Above the skies of the Korean Peninsula, the F-86 Sabre formed one part of an epic aerial rivalry—against the MiG-15, the Soviet Union’s first mass-produced jet.

If asked to name the most numerously produced Western-built fighter aircraft ever, could you? One might be tempted to name the F-16 Fighting Falcon. Or perhaps the F-4 Phantom. Both answers would be incorrect. In fact, perhaps not coincidentally, the West’s most numerously built fighter aircraft comes from the Forgotten War, and was amongst the first jet-powered fighters ever built: the North American F-86 Sabre, of which 9,860 were produced during the 1940s and 1950s.

A Difficult Transition

Jet technology first emerged out of World War II, where the German Luftwaffe was busy innovating faster, more efficient forms of air travel. The first jet to fly was the Heinkel He 178, in 1939. But the first operational jet fighter was the Me 262 Sparrow, some of which were converted from piston engine to jet engine in July 1942. When the Americans rolled out the F-86 just five years later, jet technology was still quite new, and in many respects, untested.

Pilots had a difficult time transitioning into the F-86. The jet had a notoriously high accident rate, with a tendency to over-rotate on takeoff, quickly crashing and killing or maiming the pilot. F-86 pilot casualties, especially during training at Nellis Air Force Base, were extremely common—so common that cadets were advised, if they ever saw the base’s flag at full mast, to take a picture.

As military pilots were transitioning from piston- to jet-powered aircraft, the U.S. was transitioning, too—from an isolated regional power into a global hegemon. Having defeated both the Japanese and the Germans during World War II, the U.S. inherited one of the poles of the newly forming bipolar world. The transition would be difficult and oftentimes fraught with conflict. One of the earliest, and most involved, of these conflicts was the Korean War—which would test both the U.S.’s new global status, and her new fighter jet technology.

Sabre Rattling

Above the skies of the Korean Peninsula, the F-86 Sabre formed one part of an epic aerial rivalry. The F-86’s counterpart: the MiG-15, an early jet fighter with similar proportions and aesthetics to the F-86. In the early days of the war, while the U.S. was in possession of an early F-86 variant, the MiG-15 held a distinct advantage—with superior maneuverability, acceleration, service ceiling, and rate of climb.

When the F-86F variant was introduced, however, in 1953, the playing fields were finally leveled. In fact, the new F-86 was arguably superior to the MiG-15. One respect in which the F-86 was undeniably superior to the MiG-15 was in top speed; the MiG maxed out at Mach 0.92 whereas the F-86 could be safely operated at speeds above Mach 1.

After the war, initial tallies held that 792 MiG-15s were shot down while just 78 F-86s were lost, making for a 10:1 kill ratio in favor of the F-86. However, the initial numbers were wildly inflated. A reexamination found that just 200 or so MiG-15s were shot down, making for a less impressive—albeit still very impressive—2.5:1 kill ratio.

The Korean War was the F-86’s peak moment of prominence. The jet was retired from U.S. active duty in 1958, and retired from the Air National Guard in 1972. 

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image: Shutterstock.

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