R.A.F. Sabres

The Air Ministry announces that, under arrangements which have been made between the authorities of the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, the Royal Air Force is to receive between 300 and 400 F-86E Sabre fighters. Power plants, electronic equipment and instruments are being furnished by the United States through Mutual Defence Assistance Programme funds. The airframes are being supplied by, and built in, Canada, and the Sabres will be assembled there under Mutual Aid arrangements. Additionally, Canada is providing as Mutual Aid some power plants, armament and electronic equipment, as well as undertaking familiarisation training for the R.A.F. ferry crews.

The main delivery of the Sabres to the R.A.F., it is announced, will begin in December and should be completed during 1953. Under the agreed arrangement the fighters will be employed in the 2nd Allied Tactical Air Force under the command of Air Marshal Sir Robert Foster.

700 m.p.h. Saab

Designated Saab-32 (Swedish Air Force apellation A-32), Sweden's newest military aircraft is a two-seater intended for attack missions against ground and sea targets. Responsible for the flight tests now under way is Saab's chief test pilot, B.R. Olow.

The Saab-32 is considerably larger than the now-familiar Saab-29 (J-29) fighter and is claimed by the makers to have a top speed in the region of 700 m.p.h. The power plant is a Rolls-Royce Avon, aspirated through flush intakes. The mainplane is more sharply swept than that of the Saab-29 and is fitted with large Fowler-type flaps and leading edge slots - the latter to improve stability and manoeuvrability at the stall. Ailerons and elevator have hydraulic boosts; the nose wheel folds forward and the main wheels retract inwards into the fuselage. Under the fuselage nose is a triangular fin, which constitutes one of the aircraft's many antennae; others are completely submerged. Armament includes cannon, bombs and rocket projectiles, and there is comprehensive electronic equipment for navigation and combat in all kinds of weather and at night.

The one that got away

At Gatow Airfield, Berlin, R.A.F. lorry drivers tried to prevent the pilot of a Russian Mig-15 fighter from taking off after it had landed, apparently by mistake. A newspaper report says, a little oddly, that the authorities "are seeking ways of preventing similar 'invasions.'"

Source: Flight International