North American F-86 Sabre

[Second Air Force]

I love that last photo--I never thought I'd see a jet fighter that made a Sabre look big!

When I was planning on restoring the F-86F in Fort Worth I was always impressed with how compact and small they were able to make the airplane. Getting the fuselage fuel cell out was going to be a real problem as North American almost built the airplane around it!

[No.1]

As well you mention F model, here you are F 

[Sall]

 

[Second Air Force]

I'll see if I can find some photos of "my" Sabre and put them up. It served only a short time with the USAF and then most of its life in Venezuela and Bolivia. When I was planning to refurbish it it was still in the Bolivian camouflage scheme and I rather liked it.

[No.1]

H model

[Ernie]

Very Nice pics!
Ernie

[Sall]

Good!

[No.1]

Various samples

[Sall]

In various conditions...

[No.1]

And the final images- prototype 

[Jicehem]

And the final images- prototype  

Hi mate,  

Very interesting collection of photographs.
When she flew on 1 october 1947 with "PU-597" buzz-number she was still XP-86A... She became XF-86A after June 1948.
I see that French, German and Italian F-86K are missing...

Cheers,
Jicehem  

[No.1]

Sorry for missing images, simply did not have time to get images from boxes and get to friend to scan them and also did not search other folders with scanned images. If any of you like to add any new material just go ahead. By the way- in any case I miss French machines so your assistance could be of great value

[Jicehem]

Hi everybody,  

Some pictures of French F-86K :
1) North American F-86K Sabre, sn 55-4860, 13-QV of EC 1/13 "Artois" in 1957. One of the few, if not the sole to have received complete markings with unit insignas. The only one to have not been modified with the span-extended wing of the F-86F-40 (and consequently F-86L) :  


North American F-86K Sabre, sn 55-4854, 13-PX of EC 2/13 "Alpes" :


North American F-86K Sabre, 55-4858, 13-PN of EC 2/13 "Alpes" with the new wing :


North American F-86K Sabre, sn 55-4862, 13-QY of EC 1/13 "Artois" also with the new wing :


Components were manufactured by FIAT in Italy and planes were assembled in France. After retirement of the "Armée de l'Air" 12 of the 60 F-86K were given the Italian Air Force,  12 returned to the USA and 8 having been lost in accidents, the remaining were destroyed with explosives... but one preserved fot the Musée de l'Air at Le Bourget near Paris.
 
Cheers,
Jicehem  

[No.1]

Excellent images and historic data

[No.1]

Just to add few more info. First at all our small album on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150319254187759.341245.308234397758

And then two images from Nico