The F-86 Sabre...
Initial proposals to meet a USAAF requirement for a single-seat high-altitude day fighter aircraft/escort fighter/fighter bomber were made in late 1944, and were originally to be derived from the design of the straight wing FJ-1 Fury being developed for the U.S. Navy. The North American P-86 Sabre was the first American aircraft to take advantage of flight research data seized from the German aerodynamicists at the end of the war. Performance requirements were met by incorporating a 35 degree swept-back wing with automatic slats into the design, using the Me 262 wing profile, Messerschmitt wing A layout and adjustable stabilizer. Manufacturing was not begun until after World War II as a result. The XP-86 prototype, which would become the F-86 Sabre, first flew on 1 October 1947 from Muroc Dry Lake, California.











The F-86 was produced as both a fighter-interceptor and fighter-bomber. Several variants were introduced over its production life.









The fighter-bomber version (F-86H) could carry up to 2,000 lbs of bombs, including an external fuel-type tank that could carry napalm.









The F-86A set its first official world speed record of 570 mph in September 1948.








As newer Century Series fighters came on line, F-86s were transferred to Air National Guard units or the air forces of allied nations.
The last ANG F-86s continued in US service until the mid-1960s.



Sabre "Tooth" in High Resolution