Today in History, October 1: 1947 – America’s first “swept wing” jet fighter, the North American F-86 Sabre, makes it’s first flight.
Sleek, beautiful and deadly, the Sabre would go into production and arrive in Korea in time to save the day, as America’s mostly propeller driven air forces were desperately fighting the Russian Mig 15 swept wing fighter. The Sabre and the Mig both had advantages over each other, but American training, as usual, made the difference. The Sabre is my favorite jet fighter. The last one was retired from the Bolivian Air Force in 1994.
