Description

The last of the naval Furies was the FJ-4. Some people argue that the FJ-4 was the best version of the entire F-86 Sabre/FJ Fury series. The FJ-4 at first glance appears to be a modified F-86 Sabre that had first flown back in 1947. However, when one looks closer, it has many differences and only the family ancestry is apparent.

The FJ-4 began its life in June 1953 as company project NA-208 which called for two prototypes and as company project NA-209 which was the production version. The Navy wanted a maximum speed of Mach 0.95 and a combat altitude of 49,000 feet, requirements never before having been met without using an afterburning engine.