USAF 93 FIS North American F-86K Sabre

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The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, F-86 is best known as the first United States Air Force (USAF) swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Soviet MiG-15 in high-speed dogfights in the skies of the Korean War from 1950 until 1953. Fighting some of the earliest jet-to-jet battles in history, the F-86 was considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in that war. The F-86 was also highly rated in comparison to fighters of other eras even though it wasn’t developed until the late 1940s and was obsolete by the end of the 1950s. During the F-86’s operation the aircraft proved to be a versatile and adaptable front-line fighter for numerous air forces around the world.

The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre variants were developed for the United States Air Force as interceptor derivatives of the North American F-86 Sabre fighter. While the original F-86 Sabre was conceived as a day fighter, the F-86D was specifically developed as an all-weather interceptor. Originally designated as the YF-95 during development and testing, the aircraft was re-designated the F-86D before production began, despite only sharing 25% of the parts used with the original F-86. The production models of the F-86D/K/L models were different from other Sabres in that they had a larger fuselage, a larger afterburning engine, and a distinctive nose radome. The F-86K, the NATO version of F-86D, was produced with the MG-4 fire control system, four 20 mm M24A1 cannons, and APG-37 radar. There were 120 F-86k’s built by North American and another 221 that were assembled by Fiat.

The success of the F-86 led to an extended production run of more than 7,800 aircraft between 1949 and 1956 with production taking place in the United States, Japan, and Italy. The Sabre is by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with a total production of all variants at 9,860 aircraft.

The 93rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron (FIS) is an inactive United States Air Force unit whose last assignment was with the Albuquerque Air Defense Sector at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Designated as the 93d Fighter-Interceptor Squadron on January 20, 1950, the unit was reassigned to the Continental Air Command, Ninth Air Force, and stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base. Initially equipped with the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star jet aircraft, the 93 FIS trained as a tactical fighter squadron. The unit upgraded to the North American F-86A Sabre day interceptors in 1951 in order to perform air defense duties for Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico until it was inactivated on July 8, 1960.

The 93rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron used the F-86K models to protect the Central Air Defense Zone at Kirtland Air Force Base beginning in 1952.

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