The best fighter of the 1950's.

[pbfoot]

My vote is the F-86. There are too many Apples and Oranges to compare roles on this list. many of these aircraft were more prominent in the 1960s and shouldn't be on here. F86 was the best aircraft as an air superiority aircraft for its time and the pilots amade the difference.

I agree that most of these aircraft are from the 60's but might give the edge to the Hunter over the 86 only because it came out much later

 

[FLYBOYJ]

I agree that most of these aircraft are from the 60's but might give the edge to the Hunter over the 86 only because it came out much later

About a year ago or so Glider and I had a discussion about the Hunter vs. the Sabre and I think on the world wide battle field, they came out about even in kills against each other. The -86 smoked a few MiG-21s over India/ Pakistan

 

[Graeme]

Very interesting. I have not heard to much about the "nuclear tipped genies". I imagine that they are for intercepting Soviet strategic bombers who are possibly armed with nuclear bombs.

The Genie mission profile...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Nice post!

 

[pbfoot]

antbody notice there is not one US Navy aircraft on the list such as the Grumman F11f Tiger ,Panther and Cougar,also missing is the Ouragan and Mirage ll although I wouldn't include it in the best fighterthe F89 and Cf100

 

[Glider]

The Crusader is on the list

 

[renrich]

I think a lot of these fighters were not truly operational until the 60s but i I just thought of one that was a 50s AC with fine performance, the F4D Skyray. Supersonic in level flight and a very fast climber.

 

[Soundbreaker Welch?]

Here's a picture of the Skyray.

 

[Clave]

The Lightning was/is truly unique.

True, it lacks range and multi-missile carrying ability, but as an interceptor it was hard to beat...

Oh, and the Skyray will always be one of the most beautiful 50s jets - what a great shape!

 

[renrich]

I read that the F4D could climb from SL to 50000 feet in something over two minutes. Pretty fast.

 

[timshatz]

antbody notice there is not one US Navy aircraft on the list such as the Grumman F11f Tiger ,Panther and Cougar,also missing is the Ouragan and Mirage ll although I wouldn't include it in the best fighterthe F89 and Cf100

All operational in the 50s, some of them in the early 60s. But, I think the thread has drifted from the first gen fighters (which most of those were- or early 2nd gen) to the late 2nd gen aircraft such as the 106 and the 21.

But a good point. Always though the Panther/Cougar combo were two very pretty jets. Ouragan was a wierd looking, porky shapped bird.

 

[Jgonzalez]

I dunno if it's fair to compare the Mig-21 with the Mig-19 or the Sabre, besides howcome the F-86 is an option an the MIg-15 (its counterpart) was omited, both built and first flawn in the late 40's. Actualy the F-4 Phantom did her maiden flight in 1958, making her technicaly a 1950's A/c. Between the a/c proposed I must pick the Mig-21, although she's more comparable with the Phantom. The F-104 was a great plane, so good she serviced for almost 50 years!!!! (italian AF retired the last servicing f-104s in 2004), but I'm not sure if she was as effective as an actual combat/fighter jet.

 

[Lucky13]

I have to admit that I like the Skyray too...and the Cutlass. Am I right in understanding that the Cutlass was pretty much a failure?

 

[renrich]

The F7U was pretty much a failure. As with several Vought creations it was too advanced for it's time and had many operationl problems. One problem I heard about that was trying to be fixed when I worked next door to Vought at Temco was that when the guns were fired the engine flamed out. I was involved in the flight test engineering of the Temco TT-1. LOL I don't know why the Skyray was not continued in service.

 

[Graeme]

The F7U was pretty much a failure.

Pity. Always loved the look of the Cutlass. Some early designs...

 

[Glider]

The F7U was pretty much a failure. As with several Vought creations it was too advanced for it's time and had many operationl problems. One problem I heard about that was trying to be fixed when I worked next door to Vought at Temco was that when the guns were fired the engine flamed out. I was involved in the flight test engineering of the Temco TT-1. LOL I don't know why the Skyray was not continued in service.

The first Hunters had the same problem and at certain altitudes, even the later versions you could only fire two Adens as firing four caused flame out.

 

[renrich]

Unless I am mistaken the Cutlass was the first US fighter fitted with afterburning. Paul Thayer who was working for Vought at the time was doing an air show at Pautuxent in an F7U, came over the crowd, cut in the burners, something came loose, the airplane caught on fire, whereupon he steered it over the water and ejected. When he got back to the field some of his Navy buddies said "Gee Paul, that was really a spectacular stunt."

 

[Waynos]

I have now uncovered the Beaumont book I referred to previously. Here is the report I was referring to earlier in support of the Lightning.

Also in the same chapter Beaumont writes "the Lightning was likely to remain superior (to the F-106) on many counts. These included acceleration and time to altitude, and hard turning capability and sustained g at all altitudes due to the Lightnings low tailplane configuration which produced significantly less lift-loss and induced drag in the turn than the all-elevon wing of the F-106"

"Of the first three generations of subsonic, transonic and mach 2 capable jet fighters the North American F-86 Sabre was undoubtedly the classic of the first era. The English Electric Lightning will always be held, by its pilots at least, to be the finest of the first mach 2 fighters, the F-106 and Mirage running it in all departments except combat manoeuvrability in which the Lightning was supreme " (my emphasis)

I don't know why the middle page came out smaller when all I did was press 'scan' three times?

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Good post Waynos but again I think the "proof of the pudding" would have been a fly off between the -106 and Lightning. It seems like that never happened.

 

[Waynos]

True, but as these are experienced test pilots with experience of both types it is probably as close to a fly off as we are likely to find.