the AN/ARC-27 command radio. This completed the first (NA-165) contract.

The second contract (NA-177) began with the F-86D-20-NA, which added a fuel filter deicing system. 188 of these were built between May and December of 1953.

The 88 F-86D-25-NAs introduced provisions for using the 120-gallon drop tanks for combat missions rather than simply for ferrying.

The F-86D-30-NA introduced an automatic approach coupler control, and the manually-operated rudder with trim tab reappeared. 200 were built.

The F-86D-35-NA introduced omni-directional radar ranging--the RC-103 Zero Reader of earlier versions was replaced with the AN/ARN-14 Omni-Directional Ranging Set. The last 97 of the production F-86D-35-NA aircraft had an afterburner fitted with a new fuel flow amplifier and an inner ceramic liner of the exhaust to provide for better protection against excess heat. A total of 350 D-35s were built. However, recurring problems with the E-4 fire control system, with the electronic fuel control, and with the new AN/ARN-14 ranging set, kept the last of the planes from being completed until late December of 1953.

During the early 1950s, North American Aviation was turning out F-86Ds at a faster rate than they could be supplied with engine controls and electronic equipment. At one time during the winter of 1952-53 there were no less than 320 F-86Ds parked outside the factory at Inglewood waiting for various electronic systems such as radar, E-4 fire control systems, autopilots, or engine controls. Deliveries were eventually made of the electronic equipment and the F-86Ds eventually moved off the strip outside the Inglewood factory and out to squadron service. All the D-15s were delivered by March of 1953, and the D-20s, 25s and 30s were delivered to the USAF by June of 1953.

The USAF was anxious to show off its hot new interceptor to the public. On November 18, 1952, F-86D-20-NA serial number 51-2945 set a new world's air speed record of 698.505 mph. The record-setting plane was flown by Captain J. Slade Nash over a 3-km course at the Salton Sea in California at a height of 125 feet. This record was broken on July 16, 1953 by Lt. Col. William Barnes flying the first F-86D-35-NA (51-6145) over the same Salton Sea course, averaging 715.697 mph. Both record-breaking aircraft were standard production F-86Ds with full armament and electronics. The faster speed of the second aircraft was made possible by a higher ambient temperature and by the addition of a ceramic liner around the exhaust nozzle. This innovation was added to the last 97 D-35 production aircraft.

The advanced performance of the F-86D won it two more contracts. The first of these new contracts, the NA-190, was approved on March 6, 1952 and called for 901 F-86D-40 to -50 aircraft.

The 300 F-86D-40-NAs were powered by the J47-GE-17B of 5425 lb.st. dry and 7500 lb.st. with afterburner. They had a new glide path indicator and had an exhaust temperature gauge added to the instrument panel.

By December of 1953, problems with the electronic fuel control system had gotten so bad that the Air Force was forced to ground its entire F-86D fleet after the loss of 13 aircraft due to engine fires and explosions.

Long landing runs had been a problem for the F-86D ever since its introduction, and to cure this problem a 15.6-foot ribbon drag parachute was tested on F-86D-15-NA serial number 50-544. This reduced the landing roll from 2550 feet to 1600 feet. The success of this installation led to the installation of drag parachutes to all production aircraft from F-86D-45-NA onward. The first D-45 appeared in April 1954. The D-45s could be distinguished from their predecessors by the presence of the braking parachute housing with a straight fairing immediately above the exhaust tailpipe which replaced the curved fairing of previous blocks. Installation of the drag chute was made necessary by the introduction of the F-86D to bases in Japan, Formosa, and Okinawa where the runways were much shorter than those normally used by the F-86D at bases in the continental USA.

The first 238 D-45s were provided with the J47-GE-17B turbojet, but the remaining F-86Ds (52-4136 and subsequent) completed from July 1954 onward had the J47-GE-33 with a dry thrust of 5500 pounds and 7650 pounds with afterburner. For a brief time, the version of the F-86D with the -33 engine was known as F-86G, but the designation was soon changed back to F-86D. The main effect of the more powerful engine was an improvement in speed at 40,000 feet from 612 to 616 mph. Maximum sea level speed was 693 mph, service ceiling was 49,600 feet, and initial climb rate was 12,000 feet per minute.

The J47-GE-33 engine was much more powerful than the -17 engine which powered the earlier versions. In addition, it had better cooling and afterburner ignition, as well as several other improvements which eliminated some of the flaws of the earlier engine. However, crashes caused by engine problems continued. Many of these were caused by engine fuel control malfunctions, by defective engine parts, or by turbine wheel failures.

The final three variants had minor instrument and electronics changes. All were externally similar to the D-45 with the drag chute in the tail. The 301 F-86D-50-NAs rounded out the NA-190 contract. The last production order was placed on June 12, 1953 for 624 F-86D-55s and -60s. These bore the company designation of NA-201. They were all quite similar to each other. The last F-86D-60-NA, 53-4090, was accepted in September 1955. At that time the ADC had twenty F-86D wings.

The F-86D was a very complex aircraft for its day, and was a bit of a handful for a single pilot. It required more pilot training than any other USAF aircraft, including the six-engined B-47. Most of the training for the F-86D took place at Perrin AFB in Texas. Pilot trainees had to spend a lot of time in ground based flight simulators that had a replica of a cockpit duplicating F-86D controls. Flight training included the firing of rockets at targets towed behind B-45 bombers.

By the time that late 1953 rolled around, there was a profusion of many different production blocks of F-86Ds in service, all of them quite different from each other and requiring different sets of spare parts, different instruction manuals, and different maintenance procedures. This made for a maintenance and repair nightmare. In order to make the various production blocks of the F-86D standard throughout the USAF, a decision was made in late 1953 to withdraw all F-86Ds from combat units in stages and subject them all to upgrades so that there would be a more-or-less "standard" F-86D out there in the field, making maintenance and repair much less of a headache. The project was given the name *Project Pull-Out*. One by one, as their periodic maintenance became due, these early-block F-86Ds were taken out of service, returned to maintenance depots or to the North American factory, and subjected to upgrades such as the installation of current electronics or the provision of braking parachutes. By September 1955, the upgrade program was completed.

The last production F-86D (53-4090) was delivered to the ADC in September of 1954. In all, a total of 2506 F-86Ds were built.

In a typical intercept mission, the F-86D's AN/APG-37 radar searched the sky in a forward direction, sweeping back and forth and up and down in a 3.5-second cycle. Targets could be located up to 30 miles away. When the target showed up as a blip on the pilot's radar scope, he locked the radar onto the target and the AN/APA-84 computer determined a lead collision course. The pilot flew this course by keeping the steering dot on his scope inside a reference circle. When the automatic tracking system indicated that there were only 20 seconds to go, the pilot steered more precisely to keep the dot in a smaller circle. The pilot chose whether to fire 6, 12, or all 24 of his rockets, and pressed the trigger. However, the actual firing instant was determined by the computer, not by the pilot, and when the computer deemed the range to be right, the rocket pack was extended and the rockets were fired. The range at which the computer fired the rockets at the target was typically about 500 yards. It took a half-second for the pack to lower, and only a fifth of a second to fire all 24 rockets. After firing, the rockets fanned out in a predetermined pattern reminiscent of a shotgun blast. When the last rocket was away, the pack automatically retracted back into the fuselage belly, and an "8" appeared on the pilot's scope, warning him that the target was only 260 yards ahead and that he had better break away. It was thought that the lead collision course attack would expose the F-86D to enemy defensive fire for the minimum amount of time, and the "shotgun" effect of the rocket pattern would ensure a high probability of a kill.

If, for some reason, the E-4 fire control system went down, there was a stand-by optical lead computing sight provided.

The F-86Ds rockets were meant for use against bombers, not fighters. If confronted by enemy fighters, the tactic was for the F-86D to turn towards its attackers, then use its superior speed to get the heck out of there as quickly as possible.

Tests had disclosed that the 2.75-inch FFAR rockets of the F-86D were only marginal in accuracy and effectiveness. In 1955, an F-86D-60-NA (serial number 53-4061) was fitted with underwing fixtures for four GAR-1B Falcon radar-homing missiles. Another example was tested with the infrared homing Sidewinder missile. However, budgetary limitations ended both projects in September of 1957.

In the late 1950s, the F-86D served as the main air defense weapon against Soviet bomber attacks. In retrospect, the Soviet bomber threat was grossly exaggerated, but it cannot be denied that the presence of the F-86D interceptor and its F-94 and F-89 stablemates was an important deterrent. At one time, the ADC had no less than 20 F-86D wings, totaling 1405 aircraft, which made up two thirds of all ADC units. All the F-86D squadrons were under Air Defense Command, US Air Forces in Europe, or Far East Air Force control, with the exception of two squadrons that were transferred to the Strategic Air Command in 1959.

The F-86D served with the following Air Defense Command Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons:

2nd, 5th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 31st, 37th, 42nd, 47th,49th 54th 56th, 60th, 62nd 63rd, 71st, 75th, 82nd, 83rd, 85th,86th, 87th, 93rd, 94th, 95th, 97th, 318th, 332nd, 323rd,324th, 325th, 326th, 327th, 329th, 330th, 331st, 332nd, 354th,413th, 432nd, 440th, 444th, 445th, 456th, 460th, 465th, 469th,496th, 497th (later to SAC), 498th, 518th, 519th, 520th, 538th,539th.

The F-86D served with the following Far East Air Force squadrons:

4th, 16th, 25th, 26th, 39th, 40th, 41st, 68th, and 329th FIS.

The following independent squadrons of USAFE operated F-86Ds:

357th, 431st, 525th, and 526th

Even after Project Pull-Out had been completed, the USAF was still experiencing problems with its F-86D fleet. Engine failures were still all too frequent, and the E-4 fire control system remained unreliable and difficult to maintain. In September of 1957, the Air Force decided to phase out the F-86D as soon as possible and replace it with the F-86L. The F-86L was to be a conversion of existing F-86D airframes so that the aircraft had the capability of working in conjunction with the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) computerized ground-controlled intercept system.

The phaseout of the F-86D from the ADC began in August of 1956, and was essentially complete by April of 1958. As ADC F-86Ds were phased out, some of them were turned over to the Air National Guard (ANG).

The following Air National Guard Squadrons received F-86Ds:

141th, Texas ANG (1957-1960)
120th, Colorado ANG (1960-1961)
122nd, Louisiana ANG (1957-1960)
125th, Oklahoma ANG (1957-1960)
127th, Kansas ANG (1958-1961)
128th, Georgia ANG (1960-1961)
133rd, New Hampshire ANG (1958-1960)
146th, Pennsylvania ANG (1957-1960)
147th, Pennsylvania ANG (1958-1961)
151st, Tennessee ANG (1957-1960)
156th, North Carolina ANG (1959-1960)
157th, South Carolina ANG (1958-1960)
159th, Florida ANG (1956-1960)
173rd, (1957-1964)
181st, Texas ANG (1957-1964)
182nd, Texas ANG (1957-1960)
185th, Oklahoma ANG (1958-1961)
187th, Wyoming ANG (1958-1961)
190th, Idaho ANG (1959-1964)
191st, Utah ANG (1958-1961)
192nd, Nevada ANG (1958-1961)
194th, California ANG (1958-1965)
196th, California ANG (1958-1965)
197th, Arizona ANG (1957-1960)
198th, Puerto Rico ANG (1958-1960)
199th, Hawaii ANG (1958-1961)

Many of the ANG's F-86Ds were quickly supplanted by F-86Ls, and by June 1961, the F-86D no longer appeared on either the USAF or ANG rolls.

So far as I am aware, the F-86D never fired a single shot in anger while serving with the USAF. Perhaps that fact alone is a testimony to its effectiveness as a deterrent.
 

Export

Throughout much of the 1950s, the E-4 fire control system of the F-86D was considered too sensitive for export to foreign nations. A simplified version, known as the F-86K, was delivered in its stead. It was not until 1958 that it was deemed safe to export the F-86D overseas. By that time, the F-86D was beginning to be replaced in USAF service by supersonic types such as the Convair F-102A Delta Dagger and the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo, and ex-USAF F-86Ds were now freed up for export to Allied nations.

 

 

The F-86E

 

The next production version of the day-fighter Sabre was the F-86E. Initial work on this model began at North American Aviation on November 15, 1949 under the company designation NA-170. A contract for 111 examples under the designation F-86E was finalized on January 17, 1950.

The F-86E was externally identical to the F-86A except for the presence of an "all-flying" tailplane, which was intended to correct many of the undesireable transonic characteristics that had been experienced by the F-86A. The stabilizer fitted to the F-86A was moveable by an electric motor which could change the angle of incidence in flight to trim out excessive air loads. Unfortunately, the elevator of the F-86A had been found to be largely ineffective in the supersonic regime, and recovery from a supersonic dive required very large angles of elevator movement which exerted so much stress that it could on occasion cause rivets to pop out from the trailing edge. Sabre pilots had complained that the flight controls appeared to be "strange" in the transonic speed range. They seemed to "reverse"--if the pilot wanted to pull up and his speed was near Mach 1, the aircraft continued to go down. Several accidents had been caused by this effect, which had come to be known as "control reversal". In reality, the controls did not actually reverse, they simply did not respond very effectively.

The new elevator of the F-86E was called an "all-flying tail". Instead of using the mechanically adjustable stabilizer just for trim control, the F-86E's elevators and horizontal stabilizer operated as one unit. The horizontal stabilizer was pivoted at its rear spar so that the leading edge was moved eight degrees up or down by the normal action of the controls. The elevator was mechanically linked to the stabilizer and moved in a specific relation to the stabilizer movement, with elevator travel being slightly greater than stabilizer travel. This effectively created a larger elevator surface--as the pilot called for more elevator, the stabilizer could move in conjunction with the elevator, creating a greater angle of attack, thus giving better control at all speeds.

In the F-86A, the elevator controls were actuated by cables, with a hydraulic boost. On the F-86E, the cable system was eliminated and replaced with a fully hydraulic system having greatly increased boost for the controls. Only the rudder remained cable-controlled. The fully hydraulic controls had their drawbacks. One of these was that the pilot lost his "feel" for the aircraft handling--the loads were no longer transmitted back to the control stick. An artificial "feel" had to be created for pilot feedback, which consisted of a bobweight and bungee system.

Externally, the only difference between the F-86A and E was the presence of a bulge in the fuselage of the E immediately in front of the stabilizer to cover the gearing mechanism. Internally, there were several significant changes. The A-1CM gunsight-AN/APG-30 radar combination that had first been installed in the last 24 F-86A-5-Nas was made standard on the F-86E. The J47-GE-13 engine rated at 5450 lb.s.t. was the powerplant.

The first F-86E (50-0579) made its maiden flight on September 23, 1950, with George Welch at the controls. The all-flying tail of the F-86E eliminated many of the undesirable compressibility effects that had been experienced with the F-86A. In particular, it made the recovery from a supersonic dive much easier to accomplish. The all-flying tail of the F-86E made sonic dive recovery much more straightforward, with much less danger of structural damage or catastrophic failure. In other respects, the performance of the F-86E was similar to that of the F-86A.

The first of 60 F-86E-1-NAs were delivered in February of 1951, followed by 51 F-86E-5-NAs which differed only in the placement of cockpit control panel switches. Both the E-1 and the E-5 had the same wing, the same V-shaped windscreen, and the same weapons capabilities as the F-86A.

First to get the new Sabre was the 33rd Fighter-Interceptor Wing at Otis AFB in Massachusetts. Both the 33rd and the 1st FIGs began receiving F-86Es in the early spring of 1951 to replace some of the older aircraft that had been acquired when the 4th FIG had been sent to Korea. In June of 1951, the first shipment of F-86Es was sent to Korea, where they gradually replaced F-86As in service. The F-86E entered action in Korea with the 4th Wing in September of 1951, replacing that unit's F-86As on a one-by-one basis.

The conversion to the F-86E was rather slow, and the last F-86A was not replaced until July of 1952. Following their replacement by F-86Es, the war-weary F-86As were returned to the USA and issued to Air National Guard squadrons.

In 1949, Canadair Ltd. of Montreal acquired a license to manufacture the Sabre in Canada. The first Canadian production version was powered by the 5200 lb.s.t. J47-GE-13 engine. The first aircraft assembled at Cartierville (near Montreal) was designated CL-13 Sabre Mk 1. This first Canadian Sabre was assembled from components largely supplied by NAA, and was essentially an F-86A-5-NA. Only one Sabre Mk 1 was built, the first production version being the Sabre Mk 2. The Mk 2 was the Canadian equivalent of the F-86E, and also used the J47-GE-13. Faced with a shortage of Sabres available for service in Korea, in February 1952, the USAF arranged to purchase sixty Sabre Mk.2s from Canada. These were designated F-86E-6-CAN, and were delivered to the USAF between February and July of 1952. These Canadian-built Sabres were fitted with US equipment in California before being delivered to operational units. With few exceptions, the entire production of Canadair E-6s went to squadrons in Korea, serving with both the 4th and the 51st FIGs.

Plans were for the F-86E-5-NA to be immediately followed on the NAA production lines by the F-86F. The F-86F, known as the NA-172 by the company, was to be equipped with the more powerful J47-GE-27 engine, rated at 5910 lb.s.t. A contract for 109 NA-172s was approved on April 11, 1951 and was increased to 360 aircraft on June 30. However, production by General Electric of the J47-GE-27 engine was delayed, and the first 132 NA-172s on the contract were fitted with the 5200 lb.s.t. J47-GE-13. Since this effectively made them F-86Es rather than F-86Fs, they were delivered to the USAF as F-86E-10-NAs from September 1951 to May 1952. These aircraft had provisions for the installation of the -27 engine once it became available, and they could be distinguished from the earlier F-86Es by the introduction of a new optically-flat windscreen which replaced the V-shaped windscreen of earlier F-86As and Es. In addition, the instrument panel layout was modified. Most of the E-10s went directly from the assembly lines to combat squadrons operating in Korea. Some of these aircraft were later retrofitted with the -27 engine when it became available.

Further delays in deliveries of -27 engines caused the last 93 aircraft on the NA-172 F-86F contract being completed as F-86E-15-NAs with J47-GE-13 engines from August to December of 1952. These aircraft were used by the Air Training Command and by Air National Guard squadrons, and none went to Korea. Many of the E-15s were later retrofitted with both the -27 engine and the 6-3 solid leading edge wing introduced on the F-86F.

A total of 369 F-86Es were built.

The following wings received F-86Es:

• 1st Fighter Interceptor Wing
   
• 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing (334th, 335th, 336th Squadrons)
   
• 33rd Fighter Interceptor Wing (58th, 59th, 60th Squadrons)
   
• 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing (16th, 25th, 39th Squadrons)
   
• 56th Fighter Interceptor Wing

As the F-86E was phased out of active USAF service, many were passed on to the Air National Guard. The F-86E served with the following Air National Guard squadrons: 107, 121, 170, 171, 172, 198, and 199.

 

Serials of F-86E Sabre

50-0579/0638	North American F-86E-1-NA Sabre
			c/n 170-1/60.
50-0639/0689	North American F-86E-5-NA Sabre
			c/n 170-61/111.
51-2718/2849	North American F-86E-10-NA Sabre
			c/n 172-1/132.
51-12977/13069	North American F-86E-15-NA Sabre
			c/n 172-268/360.  Originally intended as F-86F-15-NA
52-2833/2892	Canadair F-86E-6-CAN Sabre
			Ex-RCAF Sabre Mk 2.

Specification of the F-86E-5-NA:

Engine: One General Electric J47-GE-13, 5200 lb.st. Dimensions: wingspan 37.12 feet, length 37.54 feet, height 14.79 feet, wing area 287.9 square feet. Weights: 10,555 pounds empty, 14,578 pounds takeoff (clean) 16,346 pounds takeoff (drop tanks). Performance: maximum speed 679 mph at sea level, 601 mph at 35,000 feet. Initial climb rate 7250 feet per minute. Altitude of 30,000 feet could be reached in 6.3 minutes. Service ceiling 47,200 feet. Combat radius 321 miles, ferry range 1022 miles.

 

 

The F-86F

 

The major production version of the day-fighter Sabre was the F-86F. The F-86F Sabre was basically a more powerful version of the F-86E, being powered by the 5910 lb.st. J47-GE-27 engine in place of the 5200 lb.st. J47-GE-13. Work on the new aircraft began on July 31, 1950 as the NA-172, and was scheduled to begin production as the F-86F in October of 1950. A contract for 109 F-86Fs was approved on April 11, 1951, which was increased to 360 by June 30.

Plans were also made to manufacture the F-86F in the Columbus, Ohio factory that had been used by the Aeroplane Division of Curtiss-Wright during World War 2 to manufacture the SB2C Helldiver dive bomber. This plant had been built for Curtiss by the Navy during the war. After the war, Curtiss fell onto hard times, and was forced to undergo a major downsizing, eventually consolidating all of its aircraft operations at the Columbus factory. Curtiss-Wright was ultimately unsuccessful in securing any defense contracts, and was forced to close down its Aeronautical Division. All of the assets of the Aeroplane Division were sold to North American, but control of the Columbus factory reverted to the Navy. The Columbus factory had sat idle for several years. With the expansion in military orders caused by the Korean War, North American arranged to lease this factory for manufacture of the F-86F. This Columbus-built F-86F was designated NA-176 by NAA, and the project was formally initiated on September 29, 1950. The Columbus factory reopened in December 1950, and the initial Columbus contract, dated September 6, 1951 and approved March 17, 1952, was for 441 aircraft.

While Columbus was coming up to speed, the California plant began to produce some F-86Fs. Unfortunately, there were serious delays in the deliveries of the J47-GE-27 engines from General Electric, and the first 132 aircraft on the NA-172 contract had to be delivered with the less powerful -13 engine of the F-86E. Since this made them essentially F-86Es rather than F-86Fs, they were given the designation F-86E-10-NA. They were delivered between September 1951 and April 1952. They could be distinguished from earlier Es by the introduction of a new optically-flat armored windscreen which replaced the v-type windscreen of earlier F-86As and Es.

The J47-GE-27 engine finally became available in the early spring of 1952, and the first of 78 F-86F-1-NA aircraft (51-2850) took to the air on March 19, 1952. Other than the engine change, the F-1 was identical to the E-10. with the same weapons capabilities, wings and flight control systems. By June of 1952, they were in service with the 84th Squadron at Hamilton Field and with the 51st Wing in Korea. The F-86F was added to the 4th Wing in September.

With the same weight as the E-10 but with more engine thrust, the F offered significantly better performance over the E. The F's top speed rose to 688 mph at sea level and well over 600 mph at 35,000 feet. Service ceiling was up to 52,000 feet, and initial climb rate was now 9850 feet. The introduction of the F into combat in Korea went a long way to closing the high-altitude performance gap between the Sabre and the MiG-15. No longer could the MiGs zoom and climb through Sabre formations with impunity, and the Sabre pilots could now close on the MiGs at any altitude, even during a climb. The -27 engine also offered slightly better fuel economy, giving a combat radius of 430 miles with a pair of 120-US gallon drop tanks.

The F-86F-5-NA appeared in June of 1952. It differed in having underwing shackles capable of handling 200-gallon drop tanks instead of the earlier 120-gallon tanks. These increased the combat radius from 430 to 463 miles. 16 of these were built.

The F-86F-10-NA introduced a new gunsight. Most of the F-86As in Korea had used the Mark 18 optical gyrosight. The ranging control of this sight had to be operated manually, which was an awkward task for a pilot to perform under the stress of high-speed combat. Late F-86As and all Es had been fitted with an A-1CM radar ranger which relieved the pilot of the task of having to do the ranging task manually, but this equipment was rather complicated, was subject to frequent breakdowns, and was difficult to service and maintain. The F-86F-10-NA and later aircraft introduced the A-4 ranging system, which operated in a similar manner as the A-1CM, but was simpler to operate and easier to maintain. All other equipment on the F-86F-10 remained the same as on previous models.

The last 100 aircraft on the NA-172 contract were to have been F-86F-15-NAs with re-positioned control systems. Combat in Korea had shown that there were several vital areas in the F-86 where just one hit could result in severe damage and perhaps loss of the entire aircraft. All of these vital areas were identified and either repositioned, encased in armor plating, or given a backup system in case of failure. However, in April of 1952, additional delays in deliveries of General Electric J47-GE-27 engines forced another substitution of the earlier -13 engine in all but the first seven aircraft in this block. These 93 re-engined aircraft were then re-designated F-86E-15-NA and were issued to training units rather than to combat Wings. Six of the seven F-15s built are known to have been operational in Korea with the 4th FIG.

Columbus was rather slow in getting production going on their NA-176 contract, and the first Columbus-built F-86F aircraft (51-13070) did not fly until May of 1952. These aircraft were known as F-86F-20-NH (the Columbus-built Sabres having the suffix "NH", the California-built Sabres having the suffix "NA"). These aircraft were essentially duplicates of the Inglewood-built F-86F-15-NA, and could carry a pair of 200-gallon drop tanks and had armor protection fitted around the horizontal stabilizer control system. They had a different radio and cockpit arrangement than previous Sabres. Delivery of the 100 F-86F-20-NH aircraft was not completed until January of 1953. However,none of the F-86F-20s ever served in Korea.

The next version of the Sabre was known by the company as NA-191. The project began on October 26, 1951. This called for a fighter-bomber adaptation of the Sabre, capable of carrying two stores under each wing rather than just one. Earlier Sabres had been found to be deficient when called upon to assume the fighter-bomber role, primarily because of insufficient range and endurance when the drop tanks were replaced by bombs or rockets. The F-86A had a combat radius of only 50 miles when carrying underwing bombs, which was not a very useful distance! A contract was approved on August 5, 1952 for 907 NA-191 aircraft, all to be built in California. The same configuration was to be used on 341 NA-176 aircraft already on order from Columbus, plus 259 NA-193 aircraft added to the contract on October 17, 1952.

The first Sabre built to this fighter-bomber configuration was the F-86F-30-NA, which starting rolling off the production lines in California in October of 1952. All four hardpoints could handle either 120- or 200-US gallon drop tanks, but only the inner pair could carry ordnance, up to 1000 pounds for each pylon. This meant that an F-86F with the dual-store wing could carry a pair of 1000-pound bombs plus two 200-US gallon drop tanks on a typical mission. If the maximum fuel load of two 200-gallon and two 120-gallon drop tanks was carried, ferry range was 1600 miles and combat radius was 568 miles.

In January 1953, the Columbus-built version of the fighter-bomber Sabre, the F-86F-25-NH, had appeared.

In an attempt to improve the high-speed performance of the Sabre, a fixed wing leading edge was tested on three aircraft in August of 1952. These aircraft had the wing leading edge slats eliminated and their wing leading edges extended by six inches at the root and three inches at the tip. The wing area went from 287.9 to 302.3 square feet, and the angle of leading edge sweep increased slightly to 35.7 degrees. Airflow pattern changes over the wing required the addition of five-inch-high wing fences at 70 percent span. Since the leading edge extension occurred in front of the main wing spar, the extended leading edge could be used to accommodate some additional fuel, raising total internal fuel capacity from 435 to 505 US gallons.

This wing, soon to be known as the "6-3 wing", immediately demonstrated improved combat qualities. The "6-3" wing increased maximum speed from 688 to 695 mph at sea level and from 604 to 608 mph at 35,000 feet. In addition, there was a slight improvement in range. The most significant improvement was, however, in the maneuverability at high altitudes and at high Mach numbers. By delaying the onset of buffeting, the new wing gave the Sabre pilot the ability to fly closer to the maximum G-limit, enabling tighter turns at high altitudes. About 1.5 Gs were added to the maneuverability at 35,000 feet. Unfortunately, the improved high-speed performance came at the expense of losing the low-speed advantages of the slatted wing. Stalling speed went up from 128 to 144 mph, and the stall was now preceded by a yaw-and-roll effect. This resulted in a faster final landing approach speed and necessitated a longer landing roll.

Fifty "6-3" wing conversion kits were shipped to Korea in high secrecy in September of 1952 to convert F-86F aircraft already there to the new configuration. Enough kits were eventually supplied to convert all Korean-based F-86Fs and some F-86Es to this new configuration. The "6-3" wing was introduced as standard production line equipment starting with the 171st F-86F-25-NH (51-13341) and the 200th F-86F-30-NA (52-4505). No F-86F-25s were actually sent to Korea, with most of the combat aircraft used in Korean combat being early Fs from F-1 through F-15, plus large numbers of F-30s.

The "6-3" wing was an immediate success, quickly boosting Sabre victories in Korea. With the "6-3-wing" F-86F, the USAF now had a fighter which could match the maximum speed of the MiG at altitudes all the way up to the Sabre's service ceiling of 47,000 feet, could turn inside the MiG, and which had almost as great a rate of climb.

The third F-86F production batch was the NA-191, built in California under a contract approved on August 5, 1952. These were delivered as F-86F-30-NA (52-4305 through -5163) and as F-86F-35-NA (52-5164 through -5271). Deliveries began in October of 1952 and were completed by May of 1954. 967 were built.

157 NA-202 aircraft were built in California under the next contract. These included F-86F-35-NAs covering serials 53-1072 through 53-1228. The F-86F-35-NA had the capability of carrying a nuclear weapon. The 1200-pound Mk 12 "special store" (as the atomic bomb was euphemistically called) with a yield of up to 12 kT was carried under the port wing, while droptanks were attached under the starboard wing. The nuclear bomb was delivered by use of the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS), in which the pilot approached the target at low altitude, pulled up to begin a loop, released the bomb near the top of the loop to throw the bomb away from the flight path, and then escaped the blast by climbing away with an Immelmann turn. The F-86F-35-NA was equipped with a computer for determining the exact instant of bomb release, along with a set of controls for arming and disarming the "special store" in flight. Conventional weapons that could be carried included a pair of 1000-pound or smaller bombs, two 750-pound napalm tanks, or eight 5-inch HVAR rockets. The F-35 was otherwise similar to other F-86Fs.

The F-86F served with the following USAF wings:
 

• 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing (334th, 335th, 336th Squadrons)
   
• 8th Fighter Bomber Wing (35th, 36th, 80th Squadrons)
   
• 18th Fighter Interceptor Wing (12th, 44th, 55th Squadrons)
   
• 21st Fighter Interceptor Wing (92nd, 416th, 531st Squadrons)
   
• 36th Fighter Interceptor Wing (23rd, 32nd, 53rd Squadrons)
   
• 48th Fighter Interceptor Wing (492nd, 493rd, 494th Squadrons)
   
• 50th Fighter Bomber Wing (10th, 81st, 417th Squadrons)
   
• 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing (16th, 25th, 39th Squadrons)
   
• 58th Fighter Interceptor Wing (69th, 310th, 311th Squadrons)
   
• 81st Fighter Interceptor Wing (78th, 91st, 92nd Squadrons)
   
• 322nd Fighter Interceptor Wing (450th, 451st, 452nd Squadrons)
   
• 366th Fighter Interceptor Wing (384th, 390th, 391st Squadrons)
   
• 388th Fighter Interceptor Wing (561st, 562nd, 563rd Squadrons)
   
• 406th Fighter Interceptor Wing (512th, 513th, 514st Squadrons)
   
• 450th Fighter Interceptor Wing (721st, 722nd, 723rd Squadrons)
   
• 474th Fighter Interceptor Wing (428th, 429th, 430th Squadrons)
   
• 479th Fighter Interceptor Wing (431st, 434th, 435th Squadrons)

 

Serials of F-86F

51-2850/2927		North American F-86F-1-NA Sabre
				c/n 172-133/200
51-2928/2943		North American F-86F-5-NA Sabre
				c/n 172-201/226.
51-12936/12969	North American F-86F-10-NA Sabre
				c/n 172-227/260.
51-12970/12976	North American F-86F-15-NA Sabre
				c/n 172-261/267.
51-13070/13169	North American F-86F-20-NH Sabre
				c/n 176-1/100.
51-13170/13510	North American F-86F-25-NH Sabre
				c/n 176-101/441.
52-4305/5163		North American F-86F-30-NA Sabre
				c/n 191-1/859.
52-5164/5271		North American F-86F-35-NA Sabre
				c/n 191-860/967.
52-5272/5530		North American F-86F-25-NH Sabre
				c/n 193-1/259.
53-1072/1228		North American F-86F-35-NA Sabre
				c/n 202-1/157

 

 

Cannon Armed F-86Fs

 

Even though the six 0.50-inch machine guns of the Sabre had a high rate of fire, one of the primary complaints by Sabre pilots was that these guns really didn't pack enough punch to ensure a kill of every MiG that got into their gunsights. The MiG-15 was actually a fairly robust aircraft, one which could sustain a considerable amount of damage and still keep flying. Colonel Glenn Eagleston submitted a report in which he estimated that as much as two-thirds of the MiGs hit by Sabre gunfire had actually escaped to return home and fight another day. A heavier cannon armament was clearly needed, but one which still preserved the high rate of fire of the machine guns which would give a higher probability of a kill during air combat.

It is a little known fact that some operational trials were actually carried out in Korea with cannon-armed Sabres. Four F-86E-10s (serial numbers 51-2803, 2819, 2826 and 2836) and six F-86F-1s (serial numbers 51-2855, 2861, 2867, 2868, 2884 and 2900) were pulled off the North American assembly line and fitted with a quartet of T-160 20-mm cannon and redesignated F-86F-2-NA. The T-160 guns were belt-fed and were capable of firing 1500 rounds per minute. The gun bays had to be completely redesigned and the guns had to be spaced further apart vertically with a totally new blast panel. The ammunition canisters could carry only 100 rounds each, for about 6 seconds of firing. The gun mounts had to be strengthened and the nose structure around the guns had to be beefed up in order to handle the extra amount of recoil. In order to prevent the buildup of gun gas in the cannon bays, where it could be an explosion and fire hazard, small doors were cut into the interior of the intake duct to extract the gun gas and suck it into the engine.

First tests were carried out with 51-2803 by test pilot George Welch over the Pacific firing range near Catalina Island. Al