The North American F-86 Sabre was manufactured from 1949 – 1956 and was America’s first
swept-wing fighter. As well as being built in the U.S. variants were built in Canada and Australia
bringing the total of all variants manufactured to 9,860 units. During the Korean War the Sabre
arrived to take on the other swept-wing aircraft of the conflict, the MiG-15 Fagot. The Americans
disputed.

Japan received the first Sabres in December 1955 and over time was equipped with 180 US built
and 300 Mitsubishi built F-86Fs. On March 4, 1960 the new F-86F aerobatic team “Tenryu”
performed it first demonstration at Hamamatsu Air Base. Westerners found the name “Tenryu”
difficult to pronounce so the name was changed to “Blue Impulse”. F-86F 02-7960 was
assembled by Mitsubishi and flew with the “Blue Impulse” from 1965 until 1981 when the F-86F
was retired for the Mitsubishi T-2. 02-7960 is on display at the JASDF Museum at Hamamatsu.

Specifications for the North American F-86F

Crew – 1

Dimensions
Length – 37 ft 1 ins (11.4 m)
Wingspan – 37 ft 0 ins (11.3 m)
Height – 14 ft 1 ins (4.5 m)

Weights
Empty – 11,125 lb (5,046 kg)
Loaded – 15,198 lb (6,894 kg)
Maximum Take-off – 18,152 lb (8,234 kg)

Powerplant
1 – General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet
Thrust – 5,910 lbf (maximum @7,950 rpm for 5 minutes) 26.3 kN)
Fuel – JP-4
Internal – 437 US gallons (1,650 l)
Drop Tanks – 2 x 200 US gallons (760 l)
Maximum Speed – 687 mph (1,106 km/h) @ sea level and combat weight of 14,212 lb (6,447 kg)
Range – 1,525 miles (2,454 km)
Service Ceiling – 49,600 ft @ combat weight (15,100 km)
ROC – 9,000 ft/min @ sea level (45.72 m/s)

Armament
Guns- 6 x 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns w/1,602 rounds
Rockets – various rocket launchers, example 2 x Matra rocket pods w/18 SNEB (French
manufacturer - Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Edgar Brandt) 68 mm air-to-ground rockets
per pod
Bombs – 5,300 lb (2,400 kg) of payload on 4 outer hardpoints while 2 inner pylons were
designed for 2 drop tanks to extend range. A variety of bombs could be carried with standard
maximum load of 2 x 1000lb bombs on outer pylons plus 2 x 200 US gallon drop tanks on the 2
inner pylons. Napalm canisters and even tactical nuclear weapons could be selected.

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