The result was the best fighter of its age - apart from an unexpected rival, the Soviet MiG- 15. The two met over Korea in large numbers and, had the F-86 (as the XP-86 became) been built in its original form the Allies would have had nothing in the class of the MiG- 15 at all. As it was, the F-86 Sabre became not only the fastest and most glamorous fighter of the post-war era, but it ushered in a new era with speed brakes, powered controls, all flying tailplane's, pressurized cockpits (yet with enormous goldfish-bowl canopies) and 'bonedome' helmets and partial pressure survival suits that completely changed the image of the combat pilot. So outstanding an aircraft was bound to have a long career, with many versions, and at all times the Sabre was loved and respected as a fighter that almost never malfunctioned (despite amazing new complexity) and seemed to obey its pilots commands before they were issued!

Historically, the F-86 Sabre and the MiG-15 are fixed in parentheses, and it is difficult to write of one without referring to the other. Quite contrasting in appearance, there were also many important internal differences, one of them being in the armament. Whereas the MiG design allowed for the mounting of an integrated package of heavy cannon, the Sabre was designed to perpetuate the P-51 armament of six 0.5in guns, three on either side of the nose. Early Sabre's were equipped to carry two 1000lb bombs but these could only be accommodated at the expense of drop tanks, so reducing the operative radius to 50 miles. With drop tanks replacing the bombs the radius of action was stretched to 250 miles.

Unlike the MiG-15, the F-86 was an instant success and was especially popular with the men who flew it. lt had a good rate of climb and could dive so fast that the only early limitation was the pilot's capacity to absorb 'g'. lt was by far the most important air-combat weapon of the Allies throughout the Korean war, and for five years (1949-54) it remained the only fighter in the world even remotely competent to take on the MiG- 15, although the fact that it did so with such devastating effect was due very largely to the greater skill of its pilots.

The Sabre was subject to a program of constant design improvements, some of them resulting directly from Korean experience. The F-86E was fitted with an 'all-flying tail', the tailplane becoming the primary control surface in the pitching plane. The F-86F replaced the leading-edge slats by a 'hard' leading edge extended forwards by 6in at the root and 3in at the tip.

These important developments increased operating Mach limit to 0.92, improved control and maneuverability especially at high altitudes, and delayed the onset of air-compressibility effects at near the speed of sound. But curiously not all modifications were introduced by the designers. During the Korean war there existed a body of Sabre pilots known as the 'chuck-it-out brigade', most notable of its members being Major Vermont Garrison of the famous 4th Fighter Wing. Garrison and his cohorts exercised no scruple in stripping their Sabre's of any component they considered to be superfluous, in their eagerness to reduce weight and outperform the MiG- 1 5. Garrison himself even advocated removal of the APG-30 radar gun sight, stating that he would just as soon aim his guns using 'a gun sight' - a lump of chewing gum stuck on the windscreen.

One of the Sabre pilots' greatest irritations was the apparent reluctance of their North Korean opposite numbers to engage in dogfights. All along the Yalu river, MiG- 15s could and did take evasive action by zooming across the border into airspace over 'neutral' Manchuria. ln November 1951 however, two Sabre pilots of USAF No 336 Squadron, Captain Ken Chandler and Lieutenant Dayton Ragland, spotted 12 MiG- 15s parked on the ground at Uiju, definitely inside North Korean territory. Chandler and Ragland swooped in and strafed, destroying four MiG's and damaging several others.

Only two days later, 31 Sabre's of No 4 Fighter Wing on a sweep along the Yalu encountered 12 Tupolev Tu-2 piston-engine bombers escorted by 16 Lavochkin piston fighters and a further high cover with 16 MiG- 1 5s Minutes later, the Sabre's had destroyed eight of the Tupolev's, three of the Lavochkin's and one of the MiG's.

Due without doubt to the very heavy Sabre-inflicted losses, the beginning of 1952 saw a change in Chinese tactics. They began to send up several flights at medium altitude, with others flying top-cover several thousand feet above. The Sabre squadrons caught on quickly, using their high-flying F-86Es to engage the upper echelons, while other F-86s hit those at lower levels. This way, Sabre's destroyed eight MiG's in January; the Chinese switched tactics again, changing from large formations to flights of just two or four, and flying at 40,000ft.

Thus they were able to penetrate further south before dropping down to 20,000ft in attempts to stop attacks on their ground forces by American fighter-bombers, mainly F-84 Thunderjets. This greatly reduced air contact by Sabre's.

The most numerous version of all (2504 built) was an extremely complex radar-equipped all-weather interceptor, the F-86D. Distinguished by its chin inlet under the radome, the 'Dogship' version had no guns but a retractable box of rockets, aimed and fired automatically under computer control.

Other versions of the Sabre went on long after Korea to form the fighter backbones of a score of air forces all over the world.

The XP-86 prototype flew on 1 October 1947, powered by a 4,000 lb General Electric J47. The first production F-86A flew in May 1948, powered by a 5,200lb engine; 554 F-86As were built, entering service in early 1949. It was followed in late 1950 by the F-86E, with an all-flying-tail. The F-86B and C were experimental. The F-86F, the last day fighter variant, was developed from the E, having a more powerful J47 and structural redesign. Originally a day fighter, with six OSO in machine-guns, the F-86 proved itself in Korea, where it had an devastating 11:1 kill ratio over the MiG-15, but was also extensively employed as a fighter-bomber. The F-86, principally the F, served over 20 NATO and friendly air forces.

North American F-86 Sabre Cockpit.

General Electric's J47-GE-## the North American F-86 Sabre Jet Engine.

Specifications (F-86F-40-NA)

Length: 37 ft 1 in Wingspan: 37 ft Height: 14 ft 1 in Wing area: 313.4 sq ft Empty weight: 11,125 lb Loaded weight: 15,198 lb Max takeoff weight: 18,152 lb Powerplant: 1× General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet, 5,910 lbf (maximum thrust at 7.950 rpm for five min) Fuel provisions Internal fuel load: 437 gallons, Drop tanks: 2 x 200 gallons (756 l) JP-4 fuel Performance Maximum speed: 687 mph at sea level at 14,212 lb combat weight Range: 1,525 mi Service ceiling: 49,600 ft at combat weight Rate of climb: 9,000 ft/min at sea level Thrust/weight: 0.38 Stalling speed (power off): 124 mph Landing ground roll: 2,330 ft Lift-to-drag ratio: 15.1 Time to altitude: 5.2 min (clean) to 30,000 ft Armament Guns: 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns (1,602 rounds in total) Rockets: variety of rocket launchers; e.g: 2 × Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each Missiles: 2× AIM-9 Sidewinders Bombs: 5,300 lb of payload on four external hardpoints, bombs are usually mounted on outer two pylons as the inner pairs are wet-plumbed pylons for 2 × 200 gallons drop tanks to give the Sabre a useful range. A wide variety of bombs can be carried (max standard loadout being 2 × 1,000 lb bombs plus 2 drop tanks), napalm bomb canisters and can include a tactical nuclear weapon.

A: North American developed and built the ejection seat used in the F-86. Such escape systems were vital at the high speeds reached by the new jets.	B: Guided missile development was some way behind the technology of the jet aircraft and both the F-BG and MiG-15s were gun-armed in Korea.	C: Both F-86A and E models were powered by the General Electric J47-GE-13, which improved time taken to reach 30,000 ft, by almost one minute and added an extra 800 ft to its maximum altitude.	D: Sabres always flew with drop- tanks. The extra fuel allowed a transit to North Korea and increased loiter time in the combat zone. The tanks were jettisoned as soon as MiGs were sighted.

This repaint was designed and built by Gary Dare whose efforts as "Director of Repaints and New Model Development" are always appreciated. It will be made available for Memorial Day.

North American F-86 Sabre F-86A s/n 49-1148 10 MAR 52 5 miles southwest of Patten ME.