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The History of the Canadian Sabre


Text by Lt Col (ret) Robert Nash for the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada.

The F-86 Sabre is the most-produced Western jet-powered day fighter, with a total production of 9,860, including all variants. Between 1949 and 1956, North American Aviation (NAA) in California built more than 7,800 F-86 Sabres, including more than 700 FJ-1 and FJ-2 variants that were modified for carrier operations. The F-86 was also built under license in Australia, Canada and Japan.

Development

In 1945, NAA submitted four designs to meet a United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) XP-86 requirement for a medium-range, single-seat, high-altitude, jet-powered day escort fighter/fighter bomber. The USAAF contracted NAA to build three examples of their XP-86. Its performance was about the same as its competitors, the Lockheed’s XP-80 and Republic’s XP-84. None met the USAAF’s stated requirements.

Searching for better performance for their prototype, NAA was the first American company to take advantage of flight research data seized from Germany at the end of the Second World War. This data showed the benefits of swept wings for high-speed performance when approaching the speed of sound, and that leading-edge slats enhanced low-speed stability. A redesigned XP-86 met the USAAF’s performance requirements by incorporating a 35° swept-back wing, an automatic slat design and an electrically adjustable stabilizer that was also pioneered on the Messerschmitt Me 262. This modified XP-86 was selected for series production as the F-86.

In 1948, the first prototype broke the sound barrier in a shallow dive. In breaking the sound barrier, “sonic booms bounced around the city of Los Angeles.” Months later, the public saw the F-86A for the first time at the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio. A week after that, at Muroc Dry Lake in California, Major Richard L. Johnson set a world speed record that stood for four years.

Sabres for Canada

With the formation of NATO in 1949, the Canadian Government decided to re-equip the RCAF’s front-line day-fighter squadrons, then equipped with a mix of fighter aircraft; they selected the F-86 Sabre. Under agreement with NAA, Canadair Ltd. of Montréal was contracted to manufacture 100 F-86s in Canada for the RCAF. Canadair named the Sabre project CL-13. RCAF requirements increased significantly when, in 1951, it was decided to deploy twelve Sabre squadrons in Europe as Canada’s principal air contribution to NATO. A further 5 RCAF Auxiliary squadrons operated the Sabre in Canada.

Characteristics

The Canadian and NAA-built Sabres evolved over time, based on operational experience. Changes to the wings and new engines improved the operating characteristics of the aircraft.

  • The Sabre had a pressurized cockpit and was the first American-designed fighter to be equipped with an ejection seat.
  • The Sabre was equipped with a lead-computing, gyroscopic gunsight coupled to radar, mounted in front of the cockpit, that automatically locked on to and tracked a target.
  • The Sabre had an early form of heads-up display, where the sight image was projected onto the windshield.
  • Sabre pilots were equipped with G-suits that allowed them to better endure the stresses inherent to dogfighting at high speeds.
  • The Sabre produced by Canadair were armed with six .50 caliber machineguns mounted in the nose, 3 on each side, with up to 300 rounds of armour-piercing and incendiary ammunition. They could also carry up to 2000 pounds of fuel, bombs or rockets under the wings.

From 1950 to 1958, a total of 1,815 CL-13 Sabres were built at the Canadair plant in Montreal. The last Sabre to be manufactured by Canadair – Sabre No. 1815 – became part of the permanent collection in the Western Canada Aviation Museum (WCAM) in 1996.

DND Photo via James Craik

Sabre Mk 1: Canada assembled one NAA Sabre F-86A, RCAF No 19100, to prove its capability to build the aircraft. It flew for the first time in August 1950 and a few days later was the first Canadian-built aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. This aircraft is now on display at the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton.

DND Photo

Sabre Mk 2: The Sabre Mk.2 was the first production model produced by Canadair. It was equivalent to the NAA F-86E variant, with an “all-flying” tailplane, known today as a ‘stabilator’, with power-assisted controls. Compared to the F-86A, these changes provided the Sabre Mk2 with a marginally higher cruise speed, a lower service ceiling, a shorter max range, and a higher empty and max weight. The F-86E pioneered an ‘artificial feel’ system that is common in many modern fighters. In 1951 and 1952, Canadair built 350 Mk2s: 287 were delivered to the RCAF, 60 to the USAF, and three to the RAF. The 60 aircraft provided to the Americans were shipped immediately to Korea where they were flown in combat.

Photo by SteveTheAirman

Sabre Mk3: Canadair built one Sabre Mk.3, Serial No. 19200, to serve as a testbed for the Avro Canada Orenda 3 turbojet engine. A variety of structural modifications were required to accommodate the larger engine.

Jackie Cochran in the cockpit of the Canadair F-86 with Chuck Yeager. (Photo courtesy Air Force Flight Test Center History Office)

Jacquie Cochrane was an American pilot who held more speed, distance, and altitude records than any other flyer during her career. She pioneered women’s aviation as one of the most prominent racing pilots of her generation

In 1953, after her request to borrow an F-86A from the USAF was refused, the Canadian government authorised her to fly the Sabre Mk3. In May, she set a record for women on a 100 km open course and in June she set another on a 15 km closed circuit. She was also the first woman to exceed the speed of sound. The image shows Cochrane with Chuck Jeager in 1953.

The Western Canada Aviation Museum acquired Sabre Mk3 and, in 2001, traded it to the Reynolds Air Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, for a DeHavilland Vampire.

Sabre Mk4. It was intended to equip the Sabre Mk4 with the Orenda 3 engine tested in the Mk3; however, the Orenda engine was not yet available in sufficient quantities, so it was decided to retain the GE-47 engine. The Mk4 incorporated modifications to cabin air conditioning, pressurization controls and canopy release. Minor changes to the airframe provided a slight increase in service ceiling in exchange for a modest increase in the empty weight of the aircraft. None of the modifications changed the performance of the aircraft appreciably. In 1952 and 1953, Canadair built 448 Sabre Mk4s. 438 were delivered to the RAF and the remaining 10 to the RCAF.

The British purchase of the then best available swept-wing fighter available for the defence of Western Europe was an interim measure due to delays in production of the British-built Hawker Hunter. Their service with the RAF was truncated when the introduction into service of the Hunter was completed in 1956. Between 1956 and 1958, 180 ex-RAF Sabres were transferred to Italy to serve in the air defence role. In the 1960s, the Italian Sabres were replaced by F-104 Starfighters.

By 1958 and 1959, Yugoslavia acquired 122 ex-RAF Sabres. Eight of these were transferred to Honduras in 1976 and the last four remained in service until at least 1994.

Sabre Mk5: The Sabre Mk.5 was the first production model with a Canadian engine, the Orenda 10 version. The bigger Orenda engine provided increased thrust but required a larger diameter opening in the fuselage frames and stronger engine mounts. A new, bigger wing was installed on the Mk5, known as the 6-3 wing because it increased the wing cord by 6 inches at the wing root and 3 inches at the wingtip. The new wing also replaced the automatic wing slats on the Mk4 with a fixed leading edge, which enhanced the high-altitude performance of the aircraft and increased fuel capacity. However, while the changes to the wing enhanced high-speed performance, it made low speed handling more difficult. Compared to the Mk4, the Mk5 had a larger wing area, lower empty weight and higher max weight. It climbed faster, flew faster and higher, and had a longer max range. Starting in 1953, Canadair built 370 Sabre Mk5s, 295 for the RCAF, and 75 for the German Luftwaffe.

Four MK V Sabre jet aircraft from Tactical Flight at RCAF Stn Chatham NB, are seen in a stepped up formation Echelon Port. The four aircraft are participating in the International Air Display, Toronto. (DND Archives, PC-1311)

Sabre Mk6: The Sabre Mk.6 was the final production version of the Canadair Sabre. It was equipped with the two-stage Orenda 14 engine. The more powerful Orenda 14 provided significantly higher thrust than the Orenda 10. This radically increased the climb rate, service ceiling, combat radius and range of the Mk6. Leading-edge slats that were removed from the Mk5 were re-introduced in the Mk6. The combination of leading-edge slats and wing fences gave the Mk6 superb manoeuvring characteristics in combat. The combination of the Orenda 14 engine and the aerodynamic characteristics of its wings made the Mk6 the best “dogfighter” of its era. Between 1954 and 1958, Canadair built 655 Sabre Mk6s, 390 for the RCAF, 225 for the German Luftwaffe, 34 for the South African Air Force, and six for the Fuerza Aérea Colombiana (Colombian Air Force). Sabre Mk6 1815, the last aircraft to leave the production line at Canadair in 1958, was acquired by the Canadian Aviation Museum of Western Canada from Pakistan in 1996.

Conclusion

Developed in the late 1940s and the first combat aircraft capable of breaking the sound barrier, the Sabre was outdated by the end of the 1950s. It served as a front-line fighter in 37 different air forces, including NATO countries Germany, Italy and Turkey, and non-NATO countries including Australia, Bolivia, Japan and Pakistan. The last F-86 was withdrawn from service by the Fuerza Aérea Hondureña (Honduras Air Force) in about 1994.

Further Reading

Richard Darling, “North American F-86 Sabre and New Model Arrivals!” Fly Tigers, 09/09/2016,
www.flying-tigers.co.uk/2016/north-american-f-86-sabre-and-new-model-arrivals/

Larry Milberry, The Canadian Sabre, CANAV Books, 1986

Harold Scaarup, Canadian Warplanes 6: Canadair CL-13 Sabre

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