North American F-86A Sabre Nose (photo)

America's first swept-wing jet fighter, the North American F-86 Sabre joined the ranks of great fighter aircraft during combat operations high above the Yalu River in Korea. Even though they could not pursue the enemy across the Chinese border, Sabre pilots established an impressive shoot-down advantage against enemy MiGs. Sabre designers capitalized on captured German aerodynamic data, which showed that swept wings delayed air compressibility effects encountered at high subsonic airspeeds. Swept-wing aircraft could therefore be controlled at much higher speeds than similar straight-wing aircraft.