Freedom Fighter and Tiger II: the F-5 at War:

[Matt Wiser]

The F-5's war service:


The Northrop F-5 in World War III


The Northrop F-5 series of fighters, meant to serve as an export fighter and also used by the USAF, USN, and Marines as an aggressor aircraft, nevertheless served admirably during the Third World War, and ironically, was one of the few weapons systems used by both sides. And in some air forces, is still used today. This work will cover the wartime service of both the F-5 Freedom Fighter and Tiger II in the Third World War, and in some of the conflicts that arose in the postwar world.

F-5A Freedom Fighter: Initial variant, with two 20-mm nose cannon, no radar, wingtip pylons capable of carrying either wing tanks or mounts for AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, J85 engine. License production in Canada by Canadair (240 aircraft) and CASA in Spain (70). Combat Service in the War mainly by Canadian Air Forces-later RCAF, until replaced by A-10.

F-5B: Two-seat conversion trainer version. No gun, but retained full weapons capabilities of A model.

F-5C: F-5As used by USAF in South Vietnam in Project Skoshi Tiger.

F-5D: Unbuilt trainer version.

RF-5A: Photo Reconnaissance version of F-5A. Also used by Canada.

F-5E: Improved F-5, designated Tiger II. Uprated J85-21 engines, APQ-153 radar, TACAN, INS, and ECM. Not issued to USAF tactical fighter squadrons, but used as aggressor aircraft in CONUS, England, and the Philippines. Aggressor squadrons used in their war emergency role as tactical fighters, though later reverted to aggressor role to train new fighter pilots. Used also by Revolutionary Air Force of Mexico (10 E and two F-5F trainers delivered in 1982). Produced under license in both South Korea and Taiwan before switching to the F-20A/B. Postwar use includes ROKAF, ROCAF, Malaysian AF, Singapore AF (Upgraded to F-5S) and Iranian AF. All U.S. F-5Es used in the aggressor training role postwar.

F-5F: Two-seat conversion trainer of F-5E. One gun removed, otherwise retains full combat capabilities.

RF-5E Tigereye. Reconnaissance version of F-5E, with one gun retained and AIM-9 for self-defense. Separate versions developed for Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan.

T-38 Talon: Two-seat trainer used as basis for F-5 family. Primary USAF advanced trainer for those streamed into tactical fighters during the war, and after. Also used by NASA for astronaut proficiency flying. No replacement yet, though a two-seat F-20, stripped of all weapons capabilities, has been offered by Northrop. British Aerospace and McDonnell-Douglas have offered a version of the USN's T-45, while Lockheed-Martin and Korean Aerospace propose a version of the T-50.

[Wolfman]

Matt, do you know anyone who encountered the Mexican F-5s?

[Matt Wiser]

No. And I never did see any during either the big war or down in Baja. They may have been kept away to prevent friendly-fire incidents, and by the time Baja rolled around? Their spares had probably run out.

[Wolfman]

Well, they only had about a dozen, total.