F-5: The best dogfighter of its time?
Video from the channel Australian Military Aviation History about Northrop F-5, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 16:10. Language: English. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
A documentary essay on the Northrop F-5 arguing that, for a time, it was one of the most capable light close-combat fighters of its era. Some scenes are recreated with simulators for illustrative purposes.
Historical context
The proliferation of MiGs among Soviet allies and NATO's NBMR-1 requirement, which called for a light, cheap and easy-to-maintain attack fighter, led Edgar Schmued's team at Northrop to develop the N-156 with company funds, built around the new J85 engine. The US Air Force first chose the trainer version, the future T-38 Talon. The N-156F flew on 30 July 1959 at Edwards base, piloted by Lew Nelson. In April 1962 the Kennedy administration selected it as an export fighter under the name Freedom Fighter.
Key facts
In the Skoshi Tiger evaluation in Vietnam, begun in October 1965, around 2,600 sorties placed it among the attack aircraft with the highest survival rate; its weaknesses were payload and range. The F-5E Tiger II (1970-1972) added radar and leading-edge extensions. A captured F-5E was evaluated in the USSR against the MiG-21, and Ethiopia used it against Somali MiG-21s in the 1977 Ogaden War. From 1975 it served as an aggressor aircraft, and its philosophy influenced the F-16 and the YF-17 Cobra.