I read a while back in Air & Space Smithsonian that a pre-production XF or XP-86 Sabre
beat Chuck Yeager's claim to breaking the sound barrier by at least a week, but North
American hushed it up so as not to tick off their prime customer (USAF) with the fact
a production jet did what a rocket-powered, B-29-assisted, specialty x-plane did for
much more money.
Another guy told me it was a Sabre that shot down the first MiG 15 in Korea, but I
thought a Panther or Cougar had gotten at least ONE kill before then, or am I wrong?
Same guy said to me WW2 Thunderbolts had gone supersonic in power dives, I think I
read Jugs and Mustangs could sometimes go transonic for very brief moments, but became
unstable and subject to explosive flutter/ structural failure from incompressibility
at those speeds.
Anybody have the facts or actual experience?
Oh, to make it back on topic, I like the M&M foamie Sabre in the catalogs, anybody fly
one of those?
Thanks.
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