North American F-86D Sabre

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F-86D/K/L Sabre
A USAF North American F-86D
Role	All-weather fighter-interceptor Type of aircraft
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	North American Aviation
First flight	22 December 1949, 75 years ago[1]
Introduction	1951[2]
Retired	1965 (U.S. Air National Guard) 1974 (SFR Yugoslav Air Force)
Primary users	United States Air Force Italian Air Force SFR Yugoslav Air Force Japanese Air Self-Defense Force
Number built	2,847
Developed from	North American F-86 Sabre

The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog",^[1][3]) was an American transonic jet interceptor. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was an interceptor derivative of the North American F-86 Sabre. 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, it was re-designated the F-86D before production began, despite only sharing 25% commonality of parts with the original F-86. Production models of the F-86D/K/L differed from other Sabres in that they had a larger fuselage, a larger afterburning engine, and a distinctive nose radome. The most-produced Sabre Dog variants (the "D" and "G" models) also mounted no guns, unlike the Sabre with its six M3 Browning .50 caliber machine guns, instead mounting unguided Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR) “Mighty Mouse” rockets. The "K" and "L" Sabre Dog variants mounted four 20mm M24A1 cannon.^[4]