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North American F-86D / F-86L Sabre ("Sabre Dog")
← F-86 Sabre North American Aviation · Variant 2 of 5

North American F-86D / F-86L Sabre ("Sabre Dog")

The all-weather interceptor — radar nose, afterburner and a belly tray of rockets instead of guns · First flight 1949 · In service 1951

The F-86D began as the YF-95, first flown by George Welch on 22 December 1949 (prototype 50-577), and was redesignated YF-86D. It shared only about a quarter of its parts with the day-fighter Sabre: a radome above the intake housed the AN/APG-36 radar, the J47-GE-17 engine had an afterburner, and the guns were replaced by a retractable tray of 24 unguided 70 mm 'Mighty Mouse' rockets. 2,504 F-86Ds were built; the nickname 'Sabre Dog' was never official.

The type twice set the world air speed record over the 3 km course at the Salton Sea: Capt. J. Slade Nash flew 1,124.1 km/h on 18 November 1952, and Lt. Col. William F. Barns raised it to 1,151.8 km/h in F-86D 51-6145 on 16 July 1953. From the mid-1950s 981 F-86Ds were rebuilt as the F-86L with new electronics, extended wingtips and leading edges, a revised cockpit and an uprated engine. A related gun-armed export model, the F-86K, was built by North American and assembled by Fiat in Italy.

Air National Guard squadrons flew the D and L until 1965. Abroad, Japan received 122 F-86Ds, Yugoslavia 130 (flown from 1961 to 1974, 32 of them converted for reconnaissance), Denmark 59, South Korea 40, Greece 35 and the Philippines 20, while Thailand operated 20 F-86Ls.

Gallery
Three early F-86D-1 interceptors (50-460, 50-462, 50-463) in formation flight, early 1950s
Three early F-86D-1 interceptors (50-460, 50-462, 50-463) in formation flight, early 1950sUSAF · Public domain
F-86D-5 50-509 in flight, showing the radome above the intake; it later served as a JF-86D chase plane at Edwards AFB
F-86D-5 50-509 in flight, showing the radome above the intake; it later served as a JF-86D chase plane at Edwards AFBUSAF · Public domain
F-86L 52-4274 of the 187th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, taking off, c. 1959
F-86L 52-4274 of the 187th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, Wyoming Air National Guard, taking off, c. 1959USAF · Public domain
F-86D 51-6171, later flown by the Hellenic Air Force, preserved at the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums, Sunderland, 2017
F-86D 51-6171, later flown by the Hellenic Air Force, preserved at the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums, Sunderland, 2017Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK · CC BY-SA 2.0
Same family

Other F-86 Sabre variants

North American F-86A Sabre
◎ NORTH
North American Aviation

North American F-86A Sabre

United StatesThe first production Sabre — the swept-wing day fighter that met the MiG-15 over Korea
Canadair Sabre (CL-13)
◎ CANADAIR
North American Aviation

Canadair Sabre (CL-13)

United StatesThe Montreal-built Sabre — Orenda-powered in its final form and flown by a dozen air forces
North American F-86E / F-86F Sabre
◎ NORTH
North American Aviation

North American F-86E / F-86F Sabre

United StatesThe definitive Korean War Sabres — all-flying tail on the E, more power and the '6–3' wing on the F
North American F-86H Sabre
◎ NORTH
North American Aviation

North American F-86H Sabre

United StatesThe heavyweight fighter-bomber Sabre — deeper fuselage, J73 engine, 20 mm cannon and nuclear capability