After the F-100 joined the Air Force in 1954, the type was found to offer superior performance to existing U.S. fighters. But the F-100’s aerodynamic deficiencies were also obvious.

The F-86 Sabre was designed to fight a war that had ended before the plane was ready, and it was meant to defeat an enemy that, by the time the F-86 was ready for deployment, was long vanquished.