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.

Sources Knaack, Marcelle Size, Encyclopedia of U.S. Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems, Volume 1, Post-World War Two Fighters, 1945-1973: Office of Air Force History, Washington, D.C., 1978.

Swanborough, F. G., United States Military Aircraft since 1909 : Putnam, London and New York, 1963.

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Wagner, Ray, American Combat Planes - Second Edition : Doubleday and Company, Garden City, New York, 1968.

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