Subject: Number Eighty-Six in the Series--North American F-86 Sabre (23 of 23)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 9 Sep 93 15:33:23 GMT

>From [email-masked]

Perhaps the ultimate Sabre was the version built under license in 
Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation.  It is generally 
conceded to have been the best of the numerous variants of the Sabre.  

Since early 1950, Australia had been making plans to acquire jet 
fighters.  The initial choice had been the British-designed Hawker 
P.1081, to be built under license in Australia.  However, the Hawker 
parent company was too busy at the time to provide its Australian 
collaborators with much assistance, so this project was abandoned in 
October 1950, and attention shifted to the Sabre.  

The acquisition of the Sabre was approved on February 22, 1951.  In 
April of 1951, an Australian mission was sent to North American 
Aviation to negotiate the terms of the license and to gain 
manufacturing know-how.  In October 1951, the terms of the license 
were worked out, and an order for seventy-two aircraft were placed 
with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation of Fishermen's Bend (near 
Melbourne).  At the same time, one hundred sets of major components 
were ordered from NAA.  

However, the Australian government decided that some changes were 
needed in order to adapt the Sabre to Australian requirements.  These 
included additional engine power and larger-caliber armament.  It was 
hoped that one of the side-effects of these enhancements in the 
Sabre's performance would be an increase in its service longevity.  

The most important change was the replacement of the General Electric 
J47-GE-27 engine by the Rolls-Royce Avon R.A.7 rated at 7500 pounds of 
thrust.  The greater power of the Avon required that the air intake be 
increased in size, and in order to avoid having to make major changes 
in the cockpit area, the extra intake area was obtained by inserting a 
3 1/2 inch horizontal splice at mid-fuselage and lowering the bottom 
line of the entire aircraft.  Since the Avon weighed about 400 pounds 
less than the J47, the new engine had to be positioned further aft in 
order to maintain the center of gravity.  Since the aft-mounted engine 
could no longer be supported entirely by the original forward 
fuselage, this had to be lengthened and the rear fuselage had to be 
shortened accordingly.  The rear fuselage had to be redesigned to 
support the jet pipe so that neither tailplane inertia loads nor tail 
unit flight loads were transferred to the engine.  

It had originally been planned to replace the six 0.50-inch machine 
guns of the F-86 with the standard British armament of four 20-mm 
cannon, but in August 1952 the decision was made to adopt a pair of 
30-mm Aden cannon.  This new armament required some structural 
redesign of the fuselage.  

By the time all of these changes had been made, only forty percent of 
the original F-86 structure remained, making the Commonwealth Sabre 
for all practical purposes an entirely new aircraft.  

The Avon engine was to be built under license in Australia, the 
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation being assigned the responsibility 
for its manufacture.  This was one of the few examples in aviation 
history where both the engine and the airframe were built by the same 
corporation.  License production of the Avon engine began in Australia 
in 1953.  However, at first, the engines were assembled from 
components imported from England, 

The first prototype Australian Sabre, RAAF serial number A94-101, was 
designated CA-26.  It flew for the first time on August 3, 1953, 
piloted by RAAF Flt. Lt. W. Scott.  It was powered by an imported 
Avon engine, since the Commonwealth-built versions of the Avon were 
not yet ready.  

The first production version, the CA-27 Sabre Mk.30, included some 
additional changes.  These included some revision of the cockpit, a 
provision for propylnitrate engine starting, and an increase in fuel 
capacity.  The first example of the Sabre Mk.30 (A94-901) flew on July 
13, 1954, powered by a CAC-assembled Avon R.A.7 that had been 
designated Avon 20.  It was delivered to the RAAF a month later.  
Experimental and production test flying was performed at Avalon, near 
Geelong, Victoria.  The Type Trials were carried out for the RAAF by 
the Aircraft Research and Development Unit at Laverton, Victoria.  

Twenty-two Sabre Mk.30s (A94-901 to A94-922) were produced.  They were 
powered by Avon 20 engines, which were assembled from imported 
components.  They were also equipped with wing slats.  Late in 1954, 
the Mk.30s were delivered to a Sabre Trials Unit at Williamtown, New 
South Wales, in preparation for their delivery to operational units.  
No.  3 Squadron of No.  78 Wing received its first Sabres on March 1, 
1956.  

The next production version of the Commonwealth Sabre was the CA-27 
Mk.31.  It differed from the Mk.30 in having the "6-3" wing in place 
of the previous slats.  Many of the earlier Sabre Mk.30s were 
retrofitted with this "6-3" extended wing leading edge.  The internal 
fuel capacity was 423 US gallons.  Twenty-one Sabre Mk.31s were built, 
with serials being A94-922 to A94-942.  They were all powered by the 
Avon 20 engine.  

The 17th and 21st aircraft in the batch (A94-938 and A94-942) were 
modified with 84 additional gallons of fuel in the extending wing 
leading edges.  This increased the Sabre's internal fuel capacity to 
507 US gallons, which could be supplemented by a pair of 120-gallon or 
200-gallon drop tanks carried under the wings.  Alternatively, the 
underwing pylons could accommodate a pair of 500 pound bombs or 
sixteen 5-inch HVARs 

The final production version of the Commonwealth Sabre was the CA-27 
Sabre Mk.32.  69 were built, with serials being A94-942 to A94-990 and 
A94-251 to A94-371.  The Mk.32 featured Australian-built Avon 26 
engines, and had the "6-3" wing extensions of the earlier Mk.31.  An 
additional pair of underwing pylons were fitted, which gave the 
aircraft "dual-store" capability.  The "wet" leading edge tested out 
on a couple of Mk.31s was made standard.  However, the introduction of 
four underwing pylons reduced the leading edge fuel capacity to only 
72 gallons.  

Also introduced on the Mk.32 version was a twin Sidewinder air-to-air 
missile installation, the first installation being tested on A94-946.  
The launching shoes for the Sidewinder missiles were fitted to the 
inboard underwing pylons.  The first test firings were carried out in 
October 1959.  Most earlier Commonwealth Sabres were retrofitted with 
Sidewinder launching capability.  Alternative ordinance loads on the 
inboard pylons included two 500-pound bombs or clusters of four 5-inch 
or six 3-inch rockets, these being carried in conjunction with 120 US 
gallon drop tanks outboard.  

The Sabres of Nos 3 and 77 Squadrons became part of the British 
Commonwealth Strategic Reserve, and participated in airstrikes against 
the insurgents during the Malayan emergency beginning in February of 
1959 and continuing until July of 1960.  After the end of the 
emergency, the Sabre squadrons took over garrison duties, 
participating in a number of SEATO air exercises.  In May of 1962, No.  
79 Squadron was formed with Sabres, being added to the SEATO force 
during the Thailand crisis.  RAAF Sabres of No. 79 Squadron flew some 
of the early combat air patrols over Thailand in the early stages of 
what later became the Vietnam war.  

A total of 112 Sabres were built by Commonwealth.  The last Sabre 
Mk.32 rolled off the line at Fishermen's Bend in 1961.  They served 
with Nos 3 and 77 Squadrons of the British Commonwealth Strategic 
Reserve, as well as with Nos 75, 76, and 79 Squadrons of the RAAF.  

The Australian Sabres were phased out in the late 1960s and early 
1970s, being replaced in service by the Australian-built Mirage IIIO.  

After being declared surplus to RAAF requirements, some eighteen Sabre 
Mk.32s were supplied during 1969 through 1971 to the Tentera Udara 
Diraja Malaysia, or Royal Malaysian Air Force.  The first Sabres 
arrived in Malaysia in October of 1969.  RAAF serials were 
A94-353/354, -359, -362/365, -367, -369, and -371.  Two nonflying 
examples (A94-356 and A94-357) were also supplied as training aids.  
Six more Avon Sabres were delivered to Malaysia in November of 1971 
(RAAF serials were A94-946, -948, -978, -979, -983, and -987) They 
were finally phased out of RMAF service in April 1976, being replaced 
by Northrop F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighters.  Five were transferred to 
Indonesia in August of 1976, and A94-983 was returned to Australia for 
restoration to flying condition for the RAAF Historic Flight.  

In February of 1973, the Indonesian government ordered 18 Avon Sabres 
for the Angkatan Udara Republik Indonesia (AURI), or Indonesian 
Republican Air Force.  These were supplemented by another five Avon 
Sabres purchased from Malaysia in July of 1976.  

Specification of the Commonwealth Sabre Mk.32: 

One CAC-built Rolls-Royce Avon 26 turbojet rated at 7500 lb.st.  
Maximum speed: 700 mph at sea level, 672 mph at 10,000 feet, 607 mph 
at 38,000 feet.  Initial climb rate: 12,000 feet/minute.  Service 
ceiling: 55,000 feet Tactical radius: 290 miles (clean), 400 miles 
(with 2 drop tanks and two Sidewinder AAMs).  Maximum range with two 
200-gallon drop tanks: 1150 miles.  Weights were 12,120 pounds empty, 
15,990 pounds normal loaded (clean), and 18,650 pounds maximum.  
Dimensions were wingspan 37 feet 1 1/4 inch, length 37 feet 6 inches, 
height 14 feet 4 3/4 inches, wing area 302/26 square feet.  Armament 
consisted of two 30-mm Aden cannon and two AIM-9 Sidewinder 
infrared-homing air-to-air missiles.  Underwing loads could include 
two 500-lb bombs and two 100 Imp.  Gall.  drop tanks.  

Serials of RAAF Commonwealth Sabres: 

A94-101 	Commonwealth CA-26 Sabre 
A94-901/921 	Commonwealth CA-27 Sabre Mk.30 
A94-922/942 	Commonwealth CA-27 Sabre Mk.31 
A94-943/990 	Commonwealth CA-27 Sabre Mk.32 

Sources:

  F-86 Sabre in Action, Larry Davis, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1992.

  The North American Sabre, Ray Wagner, MacDonald, 1963.

  The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

  The World Guide to Combat Planes, William Green, MacDonald, 1966.

  The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday, 1964.

  Flash of the Sabre, Jack Dean, Wings Vol 22, No 5, 1992.

  F-86 Sabre--History of the Sabre and FJ Fury, Robert F. Dorr, Motorbooks
  International, 1993.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
2000 North Naperville Road      Naperville, Illinois 60566-7033