One of the best-known and most influential of the early jet fighters, the North American F-86 Sabre casts a long shadow over US military aviation. Entering service in 1949, and produced in the thousands, it would serve all across the world for decades, in the air forces of more than a dozen nations, earning a reputation as a highly capable multirole aircraft.
Developed by North American Aviation as a successor to their legendary P-51 Mustang, the Sabre would first see combat in the skies over Korea in late 1950, being rushed to the theatre to combat the rising threat of Soviet-built MiG-15s. Initial models of the Sabre were largely slightly inferior to the MiG, but the introduction of more capable models, particularly the F-86F in 1953, brought the Sabre up to parity with its iconic foe. USAF commanders would initially claim a gaudy 10:1 kill ratio against the MiG-15, but this would subsequently be revised a number of times, with current scholarship putting the figure at a much more even 1-2:1.
After Korea, the Sabre would continue to be improved and upgraded over a number of marques, gradually being replaced in US service by a series of more modern and capable aircraft. In foreign service, however, the Sabre proved to be an absolute workhorse in both the air defence and ground attack roles. Thousands were built under license in Canada and Australia, continuing to operate long after the type had been retired in USAF service.
Key Stats (F-86F-40-NA)
- Crew: 1
- Length: 40 ft 4 in (12.29 m)
- Wingspan: 37 ft 1 in (11.30 m)
- Maximum speed: 707 mph (1137 km/h, 614 kn)
- Range: 835 mi (1,345 km, 726 nmi)
- Guns: 6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Colt-Browning M3 machine guns
- Rockets: Variable; e.g two Matar rocket pods (18 SNEB 68mm rockets each)
- Bomb Load: Variable (max standard two 1,000 Ib bombs plus two drop tanks), 5,300 Ib of payload on four external hardpoints.
On the Table
In games of Blood Red Skies, the F-86E forms one half of the MiG Alley! starter set, introducing jet-on-jet combat to the game! If you’re fighting historical engagements, then you’ll likely be coming up against the MiG-15, which makes for a fantastic challenge on the tabletop! As befits two such evenly-matched opponents, it mostly comes down to how you utilise your aircraft, rather than a huge technological gulf, when determining the winner.
Looking at the two aircraft side-by-side, we can see that there’s not a whole lot between them at all! Your Sabres are marginally faster than the enemy MiGs, so you’ll at least have a very slight performance advantage to exploit – and you’ll need it! The Sabre’s big advantage over the MiG is its relative stability at these high speeds, while the MiG-15 suffers from Rough Ride – if it’s burning advantage to get onto your tail, the pilot may well be unable to fire. This means that you can always look to high-tail it out of trouble, then come around and re-engage with your .50cals and Buzz Saw! Keep your wingman close, and if the MiGs get on your tail he may be able to surprise them!
Colour Schemes
With such an illustrious career, F-86s wore a myriad of colour schemes over the decades. Our resident master of all things vehicular, Darek Wyrozebski, has turned his eyes (and brush) skyward to bring you some inspiring alternate painting solutions to help your Sabres stand out on the tabletop!
Get Yours Today
In addition to two F-86F Sabre Aircraft and two MiG-15s, the Mig Alley! set contains all the aircraft cards, pilot discs, traits doctrine and equipment cards you need to take your games of Blood Red Skies into the Jet Age!
