Canadair CL-13 "Sabre" jet fighter and proposed derivatives

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Here's a recap of CL-13 variants, both built and unbuilt, from Bill Upton's CANADAIR CL-13B SABRE Mk 6 (published by the Canada Aviation and Space Museum):


CL-13 Sabre Mk 1c/n 1)

The first prototype CL-13 Sabre for Canada, known officially as the Sabre Mk 1, was assembled at Canadair from supplied components of a NAA F-86A-5-NA received from the United States in 1949.

Assembly tooling had to be newly manufactured by Canadair due to North American being unable to supply any production or assembly tooling with their own Sabre production line in full swing. This aircraft, powered by a 23.13 kN (5,200 lbf) thrust General Electric J47-GE-13 turbojet engine, came off the new assembly line at Canadair’s Plant 2 facility on 28 July 1950, just a year after the production contract had been signed. It soon had full RCAF markings applied, but for some reason it initially bore the unusual arrangement of the RCAF serial number on the tail as 191-010 (later changed correctly to 19101), and had the National Research Council (NRC) unit code, CK-R, on the wings and sides of the fuselage.

With Cartierville Airport’s main runway being extended due to the forethought and necessity of future jet aircraft operations at the aerodrome, the new Sabre Mk 1 jet was trucked in the early morning hours to nearby RCAF Station Dorval next to Montreal’s Dorval Airport for its premiere flight.

The singular Mk 1 aircraft, piloted by Canadair’s chief of aircraft operations, Al Lilly, performed its first flight on 8 August 1950. Two days later, Lilly became the first person to exceed the speed of sound in Canada, breaking Mach 1 in this same aircraft while flying a demonstration over the Cartierville facilities with many Canadair employees standing outside watching their new fighter jet perform.

Sabre 19101 CK-R was officially taken-on-strength by the RCAF on 11 August, and was soon assigned to the National Research Council at Arnprior, Ontario, being tested with the Central Experimental and Proving Establishment (CEPE) Detachment also located there. Wing flow studies were performed in the early 1950s with this very highly polished Sabre during low and high-speed stalls by photographing wing tufts on the flat black-painted right wing and control surfaces. This prototype Canadian Sabre, later bearing the CEPE fuselage unit code PX-101, remained attached to the NRC and followed with the detachment during subsequent relocations to RCAF Station Rockcliffe, Ontario in 1952, then on to Uplands Airport in 1953.

This first of an unprecedented, and unparalleled line of Canadair-produced aircraft, and the first Canadian-built aircraft to break the sound barrier was retired from all flying duties by October 1955. It was soon placed in storage at RCAF Station Lincoln Park in Alberta, notably being designated for future use as a museum aircraft. By August 1965, it was officially struck-off-strength, sold to No. 700 Wing (City of Edmonton) RCAF Association and put on long-term outdoor display at the Edmonton Airport, Alberta. In an effort to preclude further weathering ravages by Mother Nature, it currently resides within the safe confines of the Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton.


Captions:
1. The F-86A-5 fuselage and components from NAA arrived in Canadair’s receiving area in late November 1949. “CANADA” was inked by hand ahead and below the quarter-panels of the windscreen.
2. For this premiere assembly task the learning curve went remarkably smooth. Here, in front of Canadair’s Plant 2 Building B202, the unmarked prototype Sabre is seen following its simple rollout.
3. Canadair’s Alexander J. (Al) Lilly, sitting in the cockpit of the sole North American Aviation / Canadair Sabre Mk 1, RCAF serial number 191-010 CK-R, prepares for the first flight of the aircraft from Dorval Airport.
4. Pilot Al Lilly gives an impromptu post-flight briefing to Defence Minister Hon. Brooke Claxton and Air Marshall Wilf Curtis immediately following his successful first flight in the Canadair-built Sabre Mk 1.
5-6. Canadair’s Mk 1 Sabre, 191-010 CK-R, reposes for a photo shoot on the Dorval tarmac following its successful first flight.
 

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CL-13 Sabre Mk 2 (c/n 2-99 and 101-352)

The CL-13 Sabre Mk 2, of which 350 examples were produced for the RCAF and NATO countries, was the equivalent of the USAF F-86E featuring the new “all-flying” tailplane (first used on the early experimental Bell X-1 research aircraft) and modified flight control systems. The first aircraft of this production series, RCAF serial 19102 AM-N first flew, with Canadair test pilot William (Bill) Longhurst at the controls, on 31 January 1951, just four months after the American counterpart. In 1952, in order to meet Korean War shortages, sixty examples of this soon-to-be MiG-killer variant were delivered to the USAF designated as the F-86E-6-CAN, and were assigned the USAF serial numbers 52-2833–52-2892. Some of these were flown in air-to-air combat by Canadian exchange pilots, as well as their American brethren. A few known F-86E-6-CAN Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-15 killers included aircraft 52-2833, 52-2834 and 52-2855. Later, many of the Sabre Mk 2 aircraft were diverted from the RCAF to Greece and Turkey with the designation F-86E(M), “M” for modified.
 

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CL-13 Sabre Mk 3 (c/n 100)

In August 1949, North American Aviation had initiated Project NA-167, involving the installation of a prototype Canadian Orenda turbojet engine in a USAF F-86A-5-NA for comparisons against the standard General Electric J47-GE-13, towards determining its suitability for operation in Canadian Sabre jets. This one-off conversion project resulted in the aircraft acquiring the new designation F-86J-NA. Ground tests and flight trials at the A.V. Roe Canada Limited facilities near Toronto produced data that encouraged Canadair Limited to proceed with the Sabre Mk 3 Orenda engine installation and test programme preparatory to employing the Orenda 10 version of this engine in subsequent CL-13 production models.

The sole CL-13 Sabre Mk 3 example was initially completed as a fully configured Sabre Mk 2, the 100th CL-13 off the Canadair production line. On 13 September 1951, this “Century Sabre” was officially handed over, in a public ceremony, to the RCAF with serial number 19200 assigned. By December, it was back on the assembly line undergoing preliminary modifications to convert it to the prototype test bed for the proposed Orenda 10-powered variant of the Canadair CL-13 Sabre. Earlier in the year, engine-mounting components were manufactured and tested under the programme designation F-86E-O.

19200 first flew, still with the original G.E. J47 engine, on 14 June 1952. Following installation of a 26.69 kN (6,000 lbf) thrust Orenda 3 prototype engine, the unpainted aircraft acquired the project name “Experimental Orenda Prototype”, shortened to the stenciled letters “E.O.P“ on the tail. In this new configuration it was first wrung out by Canadair test pilot Bill Longhurst, on 25 September 1952. After nearly 70 test flights at Canadair, the E.O.P. programme was deemed completed. Beginning in April 1953, a new test venture began, with 19200 being ferried cross-country in a series of legs, by Canadair’s Bill Longhurst, to the Air Force Flight Test Center located at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Once at Edwards, a series of test flights were performed by Longhurst and USAF Major Charles (Chuck) Yeager in an effort to establish airspeed position error limits of this airplane towards calibrating accurately the speeds of other aircraft. In this ‘pacer aircraft’ test guise, the Sabre Mk 3 was also being prepped to establish various aviation record attempts by renowned American aviatrix, Miss Jacqueline Cochran, who wanted to better records recently set by her French rival, Jacqueline Auriol, and USAF Colonel Fred Ascani. Jacqueline Cochran had wanted to fly a supersonic military jet aircraft to establish a series of world speed records, but after approaching her high-ranking military and political contacts in the United States she was refused the loan of a USAF aircraft with which to attempt the records. Her husband, Lloyd Odlum, had very good connections within the General Dynamics Corporation, who also happened at the time to own Canadair Limited. Through his efforts, she managed to be appointed an employee of Canadair, where, as a company pilot, she was allowed to train to fly jets, under the tutelage of test pilot Bill Longhurst, on Canadair’s new T-33AN Silver Star trainer aircraft.

By early May 1953, the Mk 3 Sabre, the Canadair support crew led by Lewis Chow, and pilots Longhurst with Jackie Cochran were at Edwards preparing for setting a series of records. This particular experimental prototype test engine was now flight time-limited to only 10 hours of running. Cochran trained for all of the record flights first in a T-33 until she had the routes, speeds and altitude requirements down pat. Then, on 12 May 1953, she performed her first ever Sabre flight, in 19200, with her close friend and mentor, Chuck Yeager flying off her wing in a USAF Sabre. In May and June, she went on to set an unprecedented series of accomplishments in the Canadair Sabre Mk 3: 17 May, the first woman to break Mach 1; 18 May, 100 km closed course World Speed Record; 23 May, 500 km closed course World Speed Record; 24 May, 14,417 m (47,300 ft) woman’s altitude record and Mach 1 dive in formation with Yeager; and on 3 June, 15 km World Speed Record, and her last flight in this aircraft.


Captions:
1. F-86J Orenda engine test bed, USAF serial 49-1069, taxiing at Malton in October 1950. Avro Canada performed the new engine installation and flight tests. (Hawker Siddeley Canada Photo via CAvM Collection)
2. Unpainted, the Canadair Sabre Mk 3 serial 19200, was known as the Experimental Orenda Prototype (E.O.P.) following the installation of the Avro Orenda 3 powerplant in 1952.
3. Now renamed with “Sabre Mk 3” stenciled on the nose, and the RCAF fin flash added to the tail, 19200 undergoes some of the G.E. J47 engine test runs at Canadair in February 1953.
4. At Edwards, Canadair crew chief Art Childs checks things over with Jackie Cochran sitting in the cockpit. The dull area around the nose is high visibility red paint. (Photo via Lewis Chow)
 

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CL-13 Sabre Mk 4 (c/n 353-790)

It was seen during the Korean War that the best British-built jet fighter of the time, the famed Gloster Meteor F.8, could not match the capabilities of the MiG-15s in-theater. In the subsequent early years of the Cold War era, Britain was still left with a lack of a suitable swept-wing jet fighter to go up against the potent Soviet-produced MiG-15. By 1951, the Hawker Hunter and Supermarine Swift fighters were still far from entering squadron service with Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF), so a proven design was soon chosen, the North American F-86 Sabre to bolster Britain and Western Europe’s air defenses. Due to the high volume of work necessary to keep the USAF supplied with its own F-86 Sabre orders, it was suggested that Canadair supply the necessary aircraft. Similar to the CL-13 Sabre Mk 2, a total of 438 Sabre Mk 4s were delivered to the RAF, on behalf of the United States, as part of the Mutual Defense Assistance Programme (MDAP), Canada supplying the airframes, with the engines coming from the USAF. Once in RAF squadron service these aircraft were designated as the Sabre F.4. While awaiting the delayed availability of the improved Orenda-powered Sabres, the RCAF had 71 examples of the Mk 4 variant diverted temporarily for their own use in the interim.
 

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CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 (c/n 791-1160)

In 1953, a new production run was started at Canadair with the CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 being manufactured as originally envisioned, a Canadian produced airframe married to a Canadian-designed jet engine, the powerful 28.27 kN (6,355 lbf) thrust Orenda 10 powerplant. Due to significant modifications to the rear fuselage to accommodate the new engine installation, this Sabre series received the revised model designation CL-13A. The first of the new Sabre Mk 5s, RCAF serial 23001, had its premiere flight on 30 July 1953. Basically similar to the USAF F-86F model, modifications to the Canadian variant included a major change to the wing design for much improved maneuverability at high speeds. This particular “mod” became known as the “6-3 wing” extension, incorporating an increase in the wing chord by 15.3 cm (6 inches) at the root and 7.65 cm (3 inches) at the tip. Small vertical wing fences were installed on the front upper wing surfaces to help counteract the deletion of the leading edge slats. On 20 April 1954, a significant milestone was reached with the completion of the 1,000th Canadair-built Sabre, the first, and only time in Canada’s history that an aircraft company had produced 1,000 frontline jet military aircraft. At a special ceremony, all Canadair employees were invited to personally sign their names on that significant aircraft that they had helped produce.
 

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CL-13B Sabre Mk 6 (c/n 1161-1815)

The final and definitive Canadair Sabre version, the CL-13B Sabre Mk 6, was also roughly equivalent to the American F-86F model, albeit equipped with the more powerful 33.09 kN (7,440 lbf) thrust Orenda 14 engine. The “6-3 wing” of the Mk 5 series was retained for this variant and wing leading edge slats were reintroduced. The Mk 6 was considered to be the best overall performance rated Sabre variant produced.

First flight of a Mk 6 aircraft, RCAF serial 23371 was performed by Canadair’s Bill Longhurst on 19 October 1954. Delivered in a dark, two-tone camouflage paint scheme to the RCAF overseas-based squadrons, this ultimate Sabre model quickly proved its superiority over every other fighter in the NATO inventory. Export orders saw numerous Mk 6s go to Columbia, South Africa and Germany. Engine power, speed, climb rate and altitude were superior to the American F-86F Sabre jets and gave it a definite advantage over the early Soviet MiG variants. A Canadian aviation epoch ended on 9 October 1958, when the Canadair Sabre production line closed down for good following the much-publicized rollout of Sabre Mk 6 c/n 1815. The last of an export order, it was destined for the West German Luftwaffe. This aircraft later went on to fly in Iran, then served with the Pakistan Air Force. The last of the Canadair-built Sabres was eventually repatriated to Canada in 1996, then was placed on static display in the Western Canada Aviation Museum, Winnipeg.
 

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CL-13C (c/n 1334) and CL-13E (c/n 811)

Two Canadair Sabre aircraft were modified under the auspices of the Uplands-based CEPE and the NAE for research and test purposes of thrust augmentation and aerodynamics improvements. The first modification went to former RCAF Sabre Mk 5 serial 23021. From May to July 1955, Canadair heavily modified the exterior contours of this aircraft with sonic drag reducing fairings made out of wood and aluminum, to produce Richard Whitcomb’s area-rule or “Coke-bottle” shape. Now designated the CL-13E, numerous flight tests were performed by the NAE in 1956 without showing any major performance improvements. The second aircraft modified was RCAF Sabre Mk 6 23544, becoming the CL-13C, to investigate the incorporation of a short afterburner, employed to help boost engine power, via the pre-turbine injection (PTI) method, located uniquely at the forward turbine disk of the Orenda 14 engine. High altitude flight tests conducted with the NAE in 1958 went well with a definite improvement in thrust noted through all altitude ranges, but changes were not incorporated for any of the production aircraft.


Captions:
1. CL-13C Sabre 23544 was flown by test pilot F/L Norm Ronaason while with the NAE at Uplands. (CF PCN-313)
2. CL-13E Sabre 23021 displays its forward cockpit and fuselage side area-rule bulges at Canadair.
 

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CL-13D

This proposal was for a heavily modified Sabre Mk 6 equipped with an Orenda 14 engine, incorporating the addition of an Armstrong-Siddeley Snarler liquid fuel rocket engine installed under the aft fuselage.



CL-13G

A modified and stretched Orenda 14-powered Mk 6, it was to be a tandem two-seat training version based on the USAF TF-86F Sabre transonic trainer, of which only two were produced.



CL-13H

This proposed Mk 6-fighter variant was to have an all-weather capability, with airborne intercept radar housed in a modified nose, somewhat similar to the USAF F-86D model.



CL-13J

Like CL-13C, Sabre Mk 6 / Orenda 14 combo with the addition of a simplified Bristol-Siddeley afterburner.



CL-13K

This was a May 1958 proposal for a Mk 7 version of the Canadair-built Sabre series. It was to have an improved Orenda 14R engine and a rocket engine installation in the ventral fuselage, to be employed as a high altitude missile (Sidewinder) armed interceptor, similar to the Korean War tested USAF F-86F(R).
 
CL-53

The CL-53 preliminary design proposal was conceived in 1956 in anticipation of a possible USAF requirement for a crew readiness trainer and small jet transport. The design concept could also be readily adaptable for a small business jet type of transport. The basic CL-53 design would utilize many of the major components and tooling from the F-86 Sabre aircraft, still being manufactured at the time. Parts commonality with the CL-13 Sabre jet included the complete wings, “all-flying” horizontal tail, landing gear, the hydraulics and some electrical systems.


[NOTE: The CL-53 also appears in the Canadair business aircraft projects page]
 

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CL-76

In November 1958, a proposal was put forth per RCAF specifications towards design studies of three variants of a low-level tactical bomber with high subsonic strike performance. Assigned the basic Canadair Model number CL-76, the tandem-seat configurations embraced an efficient utilization of a maximum of existing F-86 components from all American Sabre models for minimum development expenditures. The CL-76 was to be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) JT-12 engines with afterburners, mounted in pods on the rear fuselage, and carrying weapons stores externally under the aircraft. The CL-76A was of a similar configuration having two, more powerful Bristol Orpheus powerplants. The CL-76B version had shoulder mounted wings with the dual P&WC JT-12 engines mounted internally as were the weapons stores.
 

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waw now thats different, does anyone know of a ga. drawing of the CL.76? along with the CL.53, it would make for an unusual model for sure :)
 
TsrJoe said:
waw now thats different, does anyone know of a ga. drawing of the CL.76? along with the CL.53, it would make for an unusual model for sure :)
Click to expand...

None that I've seen so far. :(
 
This underlines the fact that various members of the F-86 Sabre/Fury family (not counting the FJ-1) were operational with six entirely or largely different engines:

J47 dry
J47 A/B
J73
J65 Sapphire
Orenda
Avon

If they'd sold some to the French with Atars they'd have used every suitably sized contemporary axial jet in the West.
 
Skyblazer said:
CL-76

In November 1958, a proposal was put forth per RCAF specifications towards design studies of three variants of a low-level tactical bomber with high subsonic strike performance. Assigned the basic Canadair Model number CL-76, the tandem-seat configurations embraced an efficient utilization of a maximum of existing F-86 components from all American Sabre models for minimum development expenditures. The CL-76 was to be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) JT-12 engines with afterburners, mounted in pods on the rear fuselage, and carrying weapons stores externally under the aircraft. The CL-76A was of a similar configuration having two, more powerful Bristol Orpheus powerplants. The CL-76B version had shoulder mounted wings with the dual P&WC JT-12 engines mounted internally as were the weapons stores.
Click to expand...

Nice image thanks, is there a better resolution image available please?
 
Foo Fighter said:
Nice image thanks, is there a better resolution image available please?
Click to expand...

Not online, anyway. I'm sure however that the museum has that in their archives.
 
CL-13H
In an article on Canadair Sabres in the RAF Flying Review of March 1959 (http://www.france-air-nato.net/CONTENU/MARVILLE/Archives/PDF/Flying%20Review%20Mars%201959.pdf) there is information that the CL-13H was a single-seater. Is that correct?

CL-76
I wonder what armament the CL-76 would carry. Was it similar to that of 'ordinary' Sabre in fighter-bomber role, i.e. a pair of 1000lb bombs? Or perhaps, as the aircraft had its fuselage filled with fuel and it didn't need drop tanks under the wings, there were to be four rather than two bombs? And what about guns? Was it to have any?
I suppose that the back-seater was a navigator. If so, did the CL-76 have any avionics (e.g. doppler, moving map of some sort etc.) that the navigator was supposed to operate?

CL-76B
I would be happy to know more on this particular variant. Are any further info on that available in any publications?

Piotr
 
Stargazer2006 said:
CL-13 Sabre Mk 3 (c/n 100)

In August 1949, North American Aviation had initiated Project NA-167, involving the installation of a prototype Canadian Orenda turbojet engine in a USAF F-86A-5-NA for comparisons against the standard General Electric J47-GE-13, towards determining its suitability for operation in Canadian Sabre jets. This one-off conversion project resulted in the aircraft acquiring the new designation F-86J-NA. Ground tests and flight trials at the A.V. Roe Canada Limited facilities near Toronto produced data that encouraged Canadair Limited to proceed with the Sabre Mk 3 Orenda engine installation and test programme preparatory to employing the Orenda 10 version of this engine in subsequent CL-13 production models.

The sole CL-13 Sabre Mk 3 example was initially completed as a fully configured Sabre Mk 2, the 100th CL-13 off the Canadair production line. On 13 September 1951, this “Century Sabre” was officially handed over, in a public ceremony, to the RCAF with serial number 19200 assigned. By December, it was back on the assembly line undergoing preliminary modifications to convert it to the prototype test bed for the proposed Orenda 10-powered variant of the Canadair CL-13 Sabre. Earlier in the year, engine-mounting components were manufactured and tested under the programme designation F-86E-O.

19200 first flew, still with the original G.E. J47 engine, on 14 June 1952. Following installation of a 26.69 kN (6,000 lbf) thrust Orenda 3 prototype engine, the unpainted aircraft acquired the project name “Experimental Orenda Prototype”, shortened to the stenciled letters “E.O.P“ on the tail. In this new configuration it was first wrung out by Canadair test pilot Bill Longhurst, on 25 September 1952. After nearly 70 test flights at Canadair, the E.O.P. programme was deemed completed. Beginning in April 1953, a new test venture began, with 19200 being ferried cross-country in a series of legs, by Canadair’s Bill Longhurst, to the Air Force Flight Test Center located at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

Once at Edwards, a series of test flights were performed by Longhurst and USAF Major Charles (Chuck) Yeager in an effort to establish airspeed position error limits of this airplane towards calibrating accurately the speeds of other aircraft. In this ‘pacer aircraft’ test guise, the Sabre Mk 3 was also being prepped to establish various aviation record attempts by renowned American aviatrix, Miss Jacqueline Cochran, who wanted to better records recently set by her French rival, Jacqueline Auriol, and USAF Colonel Fred Ascani. Jacqueline Cochran had wanted to fly a supersonic military jet aircraft to establish a series of world speed records, but after approaching her high-ranking military and political contacts in the United States she was refused the loan of a USAF aircraft with which to attempt the records. Her husband, Lloyd Odlum, had very good connections within the General Dynamics Corporation, who also happened at the time to own Canadair Limited. Through his efforts, she managed to be appointed an employee of Canadair, where, as a company pilot, she was allowed to train to fly jets, under the tutelage of test pilot Bill Longhurst, on Canadair’s new T-33AN Silver Star trainer aircraft.

By early May 1953, the Mk 3 Sabre, the Canadair support crew led by Lewis Chow, and pilots Longhurst with Jackie Cochran were at Edwards preparing for setting a series of records. This particular experimental prototype test engine was now flight time-limited to only 10 hours of running. Cochran trained for all of the record flights first in a T-33 until she had the routes, speeds and altitude requirements down pat. Then, on 12 May 1953, she performed her first ever Sabre flight, in 19200, with her close friend and mentor, Chuck Yeager flying off her wing in a USAF Sabre. In May and June, she went on to set an unprecedented series of accomplishments in the Canadair Sabre Mk 3: 17 May, the first woman to break Mach 1; 18 May, 100 km closed course World Speed Record; 23 May, 500 km closed course World Speed Record; 24 May, 14,417 m (47,300 ft) woman’s altitude record and Mach 1 dive in formation with Yeager; and on 3 June, 15 km World Speed Record, and her last flight in this aircraft.


Captions:
1. F-86J Orenda engine test bed, USAF serial 49-1069, taxiing at Malton in October 1950. Avro Canada performed the new engine installation and flight tests. (Hawker Siddeley Canada Photo via CAvM Collection)
2. Unpainted, the Canadair Sabre Mk 3 serial 19200, was known as the Experimental Orenda Prototype (E.O.P.) following the installation of the Avro Orenda 3 powerplant in 1952.
3. Now renamed with “Sabre Mk 3” stenciled on the nose, and the RCAF fin flash added to the tail, 19200 undergoes some of the G.E. J47 engine test runs at Canadair in February 1953.
4. At Edwards, Canadair crew chief Art Childs checks things over with Jackie Cochran sitting in the cockpit. The dull area around the nose is high visibility red paint. (Photo via Lewis Chow)
Click to expand...
My father, Peter Wreford-Bush went with the Jackie Cochran Sabre team down to California and the picture you show here is in his collection. I looked at the 120 sized print for years and thought it was just a standard Sabre sitting on the tarmac at Canadair's factory in Cartierville, Montreal. When I scanned it in and enlarged it, I was delighted to see "Cochran" appear on her helmet. Do you have an original print or this might be the picture I posted on a site concerning Canadian aircraft? (can't remember off hand which one). My father passed away some time ago and I missed the chance to find out fully about the photo. I have wondered if he took it or if he is in it.

Every year afterwards we would receive a Christmas card from Ms Cochran and several boxes of dates from her ranch. This continued into the mid 70's when her health was failing her and it was something we kids looked forward to, not just to the delicious dates but because of the history and story behind them.

My father went on to work on the development of the CL28 and CL44 for Canadair and flew on the maiden flight of the CL28. Prior to moving to Montreal from the UK in the late 40's early 50's, my father was the aerodynamicist on the prototype Hawker Hunter, and Sea Hawk. We returned to the UK where my father worked on the development of the Hawker P1127, Kestrel, Harrier and Hawk and pioneered the use of digital computing methods in flight data recording and analysis.

In my youth I wondered why the references to the first woman to be awarded the record for breaking the sound barrier, that I came across, were for the French female aviator, Jacqueline Auriol when I knew beyond doubt that Jackie Cochran was the first. We didn't have the internet then and it was much harder to find things out! Ms. Auriol was given the record by the FAI because she had completed her run in both directions. Ms. Cochran had to land after her successful breaking of the sound barrier because the Sabre developed a fuel leak and so was not able to complete the record run in both directions.
 
Stargazer2006 said:
CL-53

The CL-53 preliminary design proposal was conceived in 1956 in anticipation of a possible USAF requirement for a crew readiness trainer and small jet transport. The design concept could also be readily adaptable for a small business jet type of transport. The basic CL-53 design would utilize many of the major components and tooling from the F-86 Sabre aircraft, still being manufactured at the time. Parts commonality with the CL-13 Sabre jet included the complete wings, “all-flying” horizontal tail, landing gear, the hydraulics and some electrical systems.


[NOTE: The CL-53 also appears in the Canadair business aircraft projects page]
Click to expand...
Did production NAA Sabreliners contain any F-86 parts? ... or was it a completely new airframe?
 
riggerrob said:
Stargazer2006 said:
CL-53

The CL-53 preliminary design proposal was conceived in 1956 in anticipation of a possible USAF requirement for a crew readiness trainer and small jet transport. The design concept could also be readily adaptable for a small business jet type of transport. The basic CL-53 design would utilize many of the major components and tooling from the F-86 Sabre aircraft, still being manufactured at the time. Parts commonality with the CL-13 Sabre jet included the complete wings, “all-flying” horizontal tail, landing gear, the hydraulics and some electrical systems.


[NOTE: The CL-53 also appears in the Canadair business aircraft projects page]
Click to expand...
Did production NAA Sabreliners contain any F-86 parts? ... or was it a completely new airframe?
Click to expand...
 
Stargazer2006 said:
CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 (c/n 791-1160)

In 1953, a new production run was started at Canadair with the CL-13A Sabre Mk 5 being manufactured as originally envisioned, a Canadian produced airframe married to a Canadian-designed jet engine, the powerful 28.27 kN (6,355 lbf) thrust Orenda 10 powerplant. Due to significant modifications to the rear fuselage to accommodate the new engine installation, this Sabre series received the revised model designation CL-13A. The first of the new Sabre Mk 5s, RCAF serial 23001, had its premiere flight on 30 July 1953. Basically similar to the USAF F-86F model, modifications to the Canadian variant included a major change to the wing design for much improved maneuverability at high speeds. This particular “mod” became known as the “6-3 wing” extension, incorporating an increase in the wing chord by 15.3 cm (6 inches) at the root and 7.65 cm (3 inches) at the tip. Small vertical wing fences were installed on the front upper wing surfaces to help counteract the deletion of the leading edge slats. On 20 April 1954, a significant milestone was reached with the completion of the 1,000th Canadair-built Sabre, the first, and only time in Canada’s history that an aircraft company had produced 1,000 frontline jet military aircraft. At a special ceremony, all Canadair employees were invited to personally sign their names on that significant aircraft that they had helped produce.
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Wow! Do you have any idea where the 1000th signed Sabre jet it is located? My father signed it and we are trying to locate it for his 100th birthday. Bombardier had no information. Picture is of him at the ceremony you mentioned - you can see all the signatures on the nose.
 

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