A Tiger in the Jungle.
24 03 2008Hello gang! Today, we bring another news update regarding aircraft to be flown within Vietnam. Today’s news post displays the F5 Tiger II.
The F-5A/B Freedom Fighter and F-5E/F Tiger II are part of a family of widely used light supersonic fighter aircraft, designed and built by Northrop in the United States, beginning in 1960s. Hundreds remain in service in air forces around the world in the early 21st Century, and the type has also been the basis for a number of other aircraft.
In October 1965 the USAF began a five-month combat evaluation of the F-5A titled Skoshi Tiger. Twelve aircraft were delivered for trials to the 4503rd Tactical Fighter Wing and redesignated as the F-5C. They performed combat duty in Vietnam, flying more than 3,500 sorties from the 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing at Bien Hoa in South Vietnam.
In June 1967 the 10th FCS’s surviving aircraft were turned over to the air force of South Vietnam, which previously had only A-37 Dragonfly and A-1 Skyraider attack aircraft. This new VNAF squadron was titled the 522nd. The president of Vietnam had originally asked for F-4 Phantoms used by the Americans, but the VNAF flew primarily ground support as the communist forces employed no opposing aircraft over South Vietnam, MiG or otherwise. Ironically, when Bien Hoa was later overrun by Communist forces, several of the aircraft were captured and used operationally by the NVAF, in particular against Khmer Rouge.
In view of the performance, agility and size of the F-5, it might have appeared to be a good match against the similar MiG-21 in air combat; however, US doctrine was to use heavy, faster, and longer-range aircraft like the F-105 Thunderchief and F-4 Phantom II over North Vietnam. Several of the F-5s left over from the Vietnam war were sent to Poland and Russia, for advanced study of US aviation technology, while others were decommissioned and put on display at museums in Vietnam. This brings this news post to a conclusion. Look for future reports of other aircraft flown within Vietnam to come soon!
Special thanks goes to the guys over at the AiX mod www.aixtended.com for permission and use of the F5 Tiger II within the EoD Mod. Without thier support, we would be unable to bring this fine machine into the Vietnam theater of operations. My personal gratitude goes to Clivewel for his time and effort in reworking this model just for the EoD Mod. Thank you Clive and AiX!
See the whole post here
