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Sabre Superb!
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That the North American Sabre evolved Into such a fine aircraft is testimony to the team of engineers assigned to the project. The Sabre design combined two new aspects of aeronautical technology, the jet engine and the swept wing. Certainly, the North American Aviation company had enjoyed considerable success with earlier aircraft. It is difficult to believe that the classic Mustang was rolled out of the hangar only 117 days after design work began. One of the chief designers of the Mustang was Raymond Rice who, In 1945, was North American Aviation Vice-President and Chief Engineer when the Sabre design was underway. Rice was also closely connected with the design of another North American evergreen, the B-25 Mitchell.
As World War II was drawing to a close, the US realised the importance of the jet engine as the powerplant of the future. Although they were still in their infancy and nowhere as powerful as the engines available today, their potential was obvious. US production of jet engines was the result of a visit to England in 1941 by USAAF General H. H. Arnold. Although the Gloster G-40, first flown on May 15, 1941, was powered by a W. 1 turbojet of only 840 pounds thrust, he was obviously impressed by what he saw. The General Electric Company arranged the production of jet engines from British drawings. The first US jet aircraft to fly was the Bell XP-59A on October 1, 1942, powered by two General Electric 1-16 engines developing 1650 pounds thrust each. Its performance was disappointing as it was only able to achieve a speed of 350 mph at sea level and 409 mph at 35,000 feet, while acceleration and climb rate were particularly poor.
The next American effort in jet-propelled aircraft was the Lockheed XP-80, which first flew on January 8, 1944. Powered by a de Havilland Halford H. I engine of 2460 pounds thrust, a top speed of 502 mph at 20,000 feet was attained. The second prototype, known as the XP-80A, was coupled with the much more powerful General Electric J-33 of 4000 pounds thrust. On the production version, known as the P-80A, the speed increased to 558 mph.
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