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| STANDARD DATA: Seats 1. Gross wt. 13,791. Engines one 5,200-lb. General Electric J-47 turbojets. PERFORMANCE: Max speed 685 mph. Cruise speed 540 mph. Range 1,200 nm. Ceiling 49,000′. |
The Sabre was the USAF’s first swept wing fighter. Just six months after it was assigned to duty, the F-86 set a world speed record of 670.9 mph. Later the Sabre beat its own record, upping the bar to 715 mph. This fighter was the prime contender against the North Korean MiG-15, typically flown by Russian and Chinese pilots. The tally at the end of the war was telling, both about American technology and pilot skills. By the end of hostilities, it had shot down 729 MiGs, loosing only 76 Sabres—a victory ration of 10:1.
