On November 19, 1956 the North American F-86 Sabre set a new world speed record of 698.50mph.
Before the advent of airborne radar systems, aircraft sensors and missiles, the most desirable attributes in any fighter aircraft were manoeuvrability and outright speed.
Aircraft manufacturers the world over were constantly pushing the envelope to create fighters that flew higher, further and faster to secure sales with air forces keen to have the best aircraft available.
In the post-war jet-age there was also a burning desire to be the first nation to break the sound barrier. The speed of sound is around 760mph at sea level and Chuck Yeager was the first pilot to have officially broken the sound barrier on October 1947 in the Bell X-1 Glamorous Glennis.
However, the Bell X-1 was far removed from the aircraft operated by any of the world’s air forces at that time. Operational fighters were one thing, experimental aircraft were something entirely different and well, experimental.
North American Aviation had already created one of WW2’s most outstanding fighter aircraft, the P-51 Mustang and in 1944 were busy developing their jet technology.
North American’s first foray into the world of jets had been the FJ-1 Jury but the straight wing design failed to meet the requirements set out by the USAF. However, in 1945 North American were given a contract to develop its experimental pursuit aircraft, the XP-86 and, using technology obtained from captured German designers, came up with the swept-wing design that ultimately led to the F-86 Sabre.
George Welch, famous for being one of the only US pilots to become airborne and engage the enemy during the attack on Pearl Harbor, was at the controls for the first flight of the Sabre on August 8 1947.
In the Spring of 1948 the prototype XP-86 broke through the sound barrier when it officially exceeded Mach 1.
Then, with major Richard Johnson at the controls, the F-86A set a new official world speed record on September 15, 1948 with a maximum speed of 670.98mph.
The F-86 entered service in February 1949 and was the USAF’s primary combat fighter during the Korean War.
On 18 May 1953, Jacqueline Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier, flying a "one-off" Canadair-built Mk3 F-86 Sabre.
On November 19, 1956 the North American F-86 Sabre set a new world speed record of 698.50mph with Captain J. Slade Nash at the controls. He flew the 1.8 mile course at Salton Sea in California at a height of just 125ft.
Lieutenant Colonel William Barns broke that world record on July 16 1953, flying the same course in an F-86D and achieving a maximum speed of 715.697mph.
Little wonder the record-breaking Sabre would come to be loved and flown by air forces the world over.
