SABRE

In the early 1950s the Royal Air Force, awaiting the delivery of British-designed aircraft, purchased the Sabre, a US swept-wing jet, as a 'stop-gap fighter'. From 1953 to 1956 Sabres equipped a total of twelve RAF squadrons, all but two of which were based in Germany with 2nd Tactical Air Force defending the NATO front against Warsaw Pact aggression. Duncan Curtis looks at every aspect of Britain's involvement with the Sabre and the service history of each of the RAF squadrons that flew the fighter, employing first-hand accounts by RAF personnel, including those who flew combat missions in the Korean War. Appendices detail every Sabre loss in RAF service, a 'Sabre survivors' listing and an individual history of XB812, the RAF Museum Sabre. The result is the most comprehensive history yet written about the Sabre in RAF service, and the only single-source book available on the subject.