F-86F-30 (China)
| This page is about the Chinese jet fighter F-86F-30 (China). For other versions, see F-86 (Family). |
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Contents
Description
The ␗F-86F-30 Sabre is a rank V Chinese jet fighter with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB), 8.3 (RB), and 8.7 (SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".
General info
Flight performance
| 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 | 1,095 | 1,089 | 14700 | 24.7 | 25.9 | 38.8 | 35.9 | 750 |
| Upgraded | 1,115 | 1,106 | 23.6 | 24.0 | 56.5 | 46.7 | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X | X |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 350 | 590 | 550 | 350 | ~11 | ~6 |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < 850 | < 600 | < 650 | N/A |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Empty mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| General Electric J47-GE-27 | 1 | 5,430 kg | 239 kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Takeoff Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | 7m fuel | 20m fuel | 26m fuel | ||
| 900 kg | Axial-flow turbojet | 5,787 kg | 6,429 kg | 6,726 kg | 9,530 kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB / SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (100%) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | WEP | 7m fuel | 20m fuel | 26m fuel | MTOW |
| Stationary | 2,626 kgf | N/A | 0.45 | 0.41 | 0.39 | 0.28 |
| Optimal | 2,626 kgf (0 km/h) |
N/A | 0.45 | 0.41 | 0.39 | 0.28 |
Survivability and armour
- 6.35 mm steel - in front of cockpit
- 12.7 mm steel - behind pilot
- 38 mm steel - armoured windscreen
- 20 mm steel pilot's headrest
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Armaments
Offensive armament
The F-86F-30 (China) is armed with:
- 6 x 12.7 mm M3 Browning machine guns, nose-mounted (300 rpg = 1,800 total)
Six 12.7 mm M3 Browning machine guns make up the F-86F-30's firepower by the sheer rate of fire rather than the damage potential of a single projectile. The six machine guns altogether can make even a half-second hit on an enemy plane crippling for the enemy's modules.
The 12.7 mm machine gun can also be quite versatile in Air RB, as the M3 Browning has enough penetration power with Default and Ground Target belts to destroy light pillboxes.
Suspended armament
The F-86F-30 (China) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
- Without load
- 16 x HVAR rockets
- 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs (2,000 lb total)
The F-86F-30 can carry a small assortment of payloads. Though not inconsequentially small, the payloads do impact the F-86F-30's flight characteristics enough that it is not suggested to use them in a fighter role at all if equipped with ordnance.
Use rockets on battlefields with many lightly-armoured vehicles, while bombs against hard points like a well dug-in tank.
Usage in battles
While the F-86F-30's acceleration and top speed are lacking compared to its contemporaries, the F-86F-30's slats allow the plane to have an outstanding maneuvrability. That said, one must beware of their speed as pulling high maneuvres at high and max speed can put the plane under great stress which leads to the wings falling apart. The outstanding manoeuvrability comes at the cost of speed. Pulling hard turns will bleed your airspeed. Try to climb up before engaging the enemy to ensure you have enough energy to get out of a sticky situation. Hopefully, there will be a furball underneath you where you would be able to pounce on low-energy fighters with your guns. One advantage the F-86 has over the jets of other nations is the large ammo count of its 6 x 50 cals (1,800) although it would be wise to hit most of your shoots. Try staying above 500 km/h as any slower and you would lose a significant amount of energy in a pro-longed turn.
Radars
The F-86F-30 is equipped with an AN/APG-30 rangefinding radar, located in the nose of the aircraft. It will automatically detect other planes within the scanning area and display the range to the closest target. It is linked with a gyro gunsight and can help with aiming at close range.
| AN/APG-30 - Rangefinding radar | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum Tracking Range |
Minimum Tracking Range |
Azimuth Tracking Angle |
Elevation Tracking Angle |
| 2,750 m | 300 m | ±9° | ±9° |
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Clear cockpit view for simulator battle
- Decent turn time for jet
- Good acceleration
- Decent armament 12.7mm M3 with a high rate of fire
- Can carry bombs or rockets
- Decent radar
Cons:
- Easy to rip off the wings with high-speed manoeuvres (realistic and simulator battles)
- This plane fights against jets with afterburners and missiles
- Low ammo count equates to only 15-second burst
History
The Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) was one of the many nations to use surplus F-86 Sabre jet-fighters. Between December 1954 to June 1961, the ROCAF received 160 surplus American F-86F-1 to F-86F-30 aircraft, and by 1958, the ROCAF possessed 320 such aircraft. The aircraft would engage in air combat with Chinese MiGs over the Taiwan Strait during the Taiwan Strait crisis of 1958. Additionally, ROCAF Sabres were among the first aircraft to be equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, which were used with devastating effectiveness against Chinese MiGs during the Taiwan Strait Crisis.
Following the end of the Chinese Civil War, the ROCAF received the F-86F series jet fighter from the United States, being surplus USAF airframes. The ROCAF received 160 airframes between December of 1954 to June of 1956, with further aircraft delivered afterwards contributing to a total of 320 F-86F aircraft. These aircraft were mostly upgraded to F-86F-40 standards. ROCAF F-86Fs engaged Communist MiG-15s and MiG-17s during the 1958 Taiwan Strait Crisis. During the crisis, Communist MiGs shot down or damaged 42 ROCAF aircraft but lost 15 of their own.
However, the Taiwanese F-86F introduced a new weapon to the realm of aerial warfare - air-to-air missiles. In 1958, under Operation Black Magic, the United States equipped Taiwanese F-86Fs with the newly-developed AIM-9 Sidewinder. Each aircraft was fitted with two Sidewinders on underwing launch racks, which were used with considerable success against Chinese MiGs over the Taiwan Strait. ROCAF F-86Fs were the first aircraft to fire the missile in combat and achieved the first air-to-air missile kills on September 24th 1958, when multiple MiG-17s were shot down using the new weapon.
The AIM-9 Sidewinder severely undermined the air superiority of the Chinese MiG-17s, which had better thrust-to-weight ratio, vertical performance and climb rate than the ROCAF F-86s. The AIM-9 changed this, as Sabre pilots could engage with Chinese MiGs without needing to reach a similar altitude. However, while the AIM-9’s deployment was a considerable setback for the PLAAF, the situation changed when a Chinese MiG-17 returned to base with an unexploded AIM-9B lodged in its airframe. The missile was given to Soviet technicians, and subsequently reverse-engineered into the R-3 series of missiles.
Sabre in ROCAF
It's questionable if ROCAF received stock F-86F-40 or actually F-86F-30 with F-40 modification kits. The service history and combat history, including tales of firing Infrared guided air-to-air missiles would be covered in the page of ROCAF F-86F-40:
In-game plane details
The F-86F-30 depicted in-game is an F-86F-30-NA model with the serial number 52-4589.
52-4589 was issued to the 4th Fighter Wing towards the last weeks of the Korean War, flown by 1Lt Edwin Scariff from the 334th Fighter Squadron under the name JACKIE'S BOY with tail number "FU-589".[1] In 1954, 52-4589 was given to the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF) renamed as F-86011 "011".[1][2][3] 52-4589 served in the No.17 squadron of the 5th Fighter Group,[3] which transitioned to using the F-86 in January 1955.[4]
Media
- Skins
See also
- Related development
- North American F-100 Super Sabre
- Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era
- Dassault Super Mystère
- Grumman F9F Cougar
- Hawker Hunter
- Lavochkin La-15
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
- Saab J29 Tunnan
External links
- References
- Bibliography
- Baugher, Joseph F. "F-86F in Foreign Service." joebaugher.com, 05 NOV 1999, Website.
- Li, Jordan. Harder Than Climbing to Heaven: Fighter Aviation in the Republic of China Air Force (1928-1994). California Polytechnic State University, March 2019.
- Rose, Scott. "North American F-86F Sabre - 52-4305 to 52-5530." Forgotten Jets - A Warbirds Resource Group Site, 2018, Website.
- Thompson, Warren. F-86 Sabre Aces of the 4th Fighter Wing. Osprey Publishing Limited, 2006.
- Yocum, Eric. "RoCAF F-86 Sabres Database" Yocum USA - Sweet Rose, 2017, Website.
| 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 |
| China jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | J-2 · J-4 · J-6A · J-7II · J-7D · J-7E · J-8B · J-8F · J-10A · J-11 · J-11A |
| Strike aircraft | Q-5 early · Q-5A · Q-5L · JH-7A |
| Bombers | H-5 |
| France | ␗Mirage 2000-5Ei |
| USA | ␗F-84G-21-RE · ␗F-84G-31-RE · ␗F-86F-30 · ␗F-86F-40 · ␗F-100A · ␗F-100F · ␗F-104A · ␗F-104G · ␗F-5A · ␗F-5E · ␗F-16A MLU |
| USSR | ␗MiG-9 · ␗MiG-9 (l) |
| North Korea | Shenyang F-5 |
| Pakistan | A-5C · JF-17 |
