7 of the Air Force's greatest fighter planes throughout history

From the formation of the Air Force in 1947 to today, the flying branch’s sexiest assets have always been its fighters. These flying agents of death intentionally fly into fights in one of the planet’s most unforgiving environments.

Here are 7 of the machines that defined Air Force fighter history:

P-51 Mustang

The P-51, renamed in 1948 to the F-51 when the Air Force changed its plane designation system, was one of the fighters that the U.S. Air Force inherited when it morphed from the Army Air Force.

The beloved Mustang variant served with distinction in the Korean War, but mostly as a close-air support asset, not as a fighter.

P-80

The P-80 flew during World War II but wasn’t deployed to combat until Korea where it became one of America’s early champions against the rampant MiG threat from China.

F-86 Sabre

America’s other great champion in MiG Alley fights over North Korea and Manchuria was the F-86 Sabre, a swept-wing jet fighter capable of breaking the sound barrier and going toe-to-toe with the best MiGs of the day.