North American F-86 Sabre

The North American F-86 Sabre is an American single-engine jet fighter built by North American Aviation, entering United States Air Force service in 1949 and best known for its combat role in the Korean War, where it was rushed into theater specifically to counter the unexpectedly capable Soviet-built MiG-15. Built with swept wings, adopted late in its development after captured German wartime aerodynamic research demonstrated their advantages for high-speed flight, the Sabre gave American pilots a swept-wing fighter roughly competitive with the MiG-15's performance, and though the two aircraft were closely matched technically, American pilots achieved a favorable kill ratio over Korea that is generally credited to superior pilot training and gunsight technology rather than to a decisive aircraft performance advantage. Beyond Korea, the F-86 was built in very large numbers and exported to and license-built by air forces across the world, becoming one of the most widely used Western fighter aircraft of the early Cold War period.