F-86 Sabre

The F-86 Sabre was a subsonic combat aircraft developed for the US Air Force. It was developed in 1940s following the end of WWII and was one of the most prolific jet fighters produced. The first proposals for the North American Aviation F-86 Sabre were made in 1944, but construction was not begun until after World War II. The XP-86 prototype, which would become the F-86 Sabre, first flew on October 1, 1947. Some people contest that the XP-86 broke the sound barrier on this flight, 14 days before Chuck Yeager went supersonic in the Bell X-1 making test pilot George Welch the first pilot to achieve this milestone.

Action in the Korean War

The F-86 Sabre entered service in 1949 and was the primary United States Air Force jet fighter used in the Korean War. It often was placed in combat against a nearly equal Soviet MiG-15.

Related Topics:
1949 - United States Air Force - Korean War - MiG-15

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Superior US pilot training versus Korean and Chinese training accounted for some of the US success in the air war with a reported kill ratio of 14 to 1 by the Air Force in MiG Alley. MiG Alley was a hotbed for air-to-air combat near the Yalu River between the boundaries of Korea and China. Early sources attribute the F-86's all-moving tailplane to giving the Sabre a decisive advantage over the MiG-15. However, this claim has since been downplayed.

Related Topics:
US - Chinese - Air Force - Korea - Tailplane

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Other factors included Soviet pilots' reluctance to engage Americans over battlefields for fear of being captured. Technically the Soviet Union was not involved in the Korean War and, as such, could not afford captured pilots. So-called "black-nosed" MiG's often had Soviet or Chinese instructors at the controls and were well-known by American pilots. In one case a MiG was shot down over South Korean airspace by a Sabre and the Soviet pilot commited suicide to avoid being captured.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Korean War

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Review of recently released Soviet documents that had been classified top secret until the fall of the Soviet Union shows that the American pilots claimed to shoot down more than twice the number of MiG-15s than ever served in Korea, though discounting these extra kills the kill record would still be in the Sabre's favour. The disparity between Soviet and American accounts of the air war is startling. Neither side's loss records can confirm the majority of the victories claimed by the other side. Many of the air engagements reported can actually be corroborated by both sides, but then each would claim several victories and neither would show any losses. Soviet sources claim a very favorable kill ratio: over 1,300 MiG-15 victories against only 345 MiGs lost. It should also be noted this figure includes aircraft other than fighters, such as bombers.

Related Topics:
MiG-15

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Triple-jet aces flying the F-86 in the Korean War included Captain Joseph C. McConnell who later died as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the crash of an F-86H. Colonel James Jabara at Kimpo Air Base was also a triple-jet ace. Famous astronaut John Glenn also flew an Air Force F-86 during the war as a Marine Corps exchange pilot; his plane was painted with the name "MiG Mad Marine."

Related Topics:
Korean War - Joseph C. McConnell - Edwards Air Force Base - James Jabara - Kimpo Air Base - John Glenn - Marine Corps

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