F-86 Sabre ready for test flight   Save
Rockwell International Corporation/North American Aircraft Collection
Description: Photograph of an F-86 Sabre Jet on the runway at North American Aviation in Columbus, Ohio. A test pilot is in the cockpit and onlookers watch as the jet prepares for a test flight. The Columbus Aircraft Division of Rockwell International began operations in November of 1950, when North American Aviation, the then-parent company of Rockwell International, bought out the facilities and operations of the Curtiss-Wright Plant located near Port Columbus Airport on the city’s east side. The Rockwell plant was operational on December 4, 1950. Initially, the division handled contracts left over from the Curtiss-Wright operation and manufactured spare parts for a variety of “non-current” aircraft, such as the F-51 Mustang and the B-25 Mitchell bomber. Eventually, the division expanded into an operation capable of designing, building, and testing its own aircraft and weapons systems, including the F-86 Sabre, the primary jet fighter of the United Nations' forces during the Korean War. The division also participated in various defense research projects. During the 1980s, the Columbus plant helped to produce the B-1B strategic bomber. In May of 1988, Rockwell announced that it was discontinuing operations at Columbus. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AV32_B01_F01_02
Subjects: Aviation--History; Aircraft; Military Ohio; Manufacturing industries--Ohio; North American Aviation, Inc. (Columbus, Ohio);
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)