F-5 TIGER II / FREEDOM FIGHTER
I've
always wanted to feature the F5 supersonic jet fighter ever since I
conceptualize a scale model website, but
I don’t have an F-5 example, the card paper patterns available online are too
in-accurate for my standard, sculpting the Jet in wood will take too much time
with shady outlook on result - I don’t think I have the slightest "Michelangelo"
or “da vinci” genes in my veins. Local hobby shop so far only offer the big
complicated kits which have un-attractive building time in my case, there are suitable sized and beautiful
die-cast metal display replicas of the F-5 but quite pricey for my budget. On
one of my Foot-setting adventures in the city's Mushrooming commercial centers
I found some fairly small die-cast toys which for me resembles the F-5 fighter
series in unmarked packaging estimated to be 1/100 scale, bought some for
posterity assuming that they are too small to refit with scratch built parts, this
small planes are pre-painted but bare of any exterior surface parts like;
landing gears, ordinance, drop tanks, etc. The F-5 version I prefer where the
F-5A's and F-5B's "Freedom
Fighter" variant issued to the Philippine Air Force (PAF) during
the early 60's and said to have been retired on 2005, however the examples I
got where probably at least the more
advance F-5E's "Tiger II" versions based on the original color
schemes and wing root's trailing edge, nevertheless my repainted sample was in reminiscence
of the earlier markings of the PAF Freedom fighters, emblems and serial numerals
are intentionally altered to politically inanimate the piece for this blog .
Like
a couple of the models already posted in my blog the F-5 is a sought-after
feature because of the more personalized operational history it narrates. The
Needle like Jet fighter is a familiar silhouette in the sky of the City suburb
during my youth, flew higher than those propeller driven military trainer
planes but thoughtlessly the F-5 shape is un-mistakable , closer visual
familiarity was gained thru television and newsprints.
During
the 1989 Military Mutiny against the seated Philippine Government, the F-5 saw
action as the aircraft used by the Government against those little vicious
rebel “prop” dive bombers. I actually saw this Jets shadowing the mutineers
helicopter gunships and Tora-tora’s but
never observed the aircrafts got involved in an aerial “shoot-out”., the reason
for this are analyzed variedly by marathon critics, some say the pilots refuse
firing to kill at their comrades, some suggest both side are trying to avoid
severe civilian casualty on the ground. It was only when “United States”
warplanes started appearing on the hot-spots of conflict which US embassy
officials claims to be “observation flights” that public radiocast started
reporting that the government is on the “offensive” and its Jets started strafing airbases held by
rebel forces, which resulted to the lost of one F-5, but the action greatly
reduced the number of combat and utility aircraft available for mutinous
forces. It was observed that American psychological involvement eventually saw
the rebel air attack on the two Manila military camps and other symbolic government targets become
scarcer and scarcer, the morale boosting effect of these chains of events
eventually led to the incumbent Philippine Government upholding its authority
in the end.
The
twin engine Northrop F-5 “Tiger II” or F5-E is a direct variant of the early Northrop
F-5 “freedom fighter” or F5-A, first introduced to its potential operators in
the first quarter of the 1960’s. Solely conceived to supply poor U.S. “Cold
War” allies with a more capable and reliable warplanes instead of obsolete
“hand me downs”. The plane’s primary design consideration was low cost, easy
maintenance, but flexible operational and combat potential. Its small size
compared to standard U.S. doctrine for its fighter fleet is
one of the crucial factor that made it to compliment its target mission capabilities.
Able to attain speeds of up to Mach 1.3 ( about 1,400 KPH for the F5-A) the F-5 gave third world countries of its time the
opportunity to operate a cost effective "multi-role" supersonic fighter–interceptor. As the
demand of modern warfare develop through the remaining years of the 20th
century the F5 Freedom fighter has undergone many upgrades with minimal
alteration to its basic airframe, one of the most advance of this variants with
regard to technological upgrade is the “F5-E tiger II”, which The United State
Air Force use as the enemy fighters in
their “aggressor squadron” that usually
mimic Russian warplane maneuvers and tactics for the training of US fighter pilots,
hence its usual that some tele-media and print exposure of the “F5-E” have
prominent Russian markings instead of the usual US air force emblem. For
my blogpost, the piece that I used to fundamentally
visualize an early “Philippine Air
Force” F5-A originally had a dessert
paint scheme and a big “Red Star” on the vertical tail fin.
Also
can be utilized for ground attack and reconnaissance role, the F-5, from the Freedom Fighter to the Tiger II was a successful item for the third world
defence market, primary users where South Vietnam, Kenya, Ethiopia, Chile,
Sudan, and Yemen. Some countries like Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Switzerland utilized the warplane not merely
for economic reason but because of the perceived reliability and practicality
of the aircraft. Canada and Taiwan manufacture their own F5s under license;
Brazil has more than 50 of these fighters with plans to
gradually retire them by the next two decades. During the late 70’s a “single
engine” hybrid version of the F-5 competed with the “F-16 falcon” for the slot
as the standard US fighter of the era, it was called the F-20 Tigershark. The
term “Tiger II” was in reference with the only squadron of F-5As used by the U.S. for combat in the Vietnam conflict codenamed “Skoshi Tigers" .
" the “F5-E tiger II”, which The United State Air Force use as the enemy fighters in their “aggressor squadron” that usually mimic Russian warplane maneuvers and tactics for the training of US fighter pilots, hence its usual that some tele-media and print exposure of the “F5-E” have prominent Russian markings instead of the usual US air force emblem. For my blogpost, the piece that I used to fundamentally visualize an early “Philippine Air Force” F5-A originally had a dessert paint scheme and a big “Red Star” on the vertical tail fin. "
:-)
:-)
