F-86K (France)

▄F-86K

S.O.4050 Vautour IIN (late)

Alpha Jet E

▄F-86K

S.O.4050 Vautour IIN (late)

Alpha Jet E

France

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.0	9.0	9.3

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:160 000

Purchase:450 000

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This page is about the French jet fighter F-86K (France). For other versions, see F-86 (Family).

Description

The ▄F-86K Sabre is a rank VI French jet fighter with a battle rating of 9.0 (AB/RB) and 9.3 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.89 "Imperial Navy".

The original F-86D was developed as bomber interceptor and was outfitted with a retractable ventral rocket-rack which housed 24 x 2.75 in (70 mm) Mighty Mouse folding-fin aerial rockets. Lacking cannons or air-to-air missiles, the F-86D was limited in role strictly as a bomber hunter. In 1953 the Italians approached North American in an attempt to modify the existing F-86D into a fighter-interceptor, however, the proposed changes proved too costly. This cost overage required scaling back the requirements and from this was produced the F-86K, a fighter-interceptor aircraft which was outfitted with 4 x 20 mm cannons and two AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles. Originally this aircraft was produced for the U.S., however, later the Italian manufacturer Fiat was licensed to also manufacture and produce this version of the fighter.

Fun Fact: The Sabre Dog was initially to be designated F-95, but had its name changed to F-86D instead, in order to make it seem like a variant of the existing Sabre and not an entirely new aircraft. In reality, however, the F-86D was only about 25% similar to the original F-86 and the name change was only done to secure further support for the project. —  War Thunder Dev Blog

General info

Flight performance

The F-86K is a good aircraft at its rank, but not the best. The F-86K has very good low-end acceleration due to its afterburner, however, this aircraft is still only a subsonic fighter. Like every other jet, it's bad at manoeuvring at low speeds and it's control surfaces compress at high speeds. However, the F-86K can handle top speed relatively well compared to other aircraft of its rank. If the F-86K can do one thing very well, it excels when going into vertical flight.

Characteristics	Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (metres)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (metres/second)		Take-off run (metres)
	AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
Stock	1,103	1,097	15500	27.4	28.3	42.7	37.1	1,000
Upgraded	1,121	1,111		26.6	27.0	73.1	56.0

Details

Features
Combat flaps	Take-off flaps	Landing flaps	Air brakes	Arrestor gear	Drogue chute
✓	✓	✓	✓	X	✓

Limits
Wings (km/h)	Gear (km/h)	Flaps (km/h)			Max Static G
		Combat	Take-off	Landing	+	-
0	350	620	620	370	~8	~4

Optimal velocities (km/h)
Ailerons	Rudder	Elevators	Radiator
< 850	< 600	< 660	N/A

Engine performance

Engine			Aircraft mass
Engine name		Number	Empty mass		Wing loading (full fuel)
General Electric J47-GE-17B		1	6,430 kg		292 kg/m2
Engine characteristics			Mass with fuel (no weapons load)				Max Takeoff Weight
Weight (each)	Type		13m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	46m fuel
1,150 kg	Afterburning axial-flow turbojet		6,952 kg	7,227 kg	7,620 kg	8,248 kg	9,530 kg
Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB)			Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%)
Condition	100%	WEP	13m fuel	20m fuel	30m fuel	46m fuel	MTOW
Stationary	2,294 kgf	4,467 kgf	0.64	0.62	0.59	0.54	0.47
Optimal	2,294 kgf (0 km/h)	4,467 kgf (0 km/h)	0.64	0.62	0.59	0.54	0.47

Survivability and armour

The plane is equipped at the front with a 6.35 mm steel plate protecting the pilot's wrist and up. The cockpit's frontal glass is made of 38mm of bulletproof glass that helps against incoming small caliber rounds. All the while the pilot's seat is made of 12.7mm of steel which protects his back of any incoming small caliber rounds and shrapnel.

Radars

The F-86K is equipped with an AN/APS-21 search radar, located in the nose of the aircraft.

AN/APS-21 - Target Detection Radar
Maximum Detection Range	Guaranteed Detection Range	Max Azimuth Scan Angle	Max Elevation Scan Angle
45,000 m	28,000 m	±85°	±16°

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F-86K (France) is armed with:

• 4 x 20 mm M24A1 cannons, nose-mounted (132 rpg = 528 total)

Suspended armament

The F-86K (France) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

• Without load
• 2 x AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles

Usage in battles

The F-86K should be used mainly as a support fighter, due to its sub-par manoeuvrability compared to other aircraft at its rank such as the MiG-17 at low speeds. In a 1 vs 1 dogfight, the F-86K outclassed when pitted against a MiG-17 unless you fight in a vertical, which this aircraft should do most of the time. When it comes to bomber hunting, this aircraft has four M24A1s, however these are also fantastic to use during a head-on attack. However, don't commit to head ons, instead fire a burst from maybe .8 km out then pull out. This is to decrease the chances of both of you crashing and increasing your chance of surviving. Your opponents will mainly be slightly lower-ranked aircraft like the MiG-15 Bis or F-86 A5 Sabre which you can easily out climb or outrun. However, sometimes you will get up-tiered to a higher rank and unfortunately, any thrust advantage is nullified when facing F-100s which are supersonic aircraft. There is a potential to be matched up against Hunter F6's which can be armed with the devastating SRAAM missiles.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage repair	Compressor		Offensive 20 mm
II	New boosters		Airframe		AIM-9B
III	Wings repair	Engine		New 20 mm cannons
IV	G-suit		Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good top speed
• Good roll rate at low/medium speed (<800 kph)
• Good acceleration with afterburner
• Has a search radar (can only spot bombers or large attackers)
• High velocity 20 mm cannons, highly effective in head-ons and deflection shots
• Possesses payload of two air-to-air missiles AIM-9B Sidewinders
• Brake chute

Cons:

• Subsonic
• Heavy compared to regular Sabres so less nimble, even with leading slats
• Hard compression at high speed (>900 kph), especially in the roll axis
• Can easily rip wings with strong input
• Afterburner guzzles a lot of fuel
• Missile lock can be broken with a high-G manoeuvre
• No bombs or rockets

History

In March 1949, the North American company launched the development of a new jet interceptor, based on the existing F-86 Sabre, as part of a private venture. The new design was the first interceptor developed to be operated by a single crew member and utilized unguided rockets in combination with a complex fire control system, rather than conventional guns, in order to destroy its target. Already by April, the project had received official endorsement from high-ranking military officials and development of a production version began in parallel.

While a production contract was signed in October, the first prototype, designated YF-95, conducted its maiden flight in December 1949. In the early '50s, Soviet nuclear testing and the subsequent start of the Korean conflict led to an accelerated development of the YF-95. Despite this, problems during development caused production to be delayed, resulting in the aircraft reaching its first units only in March 1951. During the delay however, the designation of the aircraft changed to F-86D and it received its unofficial nickname "Sabre Dog".

In January 1953, North American was approached by an offer from the Italian military to develop a twin-seater version of the F-86D armed with cannons. As the cost and necessary redesign work turned out to be too great, an agreement was made to produce the aircraft in its original design, but with cannon armament and a simplified fire control system instead. This new export version of the Sabre Dog received the new designation of F-86K.

Initially, the F-86K was produced exclusively in the U.S., but would later also be manufactured under licence by the Italian Fiat company. The F-86 entered service in 1955 and apart from the Italian Air Force, the F-86K also served with many other operators worldwide including France, West Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Honduras, Venezuela. Around 340 F-86Ks were produced out of over 2,800 Sabre Dogs built in total. Most of the F-86Ks would be decommissioned by the late '60s, while some even went on to serve into the '70s.

- From Devblog

Media

Images

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Videos

The Shooting Range #159 - Metal Beasts section at 00:35 discusses the F-86K (France).

See also

Related development

• Canadair Sabre (those Sabres manufactured with the designator "CL")
• North American F-86A/F
• North American F-100 Super Sabre
• North American FJ-4 Fury

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

• Dassault Super Mystère
• Grumman F-9 Cougar
• Hawker Hunter
• Lavochkin La-15
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
• Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
• Saab J29 Tunnan

External links

• [Devblog] F-86K Sabre Dog: The Grand Tourist
• [joebaugher.com] North American F-86K Sabre

North American Aviation
Fighters
P-51A	P-51 · P-51A
P-51C	P-51C-10
P-51D	P-51D-5 · P-51D-10 · P-51D-20-NA · P-51D-30
P-51H	P-51H-5-NA
Twin-engine fighters	F-82E
Jet fighters	F-86A-5 · F-86F-2 · F-86F-25 · F-86F-35 · F-100D
Strike aircraft	A-36 · PBJ-1H · PBJ-1J
	FJ-4B · FJ-4B VMF-232
Bombers	B-25J-1 · B-25J-20
Export/Licence	▂B-25J-30 · ␗B-25J-30
	▄Mustang Mk IA · F-6C-10-NA · ␗P-51C-11-NT · ␗P-51D-20 · J26 David · J26 · P-51D-20-NA · ␗P-51K
	F-86F-30 ▅ · ␗F-86F-30 · F-86F-40 ▅ · F-86F-40 JASDF▅ · ␗F-86F-40
	◄F-86K · ▄F-86K (Italy) · ▄F-86K (France)
	␗F-100A · ▄F-100D · ␗F-100F
Captured	▅P-51C-11-NT
	Canadair Limited license-built the F-86 as the CL-13 for use in Canada and export to Europe.
	Fiat license-built the F-86K for the Italian Air Force though another 120 NAA built F-86Ks were also sold to the Italians.
See Also	Mitsubishi Heavy Industries · Canadair Limited · Fiat Aviation