The Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation has welcomed a significant addition to its aircraft lineup – the iconic F-5E Tiger fighter. This move marks a well-deserved recognition of the F-5’s pivotal role in training some of the most skilled pilots in modern aviation history.
The Heritage Flight Foundation is a nonprofit organization that performs for the public in a variety of historic airframes, showcasing heritage aircraft from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Now, with an F-5, both aviation enthusiasts and history buffs will be able to see the legendary fighter in action.
The F-5 journeyed from the post-World War II era when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was in search of a lightweight, flexible tactical fighter bomber capable of delivering conventional and nuclear ordnance. Northrop Grumman responded to that call, and it was by 1955 that the General Electric J85 turbojet—originally designed for the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress—found its way into the design of the F-5 and gave a much better thrust-to-weight ratio compared with its contemporaries.
“The F-5 was cheap and versatile,” said aviation historian John Smith. “Capable of reaching speeds of Mach 1.63 with a range of 554 miles, the F-5 was an Air Force favorite. It could climb at a rate of around 35,000 feet per minute and could sport two 20mm M39A2 Revolver cannons.”
Although the F-5A was essentially conceived and introduced as a day air superiority fighter, its ability to perform ground attacks proved the type’s versatility. Over 800 examples would be manufactured for American allies well into the mid-1970s.
As the Soviet Union’s threat increased in the peak years of the Cold War, the US began seeking a more credible air-to-air jet to counter the MiG-21. Northrop was contracted in 1970 to build the second generation, the F-5E Tiger II, fitted with newer engines, larger wing area, higher fuel capacity, and improved avionics. Logger of many combat times during the Vietnam War, the F-5E Tiger IIs had over 1,400 built until the late 1980s.