Subject: Number Eighty-Six in the Series--North American F-86 Sabre (10 of 22)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 18 Aug 93 16:16:30 GMT

>From [email-masked]

The first F-86Fs reached Korea in June and July of 1952, and they were 
issued to the 51st Wing's new 39th Squadron.  F-86Fs were provided to 
the 335th Squadron of the 4th Wing in September of 1952.  The arrival 
of the F-86F quickly boosted Sabre victories in Korea.  The 4th Wing's 
335th Squadron scored a total of 81 victories during the remainder of 
1952, while the other two 4th Wing squadrons (which were still 
operating F-86Es) got 41.  With a record like that, it now seemed that 
EVERYONE in Korea wanted an F-86F, and so to prevent the morale of 
F-86E pilots from declining, a decision was made to have F-86Fs 
distributed more or less equally among all the squadrons in the 4th 
Wing.  To meet the increased demand, all the F-86Fs still in the US 
were immediately shipped to Korea and exchanged for F-86Es which were 
then returned home.  

During late 1952, fully a fifth of Sabre victories over MiGs were 
obtained without the pilots having to fire their guns.  During the 
last four months of 1952, thirty-two MiGs were observed to go in to 
sudden uncontrollable spins while being chased by Sabres.  Only two of 
their pilots managed to recover.  The rest either ejected or else 
crashed with their planes.  Even though no guns were actually fired, 
the frightening of a MiG pilot into getting himself into an 
unrecoverable spin nevertheless still counted as a "kill".  It seems 
that a large number of inexperienced MiG pilots were now entering the 
fray.  

However, during the first four months of 1953, MiG pilot performance 
seemed to get a little better, since more of their pilots were able to 
recover from these involuntary spins.  

F-86Fs would often fly in teams with F-86Es, with the Fs flying at 
40,000 feet and the Es at a lower level to handle any MiGs which 
managed to come down to harass the fighter bombers.  

The "6-3" wing was an innovation which was added in the field that 
improved the F-86F's combat performance even further.  The "6-3" wing 
originated in an experiment which took place in August of 1952.  Three 
F-86F aircraft were taken off the production line and had their wing 
leading edges extended by six inches at the root and three inches at 
the tip.  The leading edge automatic slats were deleted.  The wing 
area went from 287.9 to 302.3 square feet.  This wing, soon to be 
known as the "6-3 wing", immediately enabled the F-86F to demonstrate 
improved combat qualities, and a decision was made to introduce this 
new feature immediately into battle.  Under an atmosphere of high 
secrecy, fifty "6-3" wing conversion kits were shipped to Korea in 
September of 1952 to convert F-86F aircraft already there to the new 
configuration.  

The "6-3" wing was an immediate success in Korea.  The USAF now had a 
fighter which could outrun the MiG, could turn inside it, and which 
had almost as great a rate of climb.  Enough kits were ordered to 
convert all Korean-based F-86Fs to this configuration.  All production 
aircraft starting with the 171st F-86F-25-NH (51-13341) and the 200th 
F-86F-30-NA (52-4505) were eventually fitted with this conversion kit.  

It was with the "6-3" wing that the Sabre was to rack up its biggest 
score during the Korean War.  Between May 8, 1953 and May 31, 1953, 
F-86Fs with 6-3 wings accounted for 56 MiG kills vs only one lost, one 
of the most one-sided air battles ever fought, not to be surpassed 
until the early 1980s when Israeli F-15s and F-16s scored an 80-0 
victory over Syrian aircraft over the Bekka Valley during the Lebanon 
incursion.  On June 20, 1953 F-86F Sabres accounted for 16 victories, 
their biggest one-day score of the war.  

The arrival of the "6-3" winged Sabre in Korea was soon to be followed 
by the fighter-bomber Sabre.  The first F-86F-30-NA fighter-bombers 
arrived in Korea on January 28, 1953, and they equipped the 18th 
Fighter Bomber Wing based at Osan.  This Wing flew its first Yalu 
patrol on February 25, and scored its first MiG kill on the same day.  
By the end of March, there were enough F-86F-30s to equip the 12th 
Squadron and the attached 2nd Squadron of the South African Air Force.  
The SAAF 2nd Squadron flow 1427 Sabre sorties during the Korean War, 
and lost two enemy aircraft to ground fire.  No. 2 Squadron returned 
their Sabres to the USAF after Korea, and purchased Canadair-built 
versions to supplement the fighter force in South Africa.  

The 8th Fighter Bomber Wing based at Suwon began trading in its F-80C 
Shooting Stars for F-86F-30 Sabres in February of 1953, the conversion 
being finally completed at the end of April.  The 8th Wing took their 
Sabres into action in a MiG Alley sweep on April 8, and on April 13 
this Wing carried out its first ground attack mission by hitting an 
enemy troop concentration.  

By this time, the USAF had five jet fighter-bomber wings, three with 
F-84G Thunderjets and two with F-86F-30s.  The Thunderjets had a 
superior range, but the fighter-bomber Sabre proved itself eminently 
suitable for bombing work and, unlike the Thunderjet, was able to fend 
for itself in MiG-infested territory.  

During June 1953, more Sabres were lost in ground attack missions than 
in air-to-air combat.  They delivered 3044 tons of bombs during that 
month, fourteen being lost to enemy flak.  

The Korean War finally ended on July 27, 1953, with a negotiated truce 
in which the country remained divided into two.  The last Sabre/MiG 
fight of the Korean War took place on July 22, 1953, when Lt. Sam P.  
Young of the 31st Wing scored his first and only victory.  The last 
kill of the Korean War took place on July 27, when Capt. Ralph S.  
Parr flying an F-86F-30 shot down an Il-12 twin-engined transport 
aircraft.  At the end of the Korean War, the seven American fighter 
Wings in Korea had 297 Sabres on hand, with 132 of them being with 
fighter-bomber Wings.  

A total of 792 MiGs were claimed by F-86s.  Official US figures 
indicated that a total of 78 Sabres were lost in air-to-air combat, 
with 19 additional Sabres being lost to ground fire, and 13 to unknown 
causes.  So the overall superiority of the Sabre over the MiG was 
about ten to one.  

There were 39 Korean War American jet aces, all of which flew Sabres.  
305 of the 810 aircraft shot down by the Sabres in Korea were 
destroyed by aces.  Capt. Joseph McConnell Jr. of the 16th Squadron, 
51st Wing was the top ace with 16 kills.  Col. Francis Gabreski added 
6 1/2 MiGs to his 31 German kills of World War II.  

Sources:

  F-86 Sabre in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.

  The North American Sabre, Ray Wagner, MacDonald, 1963.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  Flash of the Sabre, Jack Dean, Wings Vol 22, No 5, 1992.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
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