Tag Archives: Salton Sea

19 November 1952

Captain J. Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, with the record setting North American Aviation F-86D Sabre. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain J. Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, with the record setting North American Aviation F-86D Sabre. (U.S. Air Force)
The Henry De la Vaulx Medal.
The Henry De la Vaulx Medal.

19 November 1952: Captain James Slade Nash, U.S. Air Force, a test pilot at the Air Force Flight Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, flew a North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre, 51-2945, to a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Absolute Speed Record at the Salton Sea, in the Colorado Desert of southeastern California.

Operating out of NAS El Centro, Captain Nash flew four passes over a 3-kilometer course at an altitude of 125 feet (38 meters). The official average speed was 1,124.14 kilometers per hour (698.508 miles per hour).¹ He was awarded the FAI’s Henry de la Vaulx Medal for achieving the World Absolute Speed Record.

North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-2945, holder of the World Absolute Speed Record, 1952. This was the second of 188 Block 20 aircraft built. (U.S. Air Force) (U.S. Air Force)

The Desert Sun reported:

Sabre-Jet Sets new World Speed Mark at Salton Sea

Record of 699.9 Mile Per Hour Established in Four Flights over Below Sea Level Course

     The desert area, few miles east of Palm Springs, was the setting for a new international airplane speed record last week when an F-86D Sabre jet roared over Salton Sea at 699.9 miles an hour. It was reported that in test runs previously the plane had exceeded 700 miles an hour.

     Risking his life to set the new record was Capt. Slade Nash, a 31-year-old Sioux City, Iowa man with three children. His wife, but not his three daughters, watched as Captain Nash barreled the swept-wing North American interceptor jet four times over the course, as close as 100 feet to the ground although he could have flown it at 328 feet.

      Nash had only to hit 676 miles an hour to shatter the previous world speed record set September 15, 1948, by Maj. Richard L. Johnson, air material command test pilot, at Edwards Air Force Base in an earlier Sabrejet—the F-86A. Johnson’s mark was 670.981 m.p.h. and Nash was required to fly 5 m.p.h. faster to set a new record.

     NASH’S SABRE jet carried a full rocket load. Adding hazard to the inherent danger of gunning a plane to near 700 m.p.h. was the low altitude below sea level—at when the run for record was made.

     Fuel requirements are much higher at sea level than at high levels and air pressure on the plane is about four times greater. In addition, aerodynamic problems of drag, buffet, stability and structural strength are greatly increased at sea level. However, low altitude and higher temperatures make higher speeds possible.

     CONDITIONS WERE NOT ideal for the test. Officials had hopes for 85-degree temperatures, but, at approximately 1:45 p.m., when the speed runs were made, the reading was only 75.5 degrees.

     Nash came within shouting distance of the speed of sound—about 760 m.p.h. at sea level. The speed of sound—called MACH 1—has many times been surpassed by jet planes in dives at high altitudes—in fact, most jet pilots pass this barrier at some time or another—but never under the considerably more difficult conditions of an official attempt to break the world speed record.

     NASH ALSO SET another record—being the first pilot to break a world speed record at below-sea-level altitudes. The Salton Sea is 235 feet below sea level and Nash’s Sabre jet was not believed to have gone above the sea level mark during his speed runs.

     Scene of the run was a desolate, gully-slashed barren shore land about a mile and a half below Durmid, a railroad crossing, and just south of the Riverside-Imperial county lines.

     About 100 newsmen, cameramen, manufacturers’ representatives and Air Force members were present. Head timer was C.S. Logsdon of Washington, D.C., director of the NAA Contest Division. Rules of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and the Nationals Aeronautics [sic] Association (NAA) were followed.

     Official timing was made with high speed movie cameras. Processing of those films was necessary before the exact official speed of the run could be determined.

The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, California, Vol. XXVI, No. 17, Thursday, November 27, 1952, Page 2, Columns 1 and 2

The record-setting F-86D, 51-2945, was damaged in a ground collision with a Douglas RB-26C Invader, 44-35942, 29 October 1953, at K-14, Kinpo, Korea.

North American Aviation F-86D-1-NA Sabre 50-463, the eighth production aircraft. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

The North American Aviation, Inc., F-86D Sabre was an all-weather interceptor developed from the North American Aviation F-86 fighter. It was the first single-seat interceptor, and it used a very sophisticated—for its time—electronic fire control system. It was equipped with search radar and armed with twenty-four unguided 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) Mk 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) rockets carried in a retractable tray in its belly.

The aircraft was so complex that the pilot training course was the longest of any aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, including the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.

North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-3045. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-86D was larger than the F-86A, E and F fighters, with a longer and wider fuselage. It was also considerably heavier. The day fighter’s sliding canopy was replaced with a hinged “clamshell” canopy. A large, streamlined radome was above the reshaped engine intake.

The F-86D Sabre was 40 feet, 3¼ inches (12.275 meters) long with a wingspan of 37 feet, 1½ inches (11.316 meters), and overall height of 15 feet, 0 inches (4.572 meters). The interceptor had an empty weight of 13,518 pounds (6,131.7 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 19,975 pounds (9,060.5 kilograms). It retained the leading edge slats of the F-86A, F-86E and early F-86F fighters. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators were replaced by a single, all-moving stabilator. All flight controls were hydraulically boosted.

The F-86D was powered by a General Electric J47-GE-17 engine. This was a single-shaft, axial-flow turbojet with afterburner. The engine had a 12-stage compressor, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J47-GE-17 was equipped with an electronic fuel control system which substantially reduced the pilot’s workload. It had a normal (continuous) power rating of 4,990 pounds of thrust (22.20 kilonewtons); military power, 5,425 pounds (24.13 kilonewtons) (30 minute limit), and maximum 7,500 pounds of thrust (33.36 kilonewtons) with afterburner (15 minute limit). (All power ratings at 7,950 r.p.m.) It was 18 feet, 10.0 inches (5.740 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.75 inches (1.010 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms).

The maximum speed of the F-86D was 601 knots (692 miles per hour/1,113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, 532 knots (612 miles per hour/985 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), and 504 knots (580 miles per hour/933 kilometers per hour)at 47,800 feet (14,569 meters).

The F-86D had an area intercept range of 241 nautical miles (277 statute miles/446 kilometers) and a service ceiling of 49,750 feet (15,164 meters). The maximum ferry range with external tanks was 668 nautical miles (769 statute miles/1,237 kilometers). Its initial rate of climb was 12,150 feet per minute (61.7 meters per second) from Sea Level at 16,068 pounds (7,288 kilograms). From a standing start, the F-86D could reach its service ceiling in 22.2 minutes.

North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing FFARs
North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing FFARs. (U.S. Air Force)

The F-86D was armed with twenty-four 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) unguided Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) with explosive warheads. They were carried in a retractable tray, and could be fired in salvos of 6, 12, or 24 rockets. The FFAR was a solid-fuel rocket. The 7.55 pound (3.43 kilogram) warhead was proximity-fused, or could be set for contact detonation, or to explode when the rocket engine burned out.

The F-86D’s radar could detect a target at 30 miles (48 kilometers). The fire control system calculated a lead-collision-curve and provided guidance to the pilot through his radar scope. Once the interceptor was within 20 seconds of its target, the pilot selected the number of rockets to fire and pulled the trigger, which armed the system. At a range of 500 yards (457 meters), the fire control system launched the rockets.

Between December 1949 and September 1954, 2,505 F-86D Sabres (sometimes called the “Sabre Dog”) were built by North American Aviation. There were many variants (“block numbers”) and by 1955, almost all the D-models had been returned to maintenance depots or the manufacturer for standardization. 981 of these aircraft were modified to a new F-86L standard. The last F-86D was removed from U.S. Air Force service in 1961.

North American Aviation, Inc., F-86D-50-NA Sabre 52-10143.

James Slade Nash was born at Sioux City, Iowa, 26 June 1921. He was the older of two sons of Harry Slade Nash, a farmer, and Gertrude E. Parke Nash. He attended Iowa State University before entering the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, 1 July 1942. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Corps, 5 June 1945.

Slade Nash completed flight training and was promoted to First Lieutenant, 29 April 1947. He served as a pilot with the 8th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron at Johnson Air Base, Sayama, Japan, and the 82nd Reconnaissance Squadron at Yokota Air Base, near Tokyo, Japan, flying the Northrop RF-61C Reporter.

Northrop RF-61C  Reporter reconnaissance aircraft.

Nash began training as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in September 1948. Captain Nash was then assigned to the Air Force Flight Test Center (AFFTC) at Edwards Air Force Base, and remained in that assignment for six years. He was involved in testing the delta-wing Convair XF-92 and YF-102, and flew many operational U.S. fighters and bombers.

After overseas staff assignments, Nash attended the Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama, graduating July 1960. He served in the office of the Secretary of the Air Force until 1963, and as a liaison officer to the United States Congress. From August 1964 to October 1965, Nash attended the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

McDonnell F-101C Voodoo 56-0014, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Bentwaters. circa 1965. (U.S. Air Force)
McDonnell F-101C-45-MC Voodoo 56-0014, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Bentwaters. circa 1965. The three colors on the vertical fin identify this airplane as the wing commander’s aircraft. (U.S. Air Force)

Major Nash commanded the 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at RAF Bentwaters, Suffolk, England, and next was the deputy wing commander of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, he was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Colonel Nash served as vice commander of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon-Rachitani RTAFB, and flew 149 combat missions in the new gun-equipped McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II.

MG James Slade, Nash, USAF, Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group, republic of China, 1973.
MG James Slade, Nash, USAF, Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Republic of China, 1973.

Nash was promoted to Brigadier General in 1969, serving as Vice Commander, Air Defense Weapons Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and next, Vice Commander, Defense Special Projects Group. He was promoted to Major General on 1 September 1973, with date of rank retroactive to 1 February 1971.

General Nash served as Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group to the Republic of China, and later, to Spain. From 1973 until 1976, Major General Nash was head of the Military Assistance Advisory Group to the United Kingdom. He retired from the Air Force in 1979.

During his military career, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster (two awards), and eight Air Medals. He was rated a command pilot with more than 6,000 flight hours.

Major General James Slade Nash died 19 March 2005 at the age of 84 years. He is buried at the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

¹ FAI Record File Number 9867

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes

29 October 1953

North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 during speed record attempt at the Salton Sea, 29 October 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)
North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 during a speed record attempt at the Salton Sea, 29 October 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

29 October 1953: Lieutenant Colonel Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest, United States Air Force, flew a new prototype air superiority fighter, North American Aviation’s YF-100A Super Sabre, serial number 52-5754, over the 3 kilometer and 15 kilometer courses at the Salton Sea, in the Colorado Desert of southeastern California.

Flying four runs over the short course, Everest averaged 757.75 miles per hour (1,219.48 kilometers per hour). Although this was 4.80 miles per hour (7.725 kilometers per hour) faster than the FAI record set three weeks earlier by Lieutenant Commander James B. Verdin, U.S. Navy, with a Douglas XA4D-1 Skyray,¹ it was not fast enough to establish a new world record under FAI rules, which required that a new record exceed the previous record by 1%.

Lieutenant Colonel Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., United States Air Force.

Next came four speed runs over the 15-to-25 kilometer course. All runs were made with the Super Sabre flying within 100 feet (30 meters) of the ground. The official Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) average speed was 1,215.298 kilometers per hour (755.151 miles per hour)—0.99 Mach. ²

The course at the Salton Sea was used because its surface lies 235 feet (72 meters) below Sea Level. The denser air causes undesired transonic effects to occur at lower speeds, but the higher air temperatures help to delay them, allowing the pilot a greater margin of control during the speed record runs.

Lieutenant Colonel Frank K. Everest and the North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre, 52-5754, 29 October 1953. (San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives)

Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest, Jr., was born 10 Aug 1920, at Fairmont, Marion County, West Virginia. He was the first of two children of Frank Kendall Everest, an electrical contractor, and Phyllis Gail Walker Everest. Attended Fairmont Senior High School, Fairmont, West Virginia, graduating in 1939. He studied at Fairmont State Teachers College, also in Fairmont, West Virginia, and then studied engineering at the University of West Virginia in Morgantown.

Pete Everest enlisted as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Corps at Fort Hayes, Columbus, Ohio, 7 November 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II. His enlistment records indicate that he was 5 feet, 7 inches (1.703 meters) tall and weighed 132 pounds (59.9 kilograms). He graduated from pilot training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant, Air Reserve, 3 July 1942.

Lieutenant Frank Kendall Everest, Jr. (schultzy)

2nd Lieutenant Everest married Miss Avis June Mason in Marion, West Virginia, 8 July 1942. they would have three children.

He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Army of the United States, 11 November 1942. He was assigned as a Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk pilot, flying 94 combat missions in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He was credited with shooting down two German airplanes and damaging a third. Everest was promoted to the rank of Captain, 17 August 1943.

Pete Everest with his Curtiss-Wright P-40 Warhawk, North Africa, circa 1943.

In 1944, Everest was returned to the United States to serve as a flight instructor. He requested a return to combat and was then sent to the China-Burma-India theater of operations where he flew 67 missions and shot down four Japanese airplanes. Everest was appointed commanding officer of the 29th Fighter Squadron (Provisional), 5th Fighter Group (Provisional) at Chihkiang, China, in April 1945. He was himself shot down by ground fire in May 1945. Everest was captured by the Japanese and suffered torture and inhumane conditions before being freed at the end of the war. He was promoted to the rank of major, 1 July 1945. He was returned to the United States military 3 October 1945.

Following World War II, Major Everest was assigned as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, before going west to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Major Everest was returned to the permanent rank of first lieutenant, Air Corps, 19 June 1947, with date of rank retroactive to 3 July 1945.

At Edwards, Pete Everest was involved in nearly every flight test program, flying the F-88, F-92, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104 and F-105 fighters, the XB-51, YB-52, B-57 and B-66 bombers. He also flew the pure research aircraft, the “X planes:” the X-1, X-1B, X-2, X-3, X-4 and X-5. Pete Everest flew the X-1B to Mach 2.3, and he set a world speed record with the X-2 at Mach 2.9 (1,957 miles per hour, 3,149.5 kilometers per hour) which earned him the title, “The Fastest Man Alive.” He was the test pilot on thirteen of the twenty X-2 flights.

In 1957, Lieutenant Colonel Everest was awarded the Harmon Trophy “for the most outstanding international achievements in the arts and/or science of aeronautics for the preceding year,” and also received the Octave Chanute Award “for an outstanding contribution made by a pilot to the art, science and technology of aeronautics.”

Major Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., U.S. Air Force, with the Bell X-2 supersonic research rocketplane, on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, California, 1956. (U.S. Air Force)

Frank Everest returned to operational assignments and commanded a fighter squadron, two combat crew training wings, and was assigned staff positions at the Pentagon. On 20 November 1963, Colonel Everest, commanding the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron, flew one of the first two operational McDonnell F-4C Phantom II fighters from the factory in St. Louis, Missouri, to MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, Florida.

In 1965, Pete Everest was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was assigned as commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. General Everest retired from the Air Force in 1973 after 33 years of service.

Shortly after he retired from the Air Force, on 5 April 1973, Sikorsky Aircraft appointed General Everest its Chief Test Pilot. The manufacturer was developing the S-70 Black Hawk and S-76 commercial helicopters at the time.

During his military career General Everest was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal; Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards); Purple Heart; Air Medal with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards); Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster (two awards); Presidential Unit Citation with two bronze oak leaf clusters (three awards); Air Force Gallant Unit Citation; Prisoner of War Medal; American Campaign Medal; European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal with four bronze stars; Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two bronze stars; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal; Vietnam Service Medal; Air Force Longevity Service Award with one silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters (seven awards); Air Force Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon; and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960– device. General Everest was rated as a Command Pilot, and a Basic Parachutist.

Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr. United States Air Force (Retired), died at Tucson, Arizona, 1 October 2004 at the age of 84 years.

Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., United States Air Force

The North American Aviation F-100 Super Sabre was designed as a supersonic day fighter. Initially intended as an improved F-86D and F-86E, the “Sabre 45” soon developed into an almost completely new airplane.

The Super Sabre had a 49° 2′ sweep to the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The total wing area was 385.2 square feet (35.79 square meters). The wings had an angle of incidence of 0°, with no twist or dihedral. The ailerons were placed inboard on the wings and there were no flaps, resulting in a high stall speed in landing configuration. The horizontal stabilizer was moved to the bottom of the fuselage to keep it out of the turbulence created by the wings at high angles of attack. The F-100A had a distinctively shorter vertical fin than the YF-100A. The upper segment of the vertical fin was swept 49° 43′.

There were two service test prototypes, designated YF-100A, followed by the production F-100A series. The first ten production aircraft (all of the Block 1 variants) were used in the flight testing program.

The F-100A Super Sabre was 47 feet, 1¼ inches (14.357 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 6 inches (11.125 meters). With the shorter vertical fin, the initial F-100As had an overall height of 13 feet, 4 inches (4.064 meters), 11 inches (27.9 centimeters) less than the YF-100A.

North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch in the cockpit of the YF-100A, 52-5754, at Los Angeles International Airport. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch in the cockpit of the YF-100A, 52-5754, at Los Angeles International Airport. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

The F-100A had an empty weight of 18,135 pounds (8,226 kilograms), and its maximum takeoff weight was 28,971 pounds (13,141 kilograms). It had an internal fuel capacity of 744 gallons (2,816 liters) and could carry two 275 gallon (1,041 liter) external fuel tanks.

The new air superiority fighter was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp J57-P-7 engine. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine (2 high- and 1 low-pressure stages). Its continuous power rating was 8,000 pounds of thrust (35.586 kilonewtons). The Military Power rating was 9,700 pounds (43.148 kilonewtons) (30-minute limit). Maximum power was 14,800 pounds (43.148 kilonewtons) with afterburner (5-minute limit). The engine was 20 feet, 9.7 inches (6.342 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.9 inches (1.014 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,075 pounds (2,303 kilograms). Later production aircraft used a J57-P-39 engine, which had the same ratings.

North American Aviation YF-100 Super Sabre 754 parked on the dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)

The Super Sabre was the first U.S. Air Force fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.

The YF-100A had a maximum speed of 660 miles per hour (1,062 kilometers per hour) at 43,350 feet (13,213 meters). During testing, 52-5754 reached Mach 1.44 in a dive. The service ceiling was 52,600 feet (16,033 meters). Range with internal fuel was 422 miles (679 kilometers).

North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 over Edwards Air Force Base, California, 25 May 1953. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

The production F-100 was armed with four M39 20 mm autocannons, capable of firing at a rate of 1,500 rounds per minute. The ammunition capacity of the F-100 was 200 rounds per gun.

North American Aviation built 199 F-100A Super Sabres at its Inglewood, California, plant before production shifted to the F-100C fighter bomber variant. Approximately 25% of all F-100As were lost in accidents.

North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 banks away from a chase plane during a flight test. (U.S. Air Force)

¹ FAI Record File Number 9871

² FAI Record File Number 8868

© 2019, Bryan R. Swopes

16 July 1953

LCOL William F. Barns with his North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre 51-6145, after his record-setting flight, 16 July 1953. (U.S. Air Force)

16 July 1953: Lieutenant Colonel William F. Barns, United States Air Force, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) absolute World Record for Speed Over a 3 Kilometer Straight Course at the low-altitude course at the Salton Sea, California. ¹

Colonel Barns flew this North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre, serial number 51-6145, a radar-equipped all-weather interceptor. Lieutenant Colonel Barns was the Air Material Command’s pilot representative at the North American Aviation Los Angeles plant. The Sabre was a standard production airplane, the first Block 35 model built. It was fully loaded with twenty-four 2.75-inch (70 millimeter) aerial rockets.

Barns made the FAI-required four passes—two in each direction—in the Sabre interceptor. His four passes were timed at 720.574, 710.515, 721.351, and 710.350 miles per hour. (1,159.651, 1,143.463, 1,160.902, and 1,143.198 kilometers per hour).

Lieutenant Colonel William F. Barns, the Air Material Command’s pilot representative at the North American Aviation Los Angeles plant, in the cockpit of a brand-new North American Aviation F-86D-30-NA Sabre, 51-6112. (Jet Pilot Overseas)

Barns averaged 715.745 miles per hour (1,151.88 kilometers per hour)  at only 125 feet (38 meters) above the surface. The air temperature was 105 °F. (40.5 °C.)

The surface of the Salton Sea is -236 feet (-71.9 meters)—below Sea Level. Barns’ Sabre was flying at -111 feet (-33.8 meters). Under these conditions, the speed of sound, Mach 1, was 794 miles per hour (1,278 kilometers per hour), so the margin between the record speed and the onset of transonic compressibility effects was increased. Barns’ Sabre reached a maximum 0.91 Mach under these conditions.

North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre 51-6145, FAI World Speed Record holder.
North American Aviation F-86D-35-NA Sabre 51-6145, FAI World Speed Record holder.

The Associated Press reported the event:

Air Force Colonel Breaks Record

THERMAL, Calif. (AP)—An Air Force colonel flashed to a new air speed record of 715.7 miles per hour Thursday in a north American F-86D Sabre Jet.

Skimming over the hot beach of Southern California’s Salton Sea, Lt. Col. William F. Barns, 32, broke the record set last Nov. 19 over the same run by Capt. J. Slade Nash of Edwards Air Force Base.

On his first try, Barns averaged 713.6 miles per hour, a record performance, but came back a half hour later to beat that.

The airplane could not exceed 500 meters altitude (1,640 feet) at any time after takeoff on the trial, and the 3-kilometer dash had to be made below 100 meters (328 feet).

The Daily Illini, 17 July 1953, Vol. 82, Number 189, at Page 1, Column 2.

The same F-86D, 51-6145, flown by Captain Harold E. Collins, set an FAI World Record for Speed Over a 15/25 Kilometer Straight Course of 1,139.219 kilometers per hour (707.878 miles per hour) at Vandalia. Ohio, 1 September 1953. ²

William Frederick Barns was born 30 August 1920 at Baltimore, Maryland. He was the son of Claude Cox Barns and Nellie C. Hedrick Barns. The family moved to the Hawaiian Islands in 1925. He attended Theordore Roosevelt High School, in Honolulu. In 1940, William was employed as a clerk at the Bishop National Bank.

Barns began civilian flight training at John Rodgers Field near Honolulu in 1941, and was at the airfield during the attack on the Hawaiian Islands by the Imperial Japanese Navy, 7 December 1941. Barns enlisted in U.S. Army Air Corps 13 April 1942. He had brown hair and eyes, was 5 feet, 10 inches (1.78 meters) tall, and weighed 138 pounds. After qualifying as a pilot at Luke Field, Arizona, Barns was commissioned as a second lieutenant, U.S. Army Air Forces.

During World War II, Barns flew 210 combat missions with the 324th Fighter Group. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Star.

Major and Mrs. William F. Barns, Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaiian Islands, 1949.

Colonel Barns married Miss Marylouise Hamilton at the Flyer’s Chapel of the Mission Inn, Riverside, California, 18 August 1947. They had two children, Terrie and Bill. At the time of Barn’s world speed record, the family resided in Palos Verdes Estates, a few miles south of the North American factory.

Colonel Barns retired from the U.S. Air Force, 31 May 1966. He died in Phoenix, Arizona, 17 April 1995.

North American Aviation F-86D-1-NA Sabre 50-463. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

The F-86D was an all-weather interceptor developed from North American Aviation F-86 Sabre day fighter. It was the first single-seat interceptor and it used a very sophisticated—for its time—electronic fire control system. It was equipped with radar and armed with twenty-four unguided 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) diameter Mark 4 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) carried in a retractable tray in its belly.

A North American Aviation, Inc. advertisement, 1953. (Vintage Ad Browser)

The aircraft was so complex that the pilot training course was the longest of any aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory, including that of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet.

The F-86D was larger than the F-86A, E and F fighters, with a wider fuselage. Its length was increased to 40 feet, 3 inches (12.268 meters) with a wingspan of 37 feet, 1.5 inches (11.316 meters), and its height is 15 feet, 0 inches (4.572 meters). The interceptor had an empty weight of 13,518 pounds (6,131.7 kilograms), and maximum takeoff weight of 19,975 pounds (9,060.5 kilograms). It retained the leading edge slats of the F-86A, F-86E and early F-86F fighters. The horizontal stabilizer and elevators were replaced by a single, all-moving stabilator. All flight controls were hydraulically boosted. A “clamshell” canopy replaced the sliding unit of earlier models

The F-86D was powered by a General Electric J47-GE-17 engine. This was a single-shaft, axial-flow turbojet with afterburner. The engine had a 12-stage compressor, 8 combustion chambers, and single-stage turbine. The J47-GE-17 was equipped with an electronic fuel control system which substantially reduced the pilot’s workload. It had a normal (continuous) power rating of 4,990 pounds of thrust (22.20 kilonewtons); military power, 5,425 pounds (24.13 kilonewtons) (30 minute limit), and maximum 7,500 pounds of thrust (33.36 kilonewtons) with afterburner (15 minute limit). (All power ratings at 7,950 r.p.m.) It was 18 feet, 10.0 inches (5.740 meters) long, 3 feet, 3.75 inches (1.010 meters) in diameter, and weighed 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms).

North American Aviation F-86D-20-NA Sabre 51-3045. (U.S. Air Force)

The maximum speed of the F-86D was 601 knots (692 miles per hour/1,113 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, 532 knots (612 miles per hour/985 kilometers per hour) at 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), and 504 knots (580 miles per hour/933 kilometers per hour)at 47,800 feet (14,569 meters).

The F-86D had an area intercept range of 241 nautical miles (277 statute miles/446 kilometers) and a service ceiling of 49,750 feet (15,164 meters). The maximum ferry range with external tanks was 668 nautical miles (769 statute miles/1,237 kilometers). Its initial rate of climb was 12,150 feet per minute (61.7 meters per second) from Sea Level at 16,068 pounds (7,288 kilograms). From a standing start, the F-86D could reach its service ceiling in 22.2 minutes.

North American Aviation F-86D-60-NA Sabre 53-4061 firing a salvo of FFARs.

The F-86D was armed with twenty-four 2.75-inch (69.85 millimeter) unguided Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets (FFAR) with explosive warheads. They were carried in a retractable tray, and could be fired in salvos of  6, 12, or 24 rockets. The FFAR was a solid-fuel rocket. The 7.55 pound (3.43 kilogram) warhead was proximity-fused, or could be set for contact detonation, or to explode when the rocket engine burned out.

The F-86D’s radar could detect a target at 30 miles (48 kilometers). The fire control system calculated a lead-collision-curve and provided guidance to the pilot through his radar scope. Once the interceptor was within 20 seconds of its target, the pilot selected the number of rockets to fire and pulled the trigger, which armed the system. At a range of 500 yards (457 meters), the fire control system launched the rockets.

A potential adversary of the North American Aviation F-86D Sabre all-weather interceptor was the Tupolev Tu-85 long-range strategic bomber.

Between December 1949 and September 1954, 2,505 F-86D Sabres (sometimes called the “Sabre Dog”) were built by North American Aviation. There were many variants (“block numbers”) and by 1955, almost all the D-models had been returned to maintenance depots or the manufacturer for standardization. 981 of these aircraft were modified to a new F-86L standard. The last F-86D was removed from U.S. Air Force service in 1961.

After its service with the United States Air Force, the world-record-setting Sabre, 51-6145, was transferred to NATO ally, the Royal Hellenic Air Force.

North American Aviation F-86D-30-NA Sabre 51-6143, right roll over Malibu, California.

¹ FAI Record File Number 9868

² FAI Record File Number 8869

© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes