Who manufactured the engine for the XP-86's first flight?

Short answer

The J35-C-3 turbojet used in the first flight was designed by General Electric and built by Chevrolet, delivering 4,000 lbf (18 kN) of thrust. GM's Chevrolet division manufactured it until production passed to Allison. The XP-86 flew on 1 October 1947 with George Welch at the controls.

Published: November 4, 2026 · Updated: November 4, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Who manufactured the engine for the XP-86's first flight?

F-86Fs 51FIW over Korea 1953

General Electric design, Chevrolet manufacture

The XP-86 flew with a J35-C-3 turbojet designed by General Electric and built by Chevrolet. That engine delivered 4,000 lbf (18 kN) of thrust. General Motors' Chevrolet division handled its production until this passed to Allison.

The flight of 1 October 1947

The first flight took place on 1 October 1947, with George Welch at the controls. That day, after three years of development that had consumed 801,386 engineering hours and 340,594 drafting hours, the first XP-86 prototype — company designation NA-140, serial number 45-59597 — was ready to fly at Muroc Dry Lake, in the high desert north of Los Angeles, California. The flight lasted one hour and eighteen minutes.

From the FJ-1 to the Sabre

The land-based XP-86 prototype, from which the highly influential US Air Force F-86 Sabre would emerge, was an evolution of the FJ-1. 30 FJ-1 aircraft were built and another 70 were cancelled. The FJ-1's design was finalised before German research into swept-wing aerodynamics became available.