F-86A-5

F-86A-5

F-84G-21-RE

F-86F-25

F-86A-5

F-84G-21-RE

F-86F-25

USA

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.7	8.0	8.7

Class:

Fighter

Jet fighter

Research:105 000

Purchase:300 000

Show in game

This page is about the aircraft F-86A-5. For other uses, see F-86 (Family).

Description

The F-86A-5 Sabre is a Rank V American jet fighter with a battle rating of 7.7 (AB), 8.0 (RB), and 8.7 (SB). It was in the game since the start of the Open Beta Test prior to Update 1.27.

General info

Flight Performance

The F-86A-5 has the weakest engine of all Sabre variants, and generally, the engine is weak compared to other top rank jets (F-86F, CL-13, MiG-17, MiG-15bis etc); thus the slow acceleration, lower top speed than all other Sabres and the low rate of climb for a top rank jet. However, it is the best-turning Sabre in the game and the one with the fastest roll rate. But do not turn at any cost unless it's an emergency! The F-86A-5 bleeds speed in vertical flight and horizontal turns very quickly and struggle to regain the energy it had unless there are no enemies in the area to deal with. Remember this: a slow Sabre is a vulnerable Sabre! Despite all of that, it is still faster than the MiG-15, MiG-15bis and many other enemies in top speed.

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
1,081	1,071	14,000	25.4	25.9	30.8	??.?	700
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 0 m - sea level)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
1,105	1,093	14,000	22.7	24.0	46.2	38.1	700

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
✓	✓	✓	✓	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
1,118	350	620	~13	~8

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 850	< 600	< 680	> 250

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
0 m	2250 kgf	No WEP

Survivability and armour

• 38 mm Bulletproof glass - Front Windshield
• 6.35 mm Steel - Nose armour x 2
• 20 mm Steel - Pilot's headrest
• 12.7 mm Steel - Back of pilot's seat

Armaments

Offensive armament

The F-86A-5 is armed with:

• 6 x 12.7 mm Browning M3 machine guns, nose-mounted (300 rpg = 1,800 total)

Suspended armament

The F-86A-5 can be outfitted with the following ordinance:

• Without payload
• 16 x 127 mm HVAR rockets
• 2 x 1,000 lb AN-M65A1 Fin M129 bombs (2,000 lb total)

Usage in battles

The view of an F-86 Sabre from the cockpit of a MiG-15

The F-86A-5 should be played as a strict Boom & Zoom plane due to the fact that simple turns make it bleed a lot of speed. Gain some speed after takeoff (750 - 800 kph or 466 - 497 mph) then zoom up to 3,000 mm/9,843 ft then turn to the centre after you're done zoom side-climbing. Next, you pick your targets. Dive, engage, zoom up smoothly (to not lose a lot of speed) then rinse and repeat. If there are multiple enemies above you, don't engage and keep flying straight. If there is one enemy above you in the vicinity, you can engage, but don't pull up hard or you will lose a lot of speed in the process! Do it smoothly. If you are generally low on speed and you can escape from enemies, keep flying straight until you're fast, zoom up then loop around and keep flying straight at the altitude you went up to then resume the strict Boom & Zoom procedure.

The F-86A-5 is not an air superiority fighter, it's more of a support plane despite being a Sabre. Tactics explained in "General playstyle".

All top rank jets are a threat. All of them have better performance overall especially in acceleration, climb rate and energy retention.

For those who may have a F-86A-5 on their tail, if you're in an emergency (a situation where nothing that was explained works), resort to defensive flying. The defensive flying capabilities of the A-5 Sabre are very high and extremely good due to its roll rate. Most of the time, top rank jet pilots will Boom & Zoom you which can be a problem for you, however, if they decide to stick around and dogfight you, you will have the advantage.

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Compressor		Offensive 12 mm
II	New Boosters		Airframe		FRC mk.2
III	Wings Repair	Engine		New 12 mm MGs
IV	G-Suit		Cover		FLBC mk.1

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Very fast roll rate
• Leading edge slats which improve low-speed manoeuvrability
• Nose mounted weaponry
• Good zooming ability
• Good diving ability
• Best turning Sabre
• 12.7 mm M3 Browning .50 calibre guns are very effective weapons

Cons:

• Poor sustained climb rate
• Slow acceleration for a top rank jet
• Loses a lot of speed in turns
• Slow compared to its enemies
• Very hard to get guns on target in horizontal due to weak rudder control

History

A view from the gun camera on an F-86 Sabre capturing the downing of a MiG-15 over the skies of Korea (Click image to view .gif)

The F-86 is considered one of the best fighter jets of the Korean War. It is the most-produced Western fighter, with almost 10,000 aircraft produced by the US, Australia, Canada (as the re-engined CL-13), Italy, and Japan.

The F-86 was developed by North American Aviation, the creator of the venerable P-51 Mustang. The XP-86 prototype was created to meet the USAF requirement for a high-altitude escort fighter. It was derived from the Navy's FJ-1 Fury, a transitional fighter jet that borrowed the wings, tail surfaces and canopy from the P-51D. The XP-86 was under threat of cancellation because the XP-80 and XP-84 had similar performance characteristics and were farther ahead in development. However, North American designers made a radical change to the design and replaced the straight wing with a swept wing, which was shown by seized German research to greatly reduce drag and increase performance at high speed. The resulting performance boost was so significant that the swept-wing prototype of the XP-86 was supposedly able to break the sound barrier in a dive a few days before Chuck Yeager made his official attempt.

The F-86A-5 is the first operational variant of the F-86. It is powered by the General Electric J47 engine and includes slats on the leading edge of the wing derived from the Messerschmitt Me 262 to increase low-speed performance. It is armed with six M3 .50 (12.7 mm) electrically boosted machine guns firing at 1,200 rounds per minute. It can carry eight 5" rockets, 2,000 lb of bombs, or a pair of external fuel tanks that can be jettisoned in-flight to increase performance in combat. While most of the F-86As had a Mark 18 manual ranging-computing gun sight, the last 24 F-86A-5-NAs were equipped with the A-1CM gun sight, which used radar to automatically compute a target's range. This later became standard on the F-86E.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

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• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the aircraft;
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