Hobby Master HA4308 | Canadair Sabre Mk.6 JA-111, JG 71 "Black Tulip" Eric Hartmann

General Background:

The North American F-86 Sabre was manufactured from 1949 – 1956 and was America’s first
swept-wing fighter. As well as being built in the U.S. variants were built in Canada and Australia bringing the total of all variants manufactured to 9,860 units. During the Korean War the Sabre arrived to take on the other swept-wing aircraft of the conflict, the MiG-15 Fagot. The Americans claim they shot down 792 MiGs while only losing 78 Sabres, a 10:1 victory ratio which is greatly disputed.

The Aircraft:

In 1956 Eric Hartmann became part of the newly formed West German Luftwaffe and soon was appointed the first Geschwaderkommodore of  Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen". This new squadron was an all-jet unit equipped with Canadair Sabre CL-13 Mk.6. Hartmann’s aircraft was JA-111 and he had it painted the same black tulip scheme used by him on the Eastern Front during WWII. In 1959 Hartmann was promoted to the post of Kommandeur Jagdgeschwader 71 "Richthofen", Ahlhorn, West Germany. During WWII Hartmann flew 825 missions and scored 352 victories.

Specifications for the North American F-86F-30

Crew – 1

Dimensions
Length – 37 ft 1 ins  (11.4 m)
Wingspan – 37 ft 0 ins   (11.3 m)
Height – 14 ft 1 ins  (4.5 m)

Weights
Empty – 11,125 lb  (5,046 kg)
Loaded – 15,198 lb  (6,894 kg)
Maximum Take-off – 18,152 lb  (8,234 kg)

Powerplant
1 – General Electric J47-GE-27 turbojet
Thrust – 5,910 lbf (maximum @7,950 rpm for 5 minutes) 26.3 kN)
Fuel – JP-4
Internal – 437 US gallons  (1,650 l)
Drop Tanks – 2 x 200 US gallons  (760 l)
Maximum Speed – 687 mph  (1,106 km/h) @ sea level and combat weight of 14,212 lb  (6,447 kg)
Range – 1,525 miles  (2,454 km)
Service Ceiling – 49,600 ft @ combat weight (15,100 km)
ROC – 9,000 ft/min @ sea level  (45.72 m/s)

Armament
Guns- 6 x 0.50 in  (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns w/1,602 rounds
Rockets – various rocket launchers, example 2 x Matra rocket pods w/18 SNEB (French
manufacturer - Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Edgar Brandt) 68 mm air-to-ground rockets
per pod
Bombs – 5,300 lb  (2,400 kg) of payload on 4 outer hardpoints while 2 inner pylons were
designed for 2 drop tanks to extend range. A variety of bombs could be carried with standard
maximum load of 2 x 1000lb bombs on outer pylons plus 2 x 200 US gallon drop tanks on the 2
inner pylons. Napalm canisters and even tactical nuclear weapons could be selected.