The F-86 was developed in the late-1940s, and was America's first swept-wing fighter. It was the primary USAF jet fighter in the 1950-1953 Korean War, where its main adversary was the Russian-built MiG-15 Sabres were armed with six .50-calibre machine guns, three on each side of the pilot. In Korea the Air Force wanted a high-speed reconnaissance aircraft that could take pictures over enemy territory and be fast enough to escape attack by the MiGs, so a small number of Sabres were modified in the field by removing the guns and replacing them with cameras. The film magazines were housed in the large bulges that you see on each side of the fuselage. These disarmed aircraft were renamed RF-86s, and flew their photo missions along with armed F-86s for protection.

PCAM's Sabre was built in 1952 and served in the USAF as an F-86F fighter until about 1956, when it left US service and was sent to Japan. Along with eighteen others, it was modified to RF-86F configuration by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and served until the mid-1970s in the 501st Teisatsu Hikotai (Reconnaissance Squadron) of the Japanese Air Self Defense Force.

Eventually the airplane ended up at the China Lake Weapons Testing Center in the Mojave Desert, where it was to be used as a target drone.

The Pacific Coast Air Museum was able to obtain it from China Lake on permanent loan from the National Museum of Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida. Our museum volunteers have restored it in the colors and markings of the USAF's 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing of the Korean War era.