Sabre Jet Classics

FLIGHT LINE

by Rick Mitchell

My perspective as the son of an F-86 Sabre pilot is greatly different from what most of our members will recall. I only stood on the sidelines and watched the Sabres while most other members flew or maintained them. But I do have a few favorite Sabre stories that mean a lot to me.

The Maryland Air National Guard flew the F-86E from 1955 to 1957, and then the F-86H from 1957 until the summer of 1970. My father was a part-time Guard pilot until 1958, and then fulltime until he retired in 1978. I was all of a first grade student in elementary school when the "E"s arrived. and I truly do not remember them. But the F-86Hs were different. By the early 1960s. I was a teenager. and my recollection of events during those days is much better! I do, however, remember the summer of 1958 when we were temporarily living in Rantoul, Illinois while my father went through maintenance officer training at Chanute Air Force Base when he became a full-time air technician. The aviation movie "The Hunters" premiered that summer. 1 remember sitting in the Town Theatre in Rantoul several afternoons in a row watching Robert Mitchum and Robert Wagner chase MiG-15s (actually F-84Fs painted grey with red stars) across the skies daily in that movie. It was pretty exciting stuff to see the movie's fictional "bad guy' leader. "Casey Jones." get shot down, and then Robert Mitchum deadstick his F-86 in among the scrub brush to rescue another pilot who had been shot down. "The Hunters" was my first real exposure to the excitement of the F-86. It is still exciting today as an adult to watch this movie when it occasionally shows up on late night television.

During the early 1960s, the MD ANG held open houses every May for Armed Forces Day. Maryland had their F-86Hs by then, and they were still in their natural metal finish. During the day, the Guard would put on an air show for the visitors. By then, my father was the group commander, and many times he was the solo pilot in one of the F-86Hs during the show. After he landed and taxied back to the ramp and shut down, the crowd would cheer his flying. l remember one year in particular watching him climb out of his Sabre, still with his parachute on, and walk back to where the spectators were, and a handful of kids about my age ran up to him and asked for his autograph. I remember being highly in awe of that! That one event sticks out so clearly in my mind today that it is as if it occurred last week instead of thirty years ago.

During 1966. Maryland's Sabres were repainted in camouflage. This made them look even better than they did before! By this era, however, and unlike today. America's youth was in a more rambunctious. anti-war fervor (a mood I personally wanted no part of). and Maryland soon stopped having its annual displays for fear that someone in the crowd would sabotage their military property That was very unfortunate as it ended the air shows at the MD ANG forecer for the public, as it turned out.

One of my last memories with Maryland's Sabres occurred one afternoon during the summer of 1970 when I took my girlfriend. Dorothy, whom I married in 1975, to Martin Airport on a date to see the F-86Hs. Maryland was slowly transitioning into brand new A-37B Dragonflys at the time. but in my estimation then, as well as today, the A-37B could not hold a candle to those older Sabres as far as good looks and performance were concerned. That was the last time I saw the ramp at Martin Airport filled with so many F-86Hs. 1 would give a million dollars today (if I had it!) to go back to that warm. sunny afternoon again and see those beautiful Sabres. Nothing since then. except for maybe a visiting F-16, has ever looked so good at Martin Airport.

Today. the Maryland Air National Guard has one of its original F-86Hs on gate guardian duties. and it is a treat to see "411" as 1 enter the front gate on visits. It is also very rewarding to follow the restoration of another former Maryland Air Guard F-86H Sabre, "250", which Spirit Fighters near St. Louis is restoring. I hope to see that 'H' fly someday. Not only will it be a beautifully restored Sabre taking to the air once again, but somewhere in my past. I remember when "250" and 23 more F-86Hs filled the ramp at Martin Airport. just like that last afternoon in 1970. Seeing "250" fly will be like going home again.

THE F-86H:
"THE LAST OF THE SPORTS MODELS"

The F-86H was the only Sabre developed from the start for fighter-bomber duties It was the culmination of the series and the last model developed. There was no F-86I; the F-86J was a modified "A" with a Canadian jet engine; the F-86K and "L" were dertvatrves of the F-86D; and the F86M were several redesignated Royal Air Force FR-86Fs. Beyond the F-86H lay the F100 Super. Sabre program, the F-86's supersonic sibling.

The F-86H consisted of two North American models, NA-187 and NA-203, which were built at both Inglewood, California (prototypes only) and Columbus, Ohio (production "H"s). The "H" Sabres began with two service test YF-86H prototypes that were included in the May 1951 contract. Both used General Electric YJ734GE-3 turbojets rated at 8,900 pounds of thrust. These two Sabres, serial numbers 52-1975 and 52-1976, were armed with six .50 caliber machine guns, as was the F-86F Production F-86Hs used serial numbers 52-1977 to 52-2124, 525729 to 525753, and 531229 to 531528. A total of 475 were built, including the two prototypes.

The first order for the fighter-bomber F-86H Sabre was placed on March 16, 1951. By late 1952, however, the F-86H was recassified as a day fighter, but with a secondary fighterbomber capability. The firstYF-86H flight ocurred on May 9, 1953 after being delivered earlier in January. Production began in late summer 1953 in Columbus, with the last F-86H flying on September 4, 1953. Production delays during summer 1954 meant the first F-86Hs were not delivered until fall. Production of the F-86H lasted until August 1955, and the United States Air Force received its last "H" model two months later. The "flyaway" cost per aircraft was $582,493.

Production F-86H-1 and F-86H Sabres were powered by General Electric J73-3& 3A turbojets developing 8,920 pounds of thrust, the most powerful jet engine installed in any Sabre model anywhere in the world. Later "H" Sabres used the J73-GE-3D turbojet which required some airframe changes. Yet despite the increased power, maximum speed at sea level remained 692 miles per hour with a cruise of 552 miles per hour, virtually identical to the F-86F. This was because the F-86H was a bigger airplane than the F-86F To allow for the larger J73 turbojet, the fuselage of the "H" added six inches of vertical depth and was strengthened. The air intake opening was noticeably taller. It was no longer rounded as on earlier Sabre Jets. These changes pushed the Sabre's design to the limit. The F-86H at high altitudes was underpowered for its wing loading, and as a result, the "H" was again reclassified in May 1954 as a tactical support fighter-bomber. Further advancements beyond the F-86H, when considering the F-100 was so close behind by 1954, were not feasible. The earliest F-86Hs delivered to Nellis, Cannon and George Air Force Bases were assembled with "hard" wings which gave very little stall warning and required higher final approach speeds. The wingspan on the F-86H was soon increased to 39 feet, 1 inch by adding extended F-40 wing tips along with leading edge slats for improved low-speed handling, similar to those on late model F-86Fs. The fuselage length was 38 feet, 6 inches, and the height was 14 feet, 1l inches. The "H", at 13,836 pounds (empty), climbed to 12,900 feet in one minute. Servicece ceiling was 50,800 feet, up in the MiG15's territory, but the F-86H arrived too late for service in the Korean War.

The F-86H's range was 519 miles, less than the "D", and internal fuel was reduced to 562 US. gallons. Overall fuel with droptanks, however, increased to 1,362 U.S. gallons, better than the "D". The F-86H used a hydromechanical engine fuel controller, which was mechanically linked to the throttle, and a cartridge starter. The "H" had no automatic pilot though, such as on the "D". The "H" did retain the all-flying tail with full-power, hydraulic irreversible control of the ailerons and horizontal tail. It also used an artificial feel system. Another noticeable external feature was the lack of dihedral in the horizontal tail.The windscreen was flat, and the clamshell canopy remained from the "D".

The F86H's wing was designed with a dual stores capacity with four underwing hard points for attaching up to four 200 U.S. gallon droptanks or a variety of ordnance, such as bombs, rockets or missiles. An AN/APG30 radar ranging device was located in the cockpit coupled to an A-4 lead computing gnnsight. The F-86H also had a nuclear bomb delivery capacity and used a LABS tossbombing system. It could carry a 1,200 pound tactical nucler weapon to its target underthe left wifng with droptanks under the right wing.

All production F-86H-1 Sabres, serial numbers 52-1975 to 52-2089, had six .50 caliber machine guns. Beginning with the F-86-H-5, which was the 116th F-86H, and all remaining F-86Hs, were four M-39 20mm cannons replacing the machine guns. The M-39 cannon was developed as a cooperative effort between the Ford Motor Company and the United States Air Force. The M-39 used a revolving-drum feed producing a higher firing rate than many .50 caliber machine guns. Each M39 had 150 rounds per gun and was fired electrically at a rate of 1,500 rounds per minute. Spent cartridges were ejected beneath the fuselage through outlets. The last F-86 model was the F-86H-10.

F-8611 Sabres were first sent to the 312th Fighter-BomberWing at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico in late 1954. The last "H" arrived a year later. They eventually equipped five fighter-bomber wings, the 50th, 83rd, 312th, 413th and the 474th. F-9Hs began phasing out of the regular United States Air Force in 1956 in favor of the supersonic F-100 Super Sabre. Most F-86Hs were transferred to Air National Guard units by mid-1958. They equipped California, Connecticut,

Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico and West Virginia. The Massachusetts Air National Guard was called to active duty in 1961 during the Berlin Crisis. They were sent to Europe from October 1961 to October 1962. The New York Air National Guard's F-86H Sabres also served in Europe during this time. They were activated from October 1961 to September 1962. The last active military unit to fly the F-86H Sabre was the New York Air National Guard in late November 1970. Approximately 29 F86Hs were converted by the UnitedStates Navy at China Lake, California for radio controlled target drone duties beginning in the early 1970s. These Sabres were redesignated QF-86H. Other F-86Hs were flown by the Navy to simulate the MiG-17 threat as the F-86H possessed similar flying qualities.

The history of the F-86K and the "L", the only two American Sabre models not reviewed so far, will be covered in future issues of Sabre Jet Classics.

SABRES IN THE AIR NATIONAL GUARD SERVICE

During the Korean War, three Air National Guard units received the F-86A when they were called to active duty, but none were transferred to Korea. The 116th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Washington Air National Guard had converted to F-84s in April 1950. They were called to active duty on February 1, 1951. The 116th became the first activated Air Guard unit to recquip with the F-86A. The 116th was transferred to England (RAF Bentwaters) by late August 1951. They served on active duty until October 1952. When the 116th returned to the United States, their Sabres stayed with USAFE.

On February 1, 1951, two other Air National Guard squadrons were activated and tramsitioned into Sabre Jets. The 148th Fighter Interceptor Squadron of the Pennsylvania ANG transferred to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware and converted from F51 Mustangs to F86As and F-94Bs. They completed their tour of duty at Dover on October 31, 1952. Finally, the 126th FIS of the Wisconsin ANG was activated on February 1, 1951. They flew F-86As at Truax Field, Wisconsin until their active duty finished on October 31, 1952.

The Korean War ended in July 1953. By that fall, more F-86s were available for Air Guard Service. The first Air National Guard unit to receive F-86As while not on active duty was the 186th FIS of the Montana ANG. The 190th FIS from the Idaho ANG followed.

By 1955, 18 Air National Guard Fighter Interceptor Wings were flying F86s. By 1956, the all-weather F-86D, and later the F-86L, were available, and the Air National Guard converted eight Fghter Interceptor Wings to Air Defense Wings. The F-96D equipped the 159th FIS of the Florida ANG first. During 1957, the fighter-bomber F86H began re-equipping an eventual 14 Air Guard squadrons. The day fighter Sabres, the F-86A, "E" and "F", were in Air Guard service for less than seven years. All were replaced by 1960.

By the end of the Fifties, there were 29 all-weather interceptor squadrons flying the "D" and "L".There were also 12 tactical fighter squadrons flying the F-86H. The last all-weather squadron, the 196th FIS of the California ANG, phased its Sabres out in 1965. The last Sabre of all, the F-86H, was with the New York Air National Guard until November 1970 when the last Sabres in active service were phased out.

MY F-86H DAYS

by Jim "Skinny" McLennan

The Late Fifties

After pilot training and prior to my Sabre experience, I fiew straightwinged Hogs (F-84Gs) at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, and then checked out in F-94As upon my return to the Syracuse, New York Air National Guard in 1956.

We transitioned to the F-86H Sabre sometime in `58. A RAFSOB, on loan from the regular establishment, checked us out. He immediately impressed us by landing gear-up while demonstrating a tight "tiger" pattern!

In those days, Air Guard flying consisted of mainly getting 100+ hours per pilot each year. We had to call the squadron at least two hours prior to take off so they could notify maintenance to get a bird ready. Most sorties consisted of solo hunting for other unsuspecting fighters, bombers, transports, or even airliners! Believe it or not, I actually got into a scissors maneuver once with a Mohawk BAC 111!

The Sabre was the best fighter I ever flew. It had no restrictions on speed, altitude, attitude or visibility. The office was high and well forward of the wing, which offered excellent visibility around the clock. More than once I experienced a Sabre sliding backwards out of a hassle with smoke pouring out both ends! Recovery was easy; release back pressure, get the nose down, build up speed, and pull straight up and get back into the fight. The Sabre "H" was restricted to 7.33 positive g's clean, or 6 with external stores, but it could take a lot more. Marvin T. Glen, the originator and first winnerof a trophy in his name, put 14 g's once on one bird and it did not come unglued. The award was a duck whose head went up its rectum! Many others were over-g'd by aggressive pilots, but after a visual inspection by maintenance, few had any damage.

The "H", like all Sabres, would go supersonic, but only when rapidly descending, and then after a climb to above 40,000 feet, throttle to max, and split-s to straight down. The needle would cross Mach one by .01. If we were not supersonic by 30,000 feet, forget it! Also, we experienced considerable wing roll, but we could easily correct it with opposite stick The ailerons and elevators were boosted and very sensitive. Most pilots had to get used to this before they stopped wobbling all over the sky!

Cross-Country In F-86Hs With"Garbage Belly" ("GB") Miller Leading

From Syracuse we launched as a night of two for Willie Field near Phoenix Arizona with a refueling stop at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Upon arrival at Scott, we were informed the field was closed to jet traffic due to repairs on the long runway. "GB" informed the tower we would take the short runway and land anymay. We did as "GB" said we would. In base Ops, we ran into our second obstacle, the Airdome Officer, who informed us we were going nowhere as the base was closed for jet traffic. "GB" said, "We're in the Guard, but you can watch us take off". The AO did! Our climb to 41,000 feet, our best cross-country cruise altirude, took about 20 minutes. At this altitude we indicated 240 knots which gave us 470 knots true airspeed.
With 200 gallon external tanks, which we always carried, our maximum range in the F-86H was 1,000 miles, but we seldom planned for more than 800, depending upon the winds. The time enroute was usually an hour and thirty minutes to two hours. For anything more we really started to sweat the fuel. We navigated between radio beacons using ADF which was less than reliable, especially if thunderstorms were about. At each fix we gave a radio position report to that facility and estimated our arrival at the next fix. It was an done in our heads. We had no calculators, computers, or even an autopilot in the "H", so we used paper and pencil. In'61 it got a lot easier. Wehad TACAN installed, which was more reliable, and it not only gave us our heading but also our distance to or from a station.

So there we were, at 41,000 feet above an overcast with about 30 minutes of fuel left, when "GB" announced to Oklahoma City radio that, "We don't have enough gas to get to Willie." He took their suggestion and headed for Altus Air Force Base, not far away. We switched our frequency to Altus approach. They informed us that their weather was bad, they were recovering numerous B-47s, and that we would have to hold at the for for an hour before they could clear us for the approach. "GB" said, "No Problem!" Now I was really confused! How could we hold for an hour with less than 30 minutes of gas? So when we hit the fix, "GB" announced to Approach that we would cancel IFR and let down VFR instead. We rolled upside down, split-s'ed, changed to the tower frequency, plunged straight into the soup for our VFR descent, and with the altimeter unwinding at breakneck speed, I felt my g-suit inflating! As "GB" started his pullout, I hung on for dear life. Rain pelted my canopy as we broke out at 500 feet moving at over 575 knots. One mile from the end of the active runway, "GB" called, "Two Sabres on the break for fun stop landings!" That night at the O Club bar, "GB" told WII Mustang stories until they closed. You know, I believed all of them!

Training In The F-86H

Air-to-air gunnery was by far the most challenging of all fighter pilot sports, and it always started the same way. An F-86H with the call sign "Tugboat" would race down the runway with 3,000 feet of cable and a large rag attached at the end, and then pull sharply into a steep climb to get the target airborne before it ripped off. The shooters, four other Sabres, would follow. No one wanted towing duties as the only way for the Tugboat to terminate its mission was to rip the flag off. If this happened, the actions of the tow pilot were assumed to have caused the loss of the target and the end of an enjoyable mission for the shooters. When this occurred, often the tow pilot would be threatened with, "If you lose another flag, you will be target!"
Tugboat, however, usually got the rag to the restricted area where the fun began. The shooters would race by the tug on the spacer pass and start the intricate pattern of climbing to the perch (line abreast and above the tow ship), and then diving into firing position, a thousand feet from the target. This was not easy. First of all, when we rolled in on Tugboat, we had to miss the guy coming back to the perch, and then reverse the turn to get into firing position. Now, we were going faster than blazes while closing on a target that was going slower than syrup. The radar would not lock on, so we manually ranged the sight with our throttle hand and tried to track the rag with smooth stick movements. The sight was now swimming with movement from our control inputs. We tried desperately to track the rag as it got very big very fast. It was now collision time as we squeezed the trigger. The cannons blazed, our heart stopped, we rolled over the rag (missing by inches), raced by the tow ship, pulled back into a steep climb while aiming for the perch, missed the guy coming down who raced right at us as he reversed to fire. This went on, pass after pass, until we were wringing wet with sweat and out of ammo.

Sometimes the day was cloudy and Tugboat was not in the restricted area over Lake Ontario, and bullets ended up hitting the outhouse of a bar and grill on the south shore. But luck was with us, no one was in the place! The guilty pilot, however, was easily traced. Each pilot had his ammo dipped in color-coded paint to assist in scoring the target. Nasty break.

Sometimes we did not miss the target when we rolled over the top, and instead we flew right through it, hitting a large iron bar that could slice a wing off, ruining our whole day! "Baron" Von Thisen was lucky, however, when he brought the bar back home, embedded in his wing. Strong aircraft, that Sabre! The maintainers, ever resourceful, swapped the damaged wing for a good one located on a display Sabre at the local American Legion. It worked fine!

Speaking of bringing things back home, recovering the banner from Tugboat was not a piece of cake. The target was dropped at home plate and involved a lot of nail biting by the following players: The tower, who would broadcast over Guard frequency, "Everyone must exit the area. Tugboat is inbound for a target drop." Then by the pilot in mobile control who would call, "Drop target now." He often scored a bull's eye on the runway, tying up traffic for awhile! Finally by Tugboat, who was very, very low on fuel, and who once flew too low, dragging the target through the power lines, cutting electricity to northern NewYork. We needed the target back to score our hits. It took 17% to qualify, and it was not easy. I have been on missions where we all fired one color to qualify a squadron mate, but failed. Most of the time, though, we were successful (they never knew what we did for them!).

This all became a lot easier when we started firing on the dart. First, we only needed one hit, and we could usally see that happen. Second, the dart was not speed limited, so closure rates when tracking were a lot lower, which gave us much, more time to fire. Dart recovery however, was trickier, to say the least. When the dart was released. it sailed a long way and not always in a straight line. Once. 'TY' Costello was in the mobile control unit and called. "Drop target now." He scored a bull's-eye on a moving tractor!

We flew low level navigation through the beautiful Adirondack Mountains near the Canadian border to the air-toground gunnery range at Fort Drum in northern New York. In the winter. we deployed to Florida far several weeks. The usual bet was a beer per event with the losers paying the winner. In a flight of four doing, skip and dive bombing plus rockets and strafe, if one guy won them all, it could result in a good many free ones at the bar! This, however, seldom happened because competition was keen.

Skip bombing was the most fun, once we got over the fear of racing over the ground at 400 knots at 35 feet. The target was a large rectangular banner hung between telephone posts. A hit in the banner was a hit, but a hit in the base of the banner was what we all aimed for. The secret was to go low without getting fouled by the range officer, another pilot doing detestable duty. Once Ron Lang was lining up on the target and pressing hard when he flew through a tree. Always a resourceful fighter pilot, he claimed a bird strike. After landing, however, the Ops officer (our boss) found bark embedded in his wing. He then announced that, "The bird must have been sitting in a tree!"

Once when we were in Libya, North Africa in 1962, John "The Baron" Von Thisen set his switches wrong and dropped both external tanks on the skip target. His comment then was, "Well, was it a skip hit or a hit on the fly?" In his defense, switchogy was a problem with the '86 due to the location of the armament panel.

Dive bombing was the most challenging of all air-to-ground events. At first our dive angle was 60 degrees, which seemed like straight down. For this we used idle thrust and speed brakes. Later we went to a less thrilling 30 degrees, which was also less accurate.

We had no computers to tell us when to release the bombs to get a hit; it was all Kentuck windage and pressing as low as we could go without getting fouled by the range officer. If he was a good guy and we bribed him with enough drinks he would call us for pressing as a warning before fouling us on our next pass. If we got one foul. we lost the event and our bomb was calculated as a 300 foot miss from the target (agross error). If we were fouled twice on the same mission, the range officer would throw us off the range, and this meant big trouble from the Ops officer when we landed. To qualify in high-angle bombing, the average of all bombs dropped had to be 140 feet or less from the bulls-eye. To win the event and collect the beers. our score would probably have to be 50 feet or less.

The rocket event offered the gratification of seeing a white streak leap out in front of our aircraft and race to the target. It had a hypnotic effect, however, on the shooter which could cause a delay in the aircratt's recovery while watching the rocket impact the target. Needless to say, this would upset the range officer, and the shooter would hear the dreaded word, "foul". We fired the 2.75-inch folding fin jobs. They had fair ballistics, except when one of the four fins would not extend. The rocket could and would go anywhere, even at the range tower inhabited by the range officer who saw no humor in it at all. This was a very bad break for the shooter!

Suitchology was also a real problem in this event. The armament panel was behind the pilot's left elbow, and it had to he set after each shot as a safety precaution. During this procedure, Cal Fearon once fired two rockets, just missing his leader. His comment was, "Sorry about that!"

Strafe was the last event, and it always separated the men from the boys in our squadron. We fired only two of our four 20mm cannons, which were relatively accurate when compared to the ballistics of the old.50 caliber mounted on other Sabre variants. 25% was qualiying, but to take the beers our score had to be well over 50%. We rolled in on the strafe panels from 3,000 feet in a rectangular pattern, accelerating to above 350 knots. Pipper placement was everything, and it required a lot of concentration and coordination to get it right. Initially the pipper was well in front of the panel. As we accelerated to 350 knots and closed on the target. we allowed the pipper to slowly work its way to the panel stopping the dipper on the target and firing a burst just prior to reaching the dreaded foul line. Then it was yank the nose above the horizon and bank in the direction of traffic and do it again and again. until we called 'Winchester (ammo gone-generally 100 rounds).

Being a range officer was a learning experience. I caught G. William Gregory cracking his speed brakes on final to stabilize the aircraft before he fired. This must have helped because he usually won the event. I was the range officer when Major Freddy Helderfine gave me the scare of my career I watched him pass the foul line, then fire and yank the stick, just missing the target with his tailpipe. The panel was blown over by his jetwash! My shaky brown bar comment was, "You're pressing, Lead".

After the last pass, some flight leaders would request a "rack check" from the range officer to be sure all bombs were expended. This was nothing but a legalized buzz job over the range tower to scare everyone there, and we did!

Active Duty In 1961

We were called to active duty for the Berlin Crisis. Deploying to Phalsbourg. France, we island-hopped with about 70 F-S6Hs via Canada. Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, led by our wing commander. Charlie Sweeney who dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan during World War Two.
Flying in Europe was something else. In simulated air-to-air combat, the Sabre could beat the Century Series Fighters if they would stay and fight. We cruised at 41,000feet. Few of the others, if any, could do that. The '86 was not a solid instrument aircraft. It always wanted to turn, at least in my hands. But in those days, we were "dayfighter pilots", leaving the night and bad weather flying to the '86 Dogs or '94s. Instrument approaches were emergency procedures, although in Europe we did a lot of them

The only threat to an '86 was another '86. Most notably, those Canadian Sabre Mark 6 drivers from Grostenquin (GT)or Solingen Air Bases. Even though the '86H had the most power of all the Sabre variants, the Mark 6 had a slightly better thrust-to-weight ratio and lower wing loading. I used to "trap" them at my 6 o'clock on a regular basis. It went something like this: takeoff, suck up the gear and flaps, into the soup to on top, check the mirror, break into the Mark 6s for 30 minutes of bank, yank and near-collisions; then back into the soup for a minimum fuel GCA to home plate.

On occasion, when the Canadians were grounded with bad weather and "Eli" Culbertson was in the lead, we would cruise over to GT. Eli would request apractice GCA low approach for a flight of four Sabres. As we turned onto final, radar would ask, "What will be your airspeed on final?" Eli would respond, "400 knots. "Without missing a beat, radar would answer, "Your rate of descent on final will be 1,754 feet per minute". We now knew we were in for another ride of our lives as Eli ordered a 'diamond formation", and we hurled down the glide slope! The controller was calm as he gave commands to our leader, such as. "You're high, you're low, you're left, or you're right." We would break out, screaming along at less than 100 feet, with rain beating on our canopies and Eli would bank and yank to buzz the 431st Squadron's hangar as we three wingies hung on for dear life! Then it was back up into the clag for a quiet return to base. Man. it was fun! What did I know.' I was a young captain with these WWII types as my leaders. That's my excuse, and I m sticking to it'

"Sabre Night" occurred on May 18. 1962. It was a party, and we hosted for all F86 drivers in Europe. We packed our speed brakes with thousands of flyers and delivered them via air mail to Sabre bases all over France and Germany. General Adolph Gallard, the chief of German lighters in World War Two, was our guest speaker. He flew his own private aircraft to Phalsbourg, escorted by Sabres from the German Air Force. Canadian, German and American Sabre pilots had a night to remember. I wish I could tell you about it, but I can't recall any more!

Back In The States

In the mid-Sixties, I transferred to the Ohio Air National Guard and flew F-I00Cs at Columbus. I was never really comfortable in the Hun. The "C" had no flaps, so takeoffs and landings were very fast, such as at 190 knots. If we lost our dragchute on landing, we were going to roll two miles, and then engage a barrier at the far end of the runway> In afterbuner the Hun would go supersonic at a tremendous cost in fuel, but the major problem was its lack of maneuverability as compared to the Sabre. Good grief, but it could and woould depart controlled flight.
In the late Sixties, it was back to "The Boys from Syracuse" and the F-86H. Our brother unit at Niagara Falls by now had F-100s, and much of our time was spent in the skies of western New York trolling for those much hated Huns. One of my squadron mates, TJ Costello, was on a test hop, climbing to altitude when a flight of F-100s from Niagara called Syracuse tower for a "low pass over the Air Guard ramp." TJ immediately appointed himself the "Defender of Squadron Honor' and plunged his Sabre at the hated Huns, beating all in a real hairy low altitude dogfight. The leader of the Huns was the active duty Air Force advisor to the Niagara unit, and he was mad as all get out. It was a nasty break for TJ who spent the next month trying to avoid a flying evaluation board which if convened would have cost his wings and commission! In the bar, however, TJ and his Sabre were heroes!

Some of us went on temporary duty to Saudi Arabia to ferry F-86Fs to Portugal. It was scary. The Arabs had washed these birds for years in salt water! The "F" felt underpowered as compared to the "H". Indeed, the "H" had 50% more thrust.

Our winter deployments were to MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida to practice our gunnery skills and terrorize nearby Phantom drivers and their assistants. The call would be heard! "Phantom over point X-ray, come out of burner. You're melting my canopy!" An Eastern Airlines captain who viewed an encounter reported to the FAA that we were doing aerobatics on the airway! The FAA took a dim view of the encroachment.

Another deployment to sunny Puerto Rico to conduct air strikes in a joint military training exercise culminated in a "D-Day" type airborne and amphibious assault involving thousands of troops.

Our squadron was activated again in 1968 after the Pueblo Crisis, and we deployed to Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico which was an F-100 base. So it was back to chasing Huns, but this time in the skies of the southwest. We returned by 1969.

My Sabre affair ended in 1970 with out transition into the A-37B and later the A-l0A After 30 years of flying fighters, my last operational night was on a deployment to Germany in the A-10A in 1984, with my last bomb being scored a bulls-eye. But nothing ever quite compared to my 1,500 hours in Sabres. Occasionally I return to visit my squadron and gaze out from the Officers Club over a fight line of F-16s. But also visible from that window is one remaining F-86H on gate guardian duty. Below that Sabre's canopy is stencilled, "Pilot: Jim "Skinny" McLennan."

AN EXPERIENCE TO REMEMBER

by Joseph Radoci

The Day was Thursday, July 11, 1963 and I was preparing myself for a flight in the F-86H Sabre Jet from Martin State Airport. The weather was warm with lots of son and a scattered deck of clouds at 10,000 feet.

As I entered the Flying Operations Office, I was told to expedite my takeoff. Colonel Mitchell, the commanding officer of our Air National Guard unit, the 175th Tactical Fighter Group, was in trouble and was orbiting at 20,000 feeet over the (Chesapeake) Bay Bridge. He had lost all of his flight instruments. The safest procedure in a case like this is for the aircraft to be accompanied back to the home air field by another aircraft so that proper approach altitudes and landing speeds maybe maintained. I took off a little after noon and turned south, climbing at 350 knots, passing up through the cloud deck My position was abeam of Sparrows Point and the altimeter read just above 13,000 feet when everything seemed to go wrong.

The fire warning light went on and the aircraft began to vibrate violently. There was an explosion and fire in the engine compartment I immediately retarded the throttle, doublechecked the fire warning lights, and tried to level the aircraft. I discovered that the right rudder cable was severed and the controls were frozen, indicating that the hydrauliclines were severed (the controls for the ailerons and elevators are hydraulically actuated).

The engine RPM was declining below idle, indicating engine flameout.

I immediately radioed Colonel Mitchell and advised him of my problens and position. He answered that he had me in sight and that I was trailing black smoke.

"Get out, you're on firel", he ordered.

I had received classroom training in emergency procedures and had read thoroughly all the details of ejecting from a disabled aircraft. Learning about it and doing it are not quite the same! But I knew the time had come and went through the prescribed drill: position body, fed instirrups, elbows . Lift handles on each side of seat to fire explosive charges that jettison canopy squeeze triggers on handles to eject seat. The canopy flew off with a bang, the seat blasted upward as the charge - equivvalent to a 37mm shill exploded under me.

I was out, still on the seat, falling and gyrating like ice cubes stirred around in a glass.The timed delay of the seat belt charges elapsed and the seat blasted off and pulled the ripcord.

The seat was gone and the parachute opened-everything worked flawlessly to my great relief When the noise subsided, I looked up and saw the chute deployed; I checked for torn panels or other damage. There was none. A moment later I foated down through the broken deck of clouds and located the burning aircraft in the water south of the Bay Bridge. I prepared myself for a water landing, inflating the underarm life preserver and raft.

At this point there was nothing left to do but enjoy the ride down and enjoy the view. Looking down on the water, there must have been at least a hundred boats in the water, in viciiinity north of the Bay Bridge. But after surfacing on thewater I could not see one boat. I entered the raft and began to look for the emergency flares when a fishing boat pulled up alongside of me. On board were two off-duty policemen, troopers Dave L. Cook and Bruce White (how lucky could I gets?) They took me to shore at Sandy Point were I called the base that I was alright. Moments later, a helicopter from Andrews Air Force Base picked me up and rdurned me to Martin State Airport.

As we got airborne in the helicopter, it shook tike blazes. I asked if this was normal vibration? The pilot said that it was. I remarked that I had ejected from a disabled F-86H just moments before that vibrated that badly!

The flight back went quickly. As we landed the Martin crew was glad to see me and was thankful that I was back, though I was thoroughly wet and sorry that I could not save a wonderful airplane like the F-86H.

Colonel Mitchell was able to return to base and land safely without his instruments, quite an accomplishment in a jet aircraft on a short runway.

The account is reprinted with permission from the Baltimore Area Soaring Society's March 1989 newsletter
-- THE EDITORS

MY SABRE STORY

by Jim Ramsay

I flew the F-86H with the Massachusetts Air National Guard while based at Logan International Airport in East Boston. We were reorganized into Tactical Air Command as the I01stTactical Fighter Squadron and were equipped with Sabres in summer 1953.

I was assigned to command the 101st in 1956 after the tragic death of our squadron commander, Colonel Joseph W. Mahoney, in an F94B crash. Colonel Mahoney had adopted long, Irish-green lightning streaks along the full length of our F-94s' fuselages on both sides, in recognition of his and several squadron pilots' Irish heritage. Subsequently, in memory of Colonel Mahoney, we adopted the shamrock as our squadron's symbol. In this form, we became known as the "Irish Air Force"! Incidentally, our brother 131st Tactical Fighter Squadron, based at Barnes Municipal Airport in Westfield, MA, with Sabres trimmed in red and white stripes, became nicknamed the "Polish Air Force", as their commander was Colonel Bruno Grabovsky. They flew F86H-1s with six .50 caliber guns. I remained our squadron commander throughout our F-86H years.

I knew no one who flew the "H" who did not thoroughly appreciate it as the Cadillac of fighters in that era. None of us had previous F-86 experience, although some had flown P-51s. Our transition from F-94Cs was enjoyed by all, and we had NO pilot recruiting problems throughout our Sabre years. This lasted until summer 1965 when there were just too few suitable Pratt and Whitney jet engines for the "H", forcing us through another aircraft transition.

Our eight Sabre years were very active. We flew many multi-service exercises, such as Swift Strike I, II, III, three years in a row, with many other Air Force, Reserve and Tactical Air Command units, together with several Army airborne and armored organizations from Pope and Shaw Air Force Bases, Fort Bragg, Travis Air National Guard Base in Savannah, Hunter, and others. I feel out 101st TFS was an early and frequent leader in mobility demonstrations. During one 15-day annual field training period in the summer of 1959 or 1960, we fiew 20F-86Hs to Nellis Air Force Base for two weeks of live weapons training on their Indian Springs weapons range. We flew that first Saturday from Logan to Nellis, with refueling stops at Wright-Patterson, Ofiut and Hill Air Force Bases. Nellis was skeptical we could accomplish such a plan. We did it, though, arriving over Nellis within minutes of our planned arrival time, peeling off five flights of four for landing. Nellis tower, ground control and their follow-me vehicles directed us to our assigned parking ramp, but no one was there to meet us! I parked and shut my lead Sabre down, jumped out and personally directed the parking of my 19 associates! Our ground crews from Logan arrived later using a non-stop MATS air lift after launching us. Embarrassed advisors and a few advance party ground support people greeted us on Sunday! They were absolutely certain we could not possibly complete that deployment in one day!

We were federally activated in October 1961 during the "Berlin Crisis". We island-hopped to Europe via Goose Bay, Sondrestrom, Greenland; Kefiavik. Iceland; and Prestwick, Scotland, to Phalsbourg, France. There, with the Massachusetts ANG's 131stTFS and the New York Air Guard's "Boys from Syracuse", also in F-6Hs, we formed the 102nd Tactical Fighter Wing. We were commanded by Major General Charles W Sweeney (no relation to General Walter Sweeney, then commander of TAC) of Nagasaki fame who flew observation/safety on Colonel Paul Tibbets' Hiroshima B-29 mission. From here, as members of Major General Harold Spicer's 11th Air Force and General Troman Landon's USAFE, we flew many hypothetical tactical missions, exercises, operational readiness inspections and stan-evals all over Europe. We often worked with U.S. Army and other NATO ground and air forces, for whom we formed great respect and received much in return. Our distinctive green-trimmed Sabres' noses were very favorably recognized, especially among allied ground forces. On some joint missions, we joined with several Royal Canadian Air Force reserve units. We also few an exchange operation with a Luftwaffe squadron in Germany flying Mk. 6 Sabres. This squadron was commanded by Colonel Horst Kallerhauf. He and I concluded we had very probably engaged each other at least once during World War Two! Some of our activities took us to Spain, Denmark, the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as to Italy where I had served with the 15th Air Force flying F-5s (P-38s) during World War Two. We maintained a detachment at Wheelus Air Base in Libya (King Idris' regime) where we constantly rotated flight and ground crews for live weapons firing and delivery practice over the North African desert and the Mediterranean Sea for some exercises. We resumed Guard status in Boston on October 1, 1962, after a westward retrace of our European/North African deployment.

Air-to-air refueling capability or dragchutes for landing rollout may have had some benefit for the F-86H, but if they had reduced its overall performance somehow, then we agree with the decision not to add them. We adapted "mice" supplements in our tailpipes that, on average, helped increase our thrust to nearly 10,000 pounds. Our aircraft were F-86H-5s and -10s, all equipped with four 20mm revolving cannons replacing the .50 caliber machine guns on prior Sabres. There were many other less conspicuous refinements, such as a much improved gun and weapons camera, and later generation UHF avionics.

MY F-86H STORY

by David Cronin

I had the privilege of flying the F-86H for over eight years, and I accumulated over 1,000 hours in the aircraft. I flew with the New York Air National Guard from 1954 to 1961. In 1958, we transitioned from the F-94B to the F-86H. Our Sabres had M-39 20mm cannons which were aimed using the A-4 gunsight and APG-30 radar. In 1961, we lost our Sabres and were assigned the C-119. I then transferred to Westfield, Massachusetts where the F-86H was being flown by the Massachusetts Air Guard. These Sabres were equipped with .50 caliber guns end also used the A-4/APG30 fire control system.

In fall 1961, President Kennedy called our unit to active duty with the United States Air Force. We transferred to Phalsbourg, France in support of the 7th Army in Europe during the Berlin Crisis.

The Boston unit also was in our 102nd Wing as well as the Syracuse, New York unit. All three squadrons, with their 87 F-86Hs, staged out of Loring Air Force Base in Maine for our "High Flight" to Phalsbourg. We regrouped in Goose Bay, Labrador, then flew across the Davis Straits to Sondrestrom, Greenland, and then on to Keflavik, Iceland the next day. Then we flew to Prestwick, Scotland for the night. The next day it was across to England, finally arriving in Phalsbourg, France in the early part of November 1961.

Our mission to deploy to France was urgent. 0ur takeoff minimums were originally 5,000 feet and five miles, but while departing Goose Bay, the weather deteriorated to 300 feet and one mile in snow when 1 took off I briefed my flight, whom I did not know because they were from the Syracuse unit, for a four-ship takeoff. We broke out on top of 33,000 feet. Our flights of four departed every ten minutes.

Our year in Phalsbourg had many memorable and exciting flights. Within a 50 mile radius of our base, 40 fighter units from France, Germany, Canada and the United States were operating aircraft, from Mirages to F-104s. Every flight was an ACM adventure. We had the challenge of winter weather conditions on every recovery.

Our weapons delivery and proficiency training was accomplished at Wheelus Air Force Base in Libya as well as in France.

Among our three squadrons, we lost four aircraft and two pilots during our year overseas. This speaks very highly of the F-86H as well as the extensive experience of our flight and ground crews. Our return to the United States in August 1962 was by the same route.

I had the honor of flying this superb aircraft in all weather conditions. As a flight commander, ACM instructor, maintenance test pilot and instructor pilot, I can honestly say the F-86H was the finest aircraft I flew in my 40 years and over 30,000 flying hours.

MY FAVORITE F-86H STORY

by Mark G. Carter

While serving with the 10th Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 50th Fighter-Bomber Wing at Hahn Air Base in Germany, we transittoned from F-86Fs to "H"s in mid-1955. Our transition was pretty "loose" as were a lot of things back then. There was little, if any, ground school, and I do not recall any Dash One technical orders being available. Our new birds were shipped via naval transports to Brindisi, Italy where they were reassembled. I do not remember how we checked out our ferry pilots (and I was one of them, but I remember my second ride was as an instructor to check out a fellow pflot.

After we had accumulated some time in the "H", probably 20 hours, two flights went to Cazaux, France for air-to-air gunnery practice (we had to become combat ready quickly). Since we were "advancing" from the.50s on the "F" to the 20mm cannons on the "H", we were looking forward to this exercise. One can image our disappointment, and our total lack of understanding when, after flying two or three firing missions of four birds each, there were no (zero) paint holes in the target!

We immediately decided our guns were not boresighted properly. We called Hahn to have our boresighting equipment flown in. The next day, instead of seeing the wing Ops. Gooneybird land with our equipment, a lone F-86F Sabre arrived. Out crawled our recently arrived 417th Squadron commander, Lieutenant Colonel Chuck Yeager! Chuck did not discuss the situation. Instead, he strapped on one of our shiny, new "H's (without the benefit of any checkout), and he went on our next gunnery mission. The other three guys (including me) again scored zero, but Chuck shot 70%! He then looked at our gun camera film and found the problem. We were using the sight picture for the "F" which was wrong for the "H"! None of us knew better but Chuck did as he had flown many developmental flights in the "H" at Edwards Air Force Base years before.

In addition to having such a famous and truly superb pilot as Chuck Yeager in our wing, we had another top notch pilot and gentleman as the commander of our other squadron, the 81st FBS, namely Robby Risner, but that is another story!

Look for an intdepth inteview with Chuck Yeager about his Sabre years in a future issue of Sabre Jet Classics.
-- THE EDITORS

AN F-86H IS REBORN
-- PART THREE --

by Ed Buerckholtz

In the days of the great sailing vessels, the time immediately after departure was a busy one - getting stores in order, shaking down an unhandy crew, securing and repairing all that has carried away in the first storm - those tasks that kept everyone occupied, and more. Likewise, the ship's approach to its destination was an exciting time, with many preparations to be made and new experiences waiting ashore. The long months in between, the middle passage, however, was the time that most shaped the truly nautical mind. The most seasoned salts could be brought nearly to tears by the intrusion of days or weeks of calm, "in the doldrums", with the ship wallowing without way in an ever-widening collection of flotsam, jetsam and mire.

So it is with the restoration of our F-86H, 53-1250, by October 1992. We began well with the aft section and both wings completed, all actuators overhauled, and all damage and corrosion repaired. Our canopy (a complex assembly as it has to be operable electrically, manually and pyrotechnically, and it carries the cabin pressure control system as well) is well on its way to better-than-new, under the skilled hands of Larry Denning, a builder whose own aircraft became a Grand Champion at Oshkosh. A good start has been made on the fuselage with the gun and forward bays completed. But like the old mariners, we are "becalmed" by the loss of our central mechanic, and our search for a replacement, even in this time of aerospace unemployment, has produced only a motley and rag-tag assortment of "specialists". They are accustomed only to doing a rigidly defined subpart of a task. What we need is a restorer, an artiste!

Like the old sailor scratching a backstay or trying to "whistle up a wind," we, too, are plotting and scheming, trying to snare the right true restorer whose tribe unfortunately has decreased. Rumor and travellers' tales speak of a far land in which real F-86Hs bellowed no more than ten years ago, well IRANed, fitted with remote flight equipment and redesignated QF-86H; but all, alas, now gone to Davey Jones' locker. But the men who maintained and modified those Sabres - some of them are still there, living quietly in their high desert homes near Tom Wolfe's "ratshack plains of Olympus."

Now let it be clear that these mad monk mechanics reside in Lotus Land (whose secret name is CALIFORNIA!). If you are a novice in such matters, let me caution you: when the suggestion is made that a Lotuslander relocate, even temporarily, away from his area code (much less to the midwest, and still less likely, (ugh!) Missouri), the result is predictable: deafness; doctors' orders to remain in a warm, dry climate; children need day care; or his wife is terminally ill; a man's bowels upset by the very suggestion! So unless these objections are overcome by lucrative offers or we can somehow revive the press-gang tactics of Portsmouth, we are at a standstill.

Our difficulty has forced us to consider radical solutions. It is to raise the ante to where our man cannot afford not to come. But, this is expensive. Another is to move our project; bag, baggage and bandsaw; to the rat shack plains. This, too, is expensive. But it may come to that. At least there is a potential ally in Dan Sabovich, the manager of Mojave Airport. He is one of the few such officers who considers it his duty to further his clients' projects rather than frustrate them. Also, there are long runways, test ranges nearby, an FAA office with experience in this sort of thing, and, if a flight test deteriorates to the point of maybe or maybe not, there is that big, white friendly lake bed not so far away. Hmmm, maybe not a bad idea! But we have to do something. That is for certain.

Our middle passage; when will it pass? One day the end will be in sight, and, in the grip of "channel fever", we will (literally) be contracting for the services of a pilot. But today, that day seems far away.

As always, we are on the alert for F86H stuff. Call Ed or Bob at Spirit Fighters, Inc. at (314) 532-2707, or Fax us at (314) 532-1486.

(To Be Continued)