This listing details all the major titles which have been published on the Sabre. I have also included two books that deal in part with the F-86, as I feel they deserve a mention. Any additions or corrections would be welcome. The first few books are the latest releases, but the rest of the listing is is no particular order, other than the order they appear on my bookshelf!

Title AuthorISBN No.Publisher Number of Pages Comments
MiG Alley:
Sabres vs MiGs Over Korea
Warren E Thompson and David R McLaren1-58007-058-2 Specialty Press, USA 2002190See above for review.
Crowood Aviation Series:
North American F-86 Sabre
Duncan Curtis1-86126-358-9 Crowood Press, UK 2001192My F-86 monograph. It's not fair for me to review this book, but a couple of reviews are available on Amazon.com (it scores 5 stars there)
Alas Espanolas 108:
F-86F Sabre
Gonzalo Avila and Roberto Yanez84-95493-03-9 Reserva Anticipada, Spain 200151In familiar landscape format, this Spanish text book chronicles the story of the North American F-86F in Spanish AF service. The text provides a good detail of each squadron that flew the Sabre, and unit badges are detailed in full colour. Photographic coverage - both colour and black and white - is of good quality and ably illustrates each colour scheme. The latter is also supplemented by Gonzalo Avila's excellent colour side-view artwork.

Finally, a short appendix details serial number and brief service details of each Spanish Sabre. A small book packed with much new information - RECOMMENDED

Walk Around 21:
F-86 Sabre
Larry Davis0-89747
-409-0
Squadron Signal Publications, USA 200080This book concentrates on photographic details of the F-86 (though the title would be more accurately, "F-86A/E/F Sabre"). The 'walkaround' aspect is not as thorough as, say the Model Art book on a similar subject. Also, there is no coverage of F-86D/H/K or L, and little on the Canadair or Commonwealth day fighters. The slant is also very much 'Korean War'.

Though minor, there are a few mistakes; the 'Canadair Sabre 6' cockpit view on p36 is in fact a Portuguese F-86F, and the wing configurations on p43 show the 'unique-to-Sabre 6', slatted 6-3 wing as also applicable to F-86F-25/30. However, there is some good colour coverage, and more than a few interesting colour schemes. RECOMMENDED

Serie Fuerza Aerea No.6:
F-86F-30-NA Sabre
Baldini,
Cettolo,
Marino.
Mosquera &
Nunez Padin
noneSerie Fuerza Aerea, Argentina 199944Extensive booklet-type history of the F-86F-30 with Argentine AF slant. Very well researched and presented with excellent colour photographs and colour side views. In Spanish with English photo captions. Another fine effort, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Air Force Legends No. 202:
F-86D/K/L Part One
Ray Wagner0-
942612
-99-X
Steve Ginter, USA 199997'Naval Fighters'-type book that covers every aspect of F-86D/K and L design, structural and testing etc. It manages to cover many rarely-seen developmental aspects, and brings together a lot of new photos. Also a good modelling companion, it has a high number of Tech Order extracts and detail photos. However, the text appears to have come in large part from Wagner's 1963 monograph for MacDonald & Co., and could have made use of new information/corrections ('Turkish' F-86Ds being one oft- repeated error).
Edicion Especial
Fuerza Aerea No.2:
Escuadrilla Acrobatica
Cruz del Sur
Atilio Baldini &
Jorge Felix
Nunez Padin
none Serie Fuerza Aerea, Argentina 199948'Squadron/Signal'-type book that covers every aspect of the famous Argentine AF 'Cruz del Sur' F-86F aerobatic team. Contains many previously unseen photographs, excellent colour side views of each team aircraft, and a listing of each display by aircraft/pilot/formation position. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Profile 20:
The North American F-86A
Sabre
Edward Shacklady none Profile Publications, UK 197112Small booklet which covers bare essentials of the F-86A, with colour side views. However, the colours stated for schemes of a number are incorrect.
Profile 42:
The North American FJ Fury
Francis K. Mason none Profile Publications, UK 1965 12 As above, though colours are OK.
Profile 186:
The Canadair Sabre
Gerhard Joos none Profile Publications, UK 196712 As above, though colours are OK.
Sabre F-86F/K n/a none NFF, Norway 32Nicely produced title which deals only with Norwegian use of the Sabre. Very useful modelling reference with many line drawings and colour scheme details. Norwegian Text.
Naval Fighters 7:
North American
FJ-1 Fury
Steve Ginter
with
Ron Picciani
0-
942612
-07-8
Naval Fighters, USA 198330Very competent book that covers the FJ-1 in more detail than has been previously published. Includes photos and line drawings, plus modelling the FJ-1
Naval Fighters 10:
North American
FJ-2 Fury
Steve Ginter 0-
942612
-10-8
Naval Fighters, USA 1984 45Much the same as the FJ-1 title, again very good research, nice photos and modelling reviews of Fury kits.
Naval Fighters 25:
North American
FJ-4/4B Fury
Steve Ginter 0-
942612
-25-6
Naval Fighters, USA 1994 105Again, a very good book on the FJ-4/4B, though this time (of necessity) there is much more text, photos etc. Definately recommended.
Fighting Colors:
F-86 Sabre in Color
Larry Davis0-
89747
-110-5
Squadron/Signal Publications 198132Small but worthwhile booklet that provides detail shots and artwork of Sabre and Fury models. Another good title for the modeller.
Modern Combat
Aircraft 4: F-86 Sabre
Maurice Allward0-
7110-
0860-4
Ian Allan, UK 1978128Now hard to come by, this is quite a good book, though it lacks a logical structure.
Aircraft No.33:
F-86 Sabre in Action
Larry Davisnone Squadron/Signal, USA 197850Covers basic development and service of each model, but really shines with the excellent colour artwork in the centre pages.
Aircraft No. 103:
FJ Fury in Action
Jim Mesko0-
89747
-245-4
Squadron/Signal, USA 199050As above.
Aircraft No. 126:
F-86 Sabre in Action
Larry Davis0-
89747
-282-9
Squadron/Signal, USA 199258Update of the first Sabre title in the series, though this has little or no photos or artwork in common with it. Get them both.
Flight Handbook
F-86D & TF-86D Aircraft
n/a0-
88740
-822-2
Schiffer Military/Aviation History300Very useful publication of the original USAF flight handbook. Interesting reading for the dedicated Sabre nut, with details of flight procedures, as well as numerous photos of instrument/interior details. Let down slightly by quality of reproduction.
Flugzeuge der
Bundeswehr 10:
North American (FIAT) F-86K Sabre
Siegfried WachenoneF-40, Germany 198931German text story of the Sabre K in German service. Lots of photos and details, plus drawings. Recommended.
Flugzeuge der
Bundeswehr 12:
Canadair Sabre CL-13A Mk.5
Peter SickingernoneF-40, Germany 199047As above.
Flugzeuge der
Bundeswehr 17:
Canadair Sabre CL-13B Mk.6
Siegfried WachenoneF-40, Germany 199242As above.
Koku Fan 39:
F-86A,E,F Sabre
n/anone Bunrin Do, Japan 1973 74Japanese text book with emphasis on Japanese Sabres. Another good modelling reference
Koku Fan 73:
F-86D,K,L Sabre
n/anoneBunrin Do, Japan 74As above.
Koku Fan 107:
F-86F Sabre
n/anoneBunrin Do, Japan, 1979 66As above, though the quality of photography in this one is really excellent.
MacDonald Aircraft
Monographs:
The North American Sabre
Ray WagnernoneMacDonald & Co., UK 1963162The book that started it all...Often imitated, rarely surpassed. Although history (and documents now in the public domain) has rendered some of the facts incorrect, this is still an excellent history of the Sabre. Worth getting, but be prepared to pay for it. Also contains some unusual photos.
Documenti
Aeronautica 12:
North American (FIAT) F-86K
Nicola MalizianoneEdizioni Bizzarri, Italy 197480Italian text book on the F-86K. Good photo coverage, as well as some colour side views.
The Canadair SabreLarry Milberry0-
9690703
-7-3
CANAV Books, Canada 1986372Without doubt the best book yet written on the Sabre, and one of the best aircraft books published. Though it covers only the Canadair-built Sabres, it contains an astounding amount of photos, personal recollections, drawings, individual aircraft histories etc. Not only informative, but also a very good read. If you are going to buy only one Sabre book, make sure this is it!
Warbirds Today Series:
Sabre
various1-
870601
-31-9
Warbirds Worldwide, UK 199383Interesting compilation of stories relating to restoring, flying and researching the F-86. Also some very good colour photographs.
Monografie Aeronautiche
Italiane 10:
Canadair CL-13 F-86E(M)
n/anoneMonografie Aeronautiche Italiane, Italy 1980 16Italian text booklet with colour side views and a camouflage paint chip!
Monografie Aeronautiche
Italiane 14:
North American FIAT F-86K
n/anoneMonografie Aeronautiche Italiane, Italy 1981 16As above, but without the paint chip.
Classic Warplanes:
North American F-86 Sabre
Lindsay Peacock 0-
86101
-537-1
Salamander Books, UK/USA 199146Basic book on the Sabre, though it has some nice colour side views and photos.
F-86 Sabre
MiG Killer
Witold Kowal & Przemyslaw
Skulski
83-
86153
-15-6
Ace Publications, Poland 199548Polish text book in the same vein as the Squadron/Signal 'Fighting Colors' book (indeed, the colour paintings look to have been copied from the latter), contains some good detail drawings.
Aircam Aviation Series No.17:
North American F-86A-L
Sabre in USAF & Foreign Service
Richard Ward85045
-019-5
Osprey Publications, UK 48Photo and colour side view-orientated book with small text history. Let down by reproduction quality.
Aircam Aviation Series No.20:
Canadair Sabre Mk.1-6,
Commonwealth Sabre Mk.30-32
in RCAF-RAF-RAAF-SAAF-
Luftwaffe & Foreign
Service
Richard Ward85045
-024-1
Osprey Publications, UK 48As above
Warbird History:
F-86 Sabre
Robert F. Dorr0-
87938
-748-3
Motorbooks International, USA 1993144Another accomplished title, with some nice new angles on Sabre development and foreign service details. Emphasis on Korean War and recollections.
Warbird Tech Series 3:
North American F-86
SabreJet Day Fighters
Chris Hughes
& Walter Dranem
0-
933424
-66-3
Specialty Press, USA 1996100Very interesting book detailing the technical side of the Sabre day fighters. There are many previously unpublished photos and drawings in here which make it well worth looking at.
North American F-86 SabreFrancis Bergese2-
85882
-561-0
Ouest France, France 1983160French text, with many previously unseen photos. Also contains some good colour side views.
Koku Fan Illustrated No.2:
F-86 Sabre
n/anoneBunrin Do, Japan 1980224In-depth photo essay on all Sabres. Particularly useful for modellers, it has details (as far as possible) of each country's Sabres, with photos of most. A colour section details Japanese Sabres.
Model Art No.302:
F-86F Sabre
n/anoneModel Art, Japan 136THE book to have if you're detailing an F-86F. Contains photographs of just about every nook and cranny of the F-86F - even giving details of the undersides of access panels! Also contains detailed plans and a decal sheet for JASDF F-86F unit markings.
F-86 Sabre The Operational RecordRobert Jackson1-
85310
-402-7
Airlife, UK 1994150Poor quality book that offers little new, and a lot of inaccurate or incorrect captioning (e.g. the XP-86 prototype is labelled as an 'F-86F', an F-86A is captioned as an F-86E. Avoid.
Famous Aircraft Series:
F-86 Sabre
R.J. ChilderhosenoneArco Publishing, USA 196664Very entertaining anecdotal book based on the author's recollections of RCAF Sabres. Well worth a read.
Sabre-Comienzo
de una Epoca
G. Avila Cruz/J.L. Gonzalez Serrano84-505
-8129-
X
IHCA, Spain 198999Spanish text, but very useful history of Spanish F-86Fs. Also contains some very good quality colour side views, and the text is worth getting translated too!
Mountaineer SabresJack H. Smith0-
929521
-02-1
Pictorial Histories Publishing Company, USA 198856Photo-orientated history of the 167th Fighter Squadron West Virginia ANG's use of the Sabre. Well-written with personal recollections.
Legends of the Air 1:
F-86 Sabre, MiG-15 Fagot, Hawker Hunter
Stewart Wilson1-
875671
-12-9
Aerospace Publications, Australia 1995209Though not entirely Sabre in content, this book has enough in quality to make it worth a look. Though most of the photos have been seen before, the colour side views and technical drawings are new and useful.
Meteor, Sabre and
Mirage in Australian Service
Stewart Wilson0-
9587978
-2-X
Aerospace Publications, Australia 1989209Much the same as above, though there is more new RAAF detail in this one.

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