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.

Specifications (F-86A)

General Characteristics

• Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.3 m)
• Length: 37 ft 6 in (11.4 m)
• Height: 14 ft 8 in (4.5 m)
• Weight: 13,791 lb (6,300 kg) loaded
• Armament: Six 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns and eight 5 in (127 mm) rockets or 2,000 lb (900 kg) of bombs
• Engine: One General Electric J-47 turbojet of 5,200 lbf (24 kN) thrust.
• Cost: $178,000
• Crew: One

Performance

• Maximum speed: 685 mph (1102 km/h)
• Combat range: 1,200 miles (1900 km)
• Service ceiling: 49,000 ft (14,900 m)