Airfix Canadair Sabre F.4 1:48 A08109
£32.99
Airfix Canadair Sabre F.4 1:48 A08109
Airfix Canadair Sabre F.4 1:48 A08109
The last few months of the Second World War saw the introduction of the
worlds first operational jet aircraft and with their appearance, a clear
indication as to the future of aviation. Taking a significant lead in
jet powered aviation technology, Germany was at least 12 months ahead of
their Allied adversaries in this regard and with the end of the
conflict, there was a rush to gain access to as much of this information
as possible, so it could be applied to British, American and Soviet
aviation projects.
In the US, the aviation industry had concentrated
their efforts on perfecting piston powered aviation during the war, a
decision which was vindicated through the success of the P-51 Mustang
and the sheer numbers available to Allied air forces. Inevitably, this
would have an impact on Americas entry into the jet age and whilst their
first operational jet fighter, the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, was an
excellent aircraft, it utilised the straight wing technology synonymous
with WWII designs.
With its P-51 Mustang being widely regarded as the
best single engined fighter of WWII, it was not long before the
designers at North American aviation applied their undoubted talents to
producing a new jet powered fighter, one which would incorporate
research material obtained from the German jet programme. In their quest
for ever greater speed, the new aircraft featured a 35% wing sweep and
beautifully streamlined fuselage, whilst retaining the exceptional pilot
visibility first introduced on the D variant of the Mustang. With three
nose mounted .50 calibre machine guns on either side of the fuselage,
the new Sabre shared much with the attributes of its piston engined
predecessor, beautiful to look at, but a deadly fighting aeroplane.
The
first flight of the XP-86 prototype took place on 1st October 1947, in
the hands of famous WWII Pearl Harbor Curtiss P-40 fighter ace George
Welsh, who was North Americans chief test pilot at that time. Later in
the development programme, an F-86A Sabre would go on to set a new world
airspeed record of 670.84 mph, underlining the credentials of this
important new fighter.
On entering USAF service in 1949, the North
American F-86 Sabre was not only Americas first swept wing fighter, but
also the fastest fighter in the world and one of the most important
aircraft in the post war jet era. The Korean War would witness the
advent of the first jet versus jet combat and pitch Americas new jet
fighter against the latest Soviet design, the highly capable Mikoyan
Gurevich MiG-15, an aircraft which possessed a great aviation pedigree
of its own and one which proved to be quite a shock for Western Powers.
With both aircraft possessing advantages over the other, this aerial
duel would prove to be quite an even contest, with the more robust
training and previous WWII experience of Sabre pilots proving decisive
in the end.
Whilst US military planners were quick to publish combat
victory ratios of 10:1 in favour of the F-86 Sabre, later research
suggested the Sabres dominance was probably nearer 3:1, though still
underlining the effectiveness of the aircraft. As one of the worlds
first classic jet fighters, the F-86 Sabre was produced in great
quantities and went on to serve with around 30 of the worlds air forces,
as well as being produced under licence in Canada, Australia, Japan and
Italy. Out of a final total production run which exceeded 9,800
aircraft, the Royal Air Force would operate around 430 Canadian built
Sabres from 1953 until 1956, as the introduction of the excellent Soviet
MiG-15 continued to have an impact on NATO military strategies. With
the indigenously designed Supermarine Swift and Hawker Hunter still in
development, the Sabre provided the RAF with a capable jet fighter at a
crucial period in world history and whilst they would only see service
for a relatively short period, it bought the RAF valuable time until
they could introduce their own swept wing fighter designs.
Age 8+
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