FREEDOM FIGHTER: The Original Northrop F-5 Was A US Fighter Build Like A Soviet One

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The F-5 was a revolutionary fighter. As the Tiger II it was distributed to many nations around the world, besting the contemporary MiG-21 on numerous occasions. This has reasonably led to suggestions that it would have been the best USAF air-superiority option during Rolling Thunder.
What people forget, of course, is that the F-5E is a 1970s fighter. In the 1960s the F-5 was still the Freedom Fighter. The Freedom Fighter was a fascinating aircraft. It was in many ways an American version of a MiG: a small, tough and simple platform that could do many of them things that a Century Series could do, but with higher sortie rates and lower costs. And, as the F-5C, it saw service over South Vietnam in US and South Vietnamese Air Force service.
Because I feel that the Freedom Fighter isn't sufficiently well covered, this video looks in some detail at the story of the early F-5. It also goes into detail about Skoshi Tiger and analyses how the F-5 would have fared as an air superiority fighter against the MiG-21 and MiG-17 in Vietnamese conditions.
I hope you enjoy this one. I learned a great deal about the context for the F-5, its unique characteristics and its performance. As ever, your comments and thoughts are much appreciated!

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1 фев 2024

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Комментарии : 528

@JTA1961 4 месяца назад

Periodically showing a car from that year would REALLY go a long way to show HOW ahead of the time these planes were.

@cdfe3388 4 месяца назад

Living in southwest Arizona means seeing the daily air show from MCAS Yuma, which these days is mostly F-35s, Yankee-model Hueys, and Ospreys. However, there’s also some DACT F-5s overhead on a semi-regular basis. It’s still incredible seeing one of those little beauties streak through the sky!

@HennyvilleX 3 месяца назад

You nailed it, that's a big part of my fascination for military aircraft in general😉

@yakacm 3 месяца назад

I think the illustration @4:47 does this admirably, the helicopter in the background looks so old fashioned and last century, whereas the aircraft in the foreground looks bang up to date and modern.

@fulcrum2168 3 месяца назад

Search Lola T70

@daszieher 3 месяца назад

@@fulcrum2168 nah, still.

@jimk8520 3 месяца назад

I’ve always felt that the F5 was, aesthetically speaking, one of the most elegant fighters we ever made.

@markymarknj 3 месяца назад

YES! I always thought that it was a beautiful plane.

@flavortown3781 3 месяца назад

quite literally a rapier, small quick, precise, multi-talented,

@MrOtistetrax 2 месяца назад

@@flavortown3781Very apt analogy. The Rapier to the F4’s Claymore. Or the Thunderchief’s battleaxe.

@Tango4N Месяц назад

Agreed. This and the F-16.

@markymarknj Месяц назад

@@Tango4N the F-16 looks good too, especially clean or with just the two Sidewinders on the wings.

@wayausofbounds9255 3 месяца назад

That video of the F-5 with the sledder is perfect. Such a happy little fighter.

@kiereluurs1243 3 месяца назад

Crazy scene. Which commander would allow this? So what happened?

@ATrainGames 3 месяца назад

Leave it to a crew chief... Question is, who is in the cockpit? :O

@audunberntsen5963 2 месяца назад

@@kiereluurs1243I think it’s filmed in Norway.. Just a bit of fun..

@jona.scholt4362 4 месяца назад

I hope we get an F-101 Voodoo video. She's the "forgotten" century series fighter and deserves a greater spotlight. Edit: I'm glad so many people have "Liked" this comment. My hope is that "Not a Pound" notices; so far the comment has the most "Likes" on this video. Let's hope that gets his attention! Then us F-101 Voodoo enthusiasts can see our favorite aviation creator give the Voodoo the treatment she deserves but has for so long been denied.

@minera7595 4 месяца назад

True, Especially the reconnaissance variants (RF-101) which participated in important events like Second Taiwan Strait and Cuban Missile crisis

@stinkyfungus 4 месяца назад

@phillipmorel5116 4 месяца назад

Agreed

@Bruvva_Wu 4 месяца назад

@@minera7595and the 2nd hand Canadian flown, until the early 80's. Carrying the American AIR-2 Genie nuclear rocket.

@sergioleone3583 4 месяца назад

I'd be interested for sure! Built a model of the RF-101 as a kid and thought it was a cool looking bird. I'd be interested in hearing some background to General Robin Olds briefly referencing the Voodoo in one of his talks I've seen online in a manner that wasn't praising it, to use so many words. I have my ideas why, but would love seeing hearing Not a Pound's analysis on the plane and hopefully touch on that at some point.

@CoconutCrabGaming 4 месяца назад

The F-5 is such a cool aircraft. Wish they produced the F-20 Tigershark!

@exidy-yt 4 месяца назад

Me too. The Tigershark could easily compete with the Viper today had it gone to production.

@ReviveHF 3 месяца назад

F-20 Tigershark with F-414 Turbo fan engine, AMRAAM missiles and AESA radar is a force to be recon with.

@Clean97gti 3 месяца назад

There is a book about the F-20 written by test pilot Paul Metz. It details a bunch of important things about the future F-20 including an uprated F404 engine that would have produced as much thrust as the current Block 50 and up F-16s. It also shows off F-20's with larger wings and larger conformal fuel tanks to increase its range. Northrop had already designed a new nose cone to fit the AN/APG-67 radar and processors AND its twin 20mm guns, or a single gun with more ammo. The book seems to indicate that with the modularity of the aircraft and the additional real estate provided by the bigger wings (and thus lower wing loading) future F-20s would have been a little behind in the dogfighting role the F-16 was built for, but even more capable and longer lived than the F-16 in the SEAD missions and ground support roles the Viper has found itself thrust into. Even today, old F-16s are getting beat up having to lug that much heavy ordnance and fuel under the wings. They simply weren't meant to do it. The F-20, being a larger aircraft would be better today at filling the SEAD role. Northrop even had a CAS/BFI mission package for the F-20 to turn it into a grunt support machine. Really a missed opportunity. Even today, with some updates to the shape of the thing for stealth, I'll bet it would be a first rate option for whats going in in Ukraine.forum.warthunder.com/t/f-20-the-best-plane-that-never-entered-production/32563/7?page=2

@DefaultProphet 3 месяца назад

@@exidy-ytnot even but it is cool

@sparrowlt 3 месяца назад

@@exidy-yt it could compete but only to a point.. the point being a cheaper and easier to maintain fighter.. otherwise the problem of the Tigershark was that in the end was still a F-5 wich means limited size for everything.. no room for grouth (tought the F-20 started with allready better avionics than the F-16A) less weapons capability.. no room in the nose for a big radar antenna meaning the radar could never match the Viper radar.. Thats why northrop decided to also make a new plane based on the F-5 design bigger wich resulted in the YF-17 wich was then enlarged into the F-18 rather than navalize a F-5

@alancranford3398 4 месяца назад

'They survived the most hostile of environments--the Pentagon in the Sixties." Thanks--I learned a lot from this video I had regarded the F-5 to be little more than a T-38 with cannon. I didn't read the specs closely enough to learn that the T-38 was substantially lighter. There was a lot more in this video.

@sparrowlt 3 месяца назад

The F-5 is much more powerfull than the Talon (a Talon has barelly 3000lb thrust.. the 5E has 5000).. has bigger wings, leading edge extentions, much more fuel capacity, better performance .. and also way heavier but still way lighter than everything else

@Primus54 3 месяца назад

The F-5 was a victim of Lockheed’s reputation and political influence. The F-104 was an amazing aircraft for setting performance records, time and cost to market, and very advanced features for the era. It also was difficult to fly, killed a lot of pilots, and never really lived up to the hype. One thing it did do, it shared many parts with the excellent U-2, which still flies today. It’s too bad the USAF Thunderbirds never transitioned to the F-5 from the F-100 instead of its very short-lived flirtation with the F-105 and the too big, heavy, and expensive F-4. The F-5 could have been the Thunderbirds’ version of the Blue Angels A-4s during the ‘70s and early ‘80s. While the T-38s were capable, they were smaller and less audibly thrilling than the F-5 would have been. Finally, the excellent F/A-18 Hornet owes much to the F-5’s development.

@josephnason8770 4 месяца назад

Was buzzed by an F5 in Big Smoke Valley Nevada. A comoflaged one from NAS Fallon. I was doing 50 mph heading west on a dirt road leaving a huge dust plume. Out of nowhere from the right this thing blasts into view and literally filled the windshield. For a millisecond l saw the red star on the tail. The next second it was a dot to the left still low on the desert floor heading south. That guy saw my dust from who knows where and from what altitude and decided to have a little fun. He did and man oh man so did we!

@Tango4N Месяц назад

Sure it wasn't a Mig-28? ;)

@johnwalters1341 Месяц назад

I had a rather similar experience many years ago, driving south in the Panamint Valley west of Death Valley, CA, along a two-lane paved road that was straight as a string for 10 miles or so--not a soul for miles. Suddenly I glance to my left, and here is an apparition passing me about 10 feet off the deck, then moving back to continue down the road. I later decided it was an A-10, who had come up behind me following the road without my noticing it, and then just pulled over to pass me. I'm just glad he didn't fly over me--would have needed a change of wardrobe!

@jedibusiness789 20 дней назад

Same here. Driving to my duty station on I-10 westbound in a Honda Accord. Step it up to 100 mph. Three minutes later my radar detector went off. Reduced speed and thought I was going to meet a trooper. Nothing…and no one was on the road east or westbound except me. Stepped it up to 90 mph and again the radar went off again. Backed off again, sun going down and off to my right traversing to my left, was a F14 and about at 200 feet flashed his nav lights. Blew my mind.

@wrong4538 3 месяца назад

I was in the USAF in the late 70's and early 80's when the promotional material for the F-20 Tiger Shark started making the rounds in the squadron day room. The performance specs for this aircraft were fantastic and the cost was around 3 F-20's for 1 F-16. I keep thinking "So when are we going to see these planes show up on the flight line?". What a terrible mistake not acquiring this great aircraft that could climb from 0 to 50,000 feet in one minute and was being fitted for latest radar and weapons system. I always thought the airframe was way ahead of its time and we wasted this opportunity.

@thomassuit7450 3 месяца назад

IIRC, the F-20 had the fastest cold start to intercept time of any fighter/interceptor out there. But General Dynamics was lobbying (bribing) hard to not have any competition for the F16. They offered it to some country in South America, and got blocked by the US govt with the excuse that it was too good, and would lead to an arms race in the region. A few years later, there were no such objections when F16s were sold to that same country.

@BigDaddy-yp4mi 3 месяца назад

The F-20 was Chuck Yeager's favorite plane to fly. He lamented that had politics stayed out and performance and price where what mattered, then tons of mid to small countries could have afforded it, no ladders or special equipment was needed to do maintenance, and could be reloaded, refueled and re-racked with bombs in under 8 minutes. The world missed out on the Tiger.

@ninjabearpress2574 2 месяца назад

Ah, the Pentagon, as the fictional Colonel Potter called it, "The five-sided monument to Murphy's Law."

@keithdurose7057 8 дней назад

Perhaps the resurrection of this aircraft could fill the emense void that the RAF have in their inventory. On paper, at least. It performs like a BAC Lightning in air superiority and can move mud like an F4. Great range and CHEAP! Perhaps it could also compliment the super expensive F35's on the aircraft carriers?

@richardbennett1856 День назад

I also saw that. It also was remarkable that they never got on the flight line.

@johnnyallred3753 3 месяца назад

If I was buying fighter for any country. The f-5 would be the fighter I would buy and lots of them. Dan Padrrsen in his book Top Gun an american story said on page 283". Give me a few hundred planes like the F-5N, with a reliable gun, a lead computing gunsight 4 Sindwinders, electronic countermeasure support, and pilots who get forty to fifty flight hours a month, and we’ll beat any air force that's bankrupting its nation with fifth-generation stealthy penguins". Great book by the founder of the Top Gun program.I found your video on the F-5 very enjoyable.Thank you.

@markymarknj 3 месяца назад

That's an INTERESTING find! Thanks for sharing. However, if I were buying fighters for a country, I'd go for the F-20 Tigershark; it has all of the F-5's virtues, but only more so; i.e. it's the F-5 perfected.

@johnnyallred3753 3 месяца назад

@@markymarknj Yes the F-20 Tigershark !.

@martentrudeau6948 Месяц назад

@@markymarknj ~ Chuck Yeager liked the F-20, and that's a good endorsement.

@markymarknj Месяц назад

@@martentrudeau6948 you got THAT right!

@rhadooxxl Месяц назад

Cool quote. Completely wrong, you would just have a few hundred corpses if you fly those against 5th generation fighters. But if you need a fighter on the cheap, and if you are not threatened by, say, the whole Soviet Airforce, the F5 is a good choice.

@manuelkatsos5104 4 месяца назад

The F5E was a BEAST of an opponent when flown by the USAF Agressors as a mig 21 simulator. Its small wingspan enabled it to outroll and outmanoeuvre F15s and F14s in the 1977-78 AIMVAL ACEVAL tests.

@riograndedosulball248 4 месяца назад

Brazilian F-5s have consistently defeated American F-16's during conjunct military exercises in the late 90's to early 2000's (!) This isn't of course "simple plane good" bs, but goes to show that a well piloted F-5 could still bite, at a time in which it was already ancient

@ReviveHF 4 месяца назад

Agree, however, the F-5 was plagued by 1950s and 1960s tech which resulted in lack luster engine thrust and lack the ability to fire AIM-7 Sparrows. An updated F-5 with a modern multi-mode radar and a weapons computer is far more capable now than it was then. The JF-17, Legacy Hornets and Indigenous Defense Fighter( Fighter Ching Kuo/F-CK 1) were what F-5 supposed to be.

@cab6273 4 месяца назад

That's not necessarily accurate to call the F-5E a beast. It was a challenging oppenent because of the highly trained pilots flying it and it's small size.

@gotanon9659 4 месяца назад

@@riograndedosulball248 Hint hint the brazillians are only going to talk about there wins no matter how many or few or in the most likely case very heavily handicapped as is often the case in international excercises

@Gerhardium 4 месяца назад

@@gotanon9659 so they're just like the Americans.

@MutheiM_Marz 4 месяца назад

F-5 is so good it's still serve in my country today...many were replaced by Grippen tho.

@lil__boi3027 4 месяца назад

brasil número uno🇧🇷🇧🇷 ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒

@shaider1982 4 месяца назад

Interesting. The F5A was replaced here in my country with the FA50 as an interim before we bought a multirole fighter (either the Gripen or F16).

@minera7595 4 месяца назад

The situation sound quite similar to my country's air force (Thailand)

@copter2000 4 месяца назад

@@minera7595 Thailand mentioned 🥳🥳🥳🇹🇭 🇹🇭 🇹🇭 🇹🇭 🇹🇭

@PraecipeWrit 4 месяца назад

F-5 is ideal variant for the third world country not going to actually fight anyone.

@erikbendtsen5353 4 месяца назад

I was told this by an Norwegian pilot who flew the F5, it was used as a electronic warfare plane with jammers and flew with the F16s well into the 1980s. He told me it was a wery good airplane, not a pushover

@mathewcaldwell4108 4 месяца назад

My dad was a weights and balance engineer on the F-5A,B,C, and the talon he loved working on it. He had been working on the XB-70 prototype #2 around the same time which was a nightmare for the engineers having to deal with the heat expansion and contractions on every flight.

@bmouch1018 4 месяца назад

I *fucking love* the F-5. Something about its looks and its balance of affordability, versatility, and capability just makes me love it.

@stevenscoggins170 4 месяца назад

Maybe it has something to do with the T-38/F-5 siblings being my favorite aircraft, but thoroughly enjoyed this episode. After the Vietnam War, the Soviets tested the F-5 a d found it to be generally superior to the MiG-21 in most aspects other than top speed, of course.

@VikingTeddy 4 месяца назад

I always thought that the Talon was just a modified F-5, and it seems to be a relatively common misconception. I was surprised to learn that it came first, and is a completely different aircraft.

@bombfog1 4 месяца назад

I love the T-38/F-5/F-20/Mig-28. A great series.

@SoloRenegade 4 месяца назад

X-29, shaped sonic boom F-5E

@VikingTeddy 4 месяца назад

I've always loved it too. One of the last that had that early jet personality. Imo the best looking jets are from early cold war when manufacturers were still figuring things out.

@bombfog1 4 месяца назад

@@VikingTeddywell said

@RCAvhstape 4 месяца назад

Ah yes, the infamous MiG-28, almost took out the Iceman's Tomcat back in the 80s!

@weldonwin 3 месяца назад

@@RCAvhstape Flown exclusively in the Soviet Union's little known All-Black livery, with only a big red star on them and flown exclusively by mute pilots, likewise all in black with big red stars on their helmets

@raymondyee2008 3 месяца назад

Glad my country’s Air Force (RSAF) used the F-5Es and used them well until they got replaced by F-15s.

@sergioleone3583 4 месяца назад

The F-5 has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid and had a toy of it. Just a beautiful plane. As a grown up and also car guy (all my life gearhead) and owner of a Mazda Miata (first gen), I thought of the F-5 when I also had an Cadillac XLR for a few years. The XLR was also a great car (Vette with a Caddy engine and body) and handled really well, but the Miata was so precise, lightweight, and low cost of maintenance that I mentioned to a friend that the Miata to the XLR was like the F-5 to the F-15. Even found a great picture online of the F-5 and F-15 together from a USAF Red Flag operation (I think it was from one of those, not 100% sure). As always, THANK YOU for such an entertainingly informative video. Along with so many other planes I hope to see you cover some day (you've given some great attention to some long ignored but well deserving planes already), this one made me hope you may cover the A-37 Dragonfly some day. Cheers mate!

@BigDaddy-yp4mi 3 месяца назад

Your analogy on how civilian passenger vehicles handling compares to the handling of F-5 and an F-15. Except most dudes make analogies of stuff people have actually used or been through in order to come up with a universal standard. Nobody here has flown F-15's man. Neither have you. You're talking out your a$$

@davidangel-blair9358 4 месяца назад

Thank you for the deep dive into the original F-5!. Living in Canada, I can remember seeing CF-5s flying in the 1970s.

@Tango4N Месяц назад

I saw them at the Toronto Air Show when I was a kid. Still have the booklet from that somewhere.

@andrewhoffman8427 3 месяца назад

This is a top quality production and narration. After suffering through a dreadful Dark Skies segment with editing, identification, and factual mistakes, your channel is a welcome find.

@wkelly3053 4 месяца назад

There is an excellent case study in aircraft design for the F-5 available through the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). It was originally published in 1978 as a presentation by the Northrop Manager of F-5 Systems Integration. The hard copy is about 200 pages, or you can download it. Other aircraft design studies are available there too. Your video is excellent. You should follow this with a piece on the F-5E/F. Thoroughly enjoyed.

@sorryociffer 4 месяца назад

The F-5E is still of the most beautiful aircraft ever made. So sleek and lean…Looks like it’s going Mach 2 standing still…

@ReviveHF 4 месяца назад

F-5 was the one that inspired many later designs such as F/A-18 and F-CK 1 Ching Kuo. The F-CK 1 Ching Kuo or Indeginous Defense Fighter is considered as F-16 derivative but it shared many features of the F-5 due to it's low fly away cost, high sortie rates, twin engine configuration, trapezoidal wings, huge LERX, upright canopy layout and excellent maneuverability. The F-CK1 project start out as Republic of China's attempt to redesign the F-5, after the procurement of F-16, F/A18 and F-5G(later renamed as F-20 Tigershark) was not approved by the US. As the F-CK1 project goes on, General Dynamics step in to assist, thus the subsequent prototype designs borrowed more elements from the F-16.

@minera7595 4 месяца назад

Today I learn that ROC made their own jet as well, thanks for sharing this insight

@stickiedmin6508 4 месяца назад

I've _always_ thought that the F-CK 1 looked *_exactly_* like an F-16 and an F-5 had a kid together...

@Menaceblue3 4 месяца назад

*F-CK 1* sounds like a plane that tried to yell verbal obscenities towards you on the internet but was censored by Google

@RCAvhstape 4 месяца назад

If you look closely at an F/A-18, especially the A-D versions, you can see the F-5 DNA in there. There's definitely a family resemblance.

@stickiedmin6508 3 месяца назад

@@Menaceblue3 It would be a *_really GREAT_* way of winning an argument, wouldn't it? Heroic aviator: "F-CK 1 you!" [whoosh!] [dakka-dakka-dakka!] [Kaboom!] Anonymous enemy "Oh noes! We were F-CK 1ed!"

@petesheppard1709 4 месяца назад

When I saw those N-105 'Fang' drawings, my first thought was 'FOD Hog'...

@geodkyt 4 месяца назад

One of the primary reasons (albeit not one acknowledged officially) for the Skoshi Tiger program was to drive international sales. The thought was that export customers would think, "Why should we trust an American fighter that the Americans don't think is good enough to use?" This (along with massive subsidies for the F-16 export program) is also frequently mentioned as a major cause for the commercial failure of the F-5's intended successor - the F-20 Tigershark (which should have been a natural follow-on for F-5 operators looking to upgrade in the 1980s).

@gotanon9659 4 месяца назад

Except in reality one of the bigger main reason is its inferior performance compared to the F-16A as well as kinematically speaking it only exceeded to Viper in a very small part of the envelope

@RCAvhstape 4 месяца назад

I remember clearly Chuck Yeager was employed by Northrop back then to sell the F-20, I think he was even on a magazine cover, or maybe a full page ad. He stated he didn't trust a naturally unstable aircraft that needed a computer fly-by-wire system like the F-16. While I love Maj Gen Yeager and he was certainly old school, that sounds like Northrop sales copy lol.

@EGLately 4 месяца назад

One of my favorite planes ever! Would've love to see the f20 get a chance but unfortunately that's like to never happen.

@BigDaddy-yp4mi 3 месяца назад

@EGLately 3 месяца назад

@BigDaddy-yp4mi well said! I saw that it performed so well that veteran pilots where g locking which is what caused a lot of the accidents that got the program shut down.

@WAL_DC-6B 4 месяца назад

As a kid back in the 1960s I built the 1/48th scale, F-5 "Freedom Fighter," plastic model produced by the Hawk Model Co. It was a pretty good kit for its time.

@billycarpenter4740 4 месяца назад

In 1968 dad was stationed at Chandler AFB (Phoenix, Arizona) as a jet engine mechanic on the T-38 ( F-5 two seater trainer). Most all were painted white, ocassionally we saw those painted in camoflauge. Always the best looking jet to me. Many pilots trained on these and then advanced on to F-4 Fantoms, and then on to Vietnam.

@ThePhoenix198 3 месяца назад

The video explains (at length) that the T-38 was NOT a two-seater derivative of the F-5, the latter of which weighed about twice as much and had a very different wing, to name but two differences.

@TSmith-ns45 3 месяца назад

As a T-38 instrument navigation instructor in 1968 (1963-1975) I can tell you that the avionics are vastly different. Later T-38 mods gave it a HUD, but still not a heavier F-5.

@MrHeuvaladao 3 месяца назад

Although we have made use of aircrafts like AMX, A4, Mirage III and 2000-5, the F-5 has been the backbone of Brazil's Air Force for decades; went through lots of modernizations. Only now they are slowly being replaced by a large batch of Jas-39 Gripen NG. The Freedom Fighter really delivered what it promised: a capable low cost platform. Such a good jet.

@NoelCraigNI 3 месяца назад

I love that little aircraft but it grinds my gears the F-20 was cancelled. I'm sure there are good reasons why it was cancelled but even in 2024 I still manage to feel triggered over it.

@jona.scholt4362 4 месяца назад

@1:00 Awesome footage flying between those mountains!

@remylopez4821 4 месяца назад

LOL At 23:58 when you mentioned more landing lights it reminded me of a story I was told when I was a crewchief in the USAF. The story goes a Canadian Air Force pilot was flying over the prairies when he looked down and saw a train so to have some fun he flew ahead a couple of miles then he reversed his course and descended to above the tracks and lowered his landing gear and turned on his landing light. Needless to say the train went into emergency, and as the pilot flew past, he caught a glimpse of one of the crewman, running down the side of the locomotive with a fist, and not all five fingers waving at him. the pilot that told me this story knew I was a train nut and a plain nut hope people get a kick out of this story I will not mention any names and that was way back in the 70s

@guaporeturns9472 4 месяца назад

One of the best looking jet fighters ever.

@RobertWilliams-us4kw 3 месяца назад

To the individual who is behind this fantastic and informative series 'Not A Pound For Air To Ground', I sincerely thank you for your time and effort. Like yourself, I too am an amateur aircraft historian and your 'Not A Pound For Air To Ground' series has brang me such pleasure and new and relevant information I was oblivious to!! Respect

@karlchilders5420 3 месяца назад

For everyone's knowledge - the EXPORT version was the "Freedom Fighter", the US military version was the "Tiger II".

@shaider1982 2 дня назад

Freedom fighter is the A version. E is the Tiger II

@erictaylor5462 3 месяца назад

The F-5 looked like a 1970's or 1980's fighter plane. It was sleek and clean and as a kid I didn't know it existed before model kits for the F-20 came out. I thought the F-20 was an really beautiful airplane and I was shocked it was based on a much older design. I think I had 3 or 4 model kits of this plane. I just loved it.

@jaimenavarro2198 3 месяца назад

Back in the mid 80´s the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana FAM (Mexican Air Force) recived 12 F-5 (Two of those two seater trainers). Atrittion and tear and wear took its toll and only two or three are still in flying conditiion and are seen on the Mexico City sky as part of the traditional air parade on Independance Day (Sep 16th)

@theafro 4 месяца назад

The F5 is a favourite of mine, Far less flashy than her contemporaries, but still excelling at the job. And a looker too!

@epichistorymaker1888 4 месяца назад

Fascinating seeing the lineage of the Hornet being carried by the F-5

@louisgiokas2206 3 месяца назад

I first saw a F-5 in person as a kid in 1965. It was at Westover AFB in Massachusetts which was near to where my father grew up. We would go to the Springfield area often from our home in the Washington, DC area. The event where we saw the F-5 at was an open house, and an example of just about everything the USAF had, from the F-5 to the B-52 (which my father did some design work on in his work at an Army weapons lab). It was cool. We were also given a slick publication with a description of the entire USAF inventory. I believe I still have it somewhere.

@xmeda 4 месяца назад

This plane is perfect plane for most countries that only need few planes for performing airpolicing over civillian air transport and doing regular patrols over border. It just needs avionics upgrade to current standards and it can serve for many decades to come. Not everybody needs heavy expensive things like F16, F35 or Eurofighter.

@minera7595 4 месяца назад

This is just an educated guess, but one of the problems holding us from using them instead of more recent airframes is probably the lack of spare parts, I could be wrong though

@alexturnbackthearmy1907 4 месяца назад

@@minera7595 And also presence of more affordable options (resurrecting their production will not be cheap), like good`ol migs (21 and 23), mirages or whatever is still left from 70`s.

@exidy-yt 4 месяца назад

One word. Tigershark.

@nateweter4012 3 месяца назад

This was just flat out, an amazing video. Keep making videos.

@FirstDagger 4 месяца назад

Awesome work. Can't wait for the eventual F-5E and F-20 (aka F-5G) videos, and the eventual comparison to F-16.

@scootergeorge7089 3 месяца назад

The USN reserves still fly the F-5. VFC-13 at NAS Fallon NV. I left "Saint Adversary" in 1991 when the squadron was still at NAS Miramar flying the A-4F and TA-4J.

@skykeg4978 4 месяца назад

Just when one might believe that there is little room for improvement from this channel, it does with even better content and subject matter from the previous episode. With the world seemingly in turmoil, it`s a welcomed change to sit back and enjoy another brilliant presentation from Not a Pound for Air to Ground!!!!! Many thanks to everyone involved!!!!

@Jimmystyles936 3 месяца назад

I love your content. The way you present it sets you apart from others. So good. Also, the F5 looks like a real fighter jet, the way a kid would see one. Sharpe and pointy and meaning business.

@johnmarley6695 4 месяца назад

What a fantastic narrative. I’m in awe of your research: first into the Avon Sabre, and now this. Well played, that man!

@RCAvhstape 4 месяца назад

14:47 My dad served aboard USS Shangri-La and always talked about the Skyhawks. No way to tell, but possibly he was aboard the ship when this photo was taken.

@AT-ni4sf 4 месяца назад

Always loved the F 5 and really enjoyed this episode👍I am danish and when our air force in late 60s where looking for an F- 100 replacement, the contenders were the Mirage 3, SAAB Draken and the F 5. My country choose the Draken ( Sweden promised to let us win in football if we bought their Drakens --- they lied😄) but I think the F 5 would have been a better choice. And speaking of Draken....why not not do an episode about this double delta?

@gerhardris 4 месяца назад

Excellent video thanks! The Dutch was the NF5a and b two seater. It was deemed that pilots needed much more training before transferring to F104G Starfighters. Indeed, as you correctly state imo NATO could use much more little Tigers as the war in Ukraine again proves. The Fiat G95 was also one to put on the list for cheap well built with a high sortie rate. Fokker devised the chines BTW. The Duth also wanted a much stronger front window against bird strike. And fitted chaff dispersors to the rear. 43:28

@g.h.9117 3 месяца назад

Fantastic airplane! As a T38 guy I always wanted to take that bird up! I wished the Tigershark F20 would have been developed too. Beautiful aerodynamic aircraft. They just didn't have long legs or extra hard points for hanging more weapons compared with tge newer F16 and F15s..

@andrewwillard5625 2 месяца назад

That video of the guy getting pulled on a sled behind the F-5 had me dying😂

@MatthewDoye 4 месяца назад

Re F-5 in south east Asia it was clearly respected enough by its opponents that they chose to keep clear. The only way I could see it operating in the air superiority role would be as part of a 2+2 package with Phantoms. Yes, we could do with a bit of Tiger however western style air forces hate buying other than the shiniest, most expensive combat aircraft except for the CAS role where they propose bolting guns and bombs to either Mach 2 fighters or crop dusters. In a sensible world we'd all be buying Gripen to supplement our headline aircraft.

@richardmartin8998 4 месяца назад

The F-5 was woefully under developed. It needed a radar and a BVR missile. Unfortunately this was the 1960s, and the only BVR missile was the AIM-7 and the radars needed to fire it really required a second crewman. It really was the F-18 and F-16 prototype minus the true multirole capability. As a result the Mirage III was probably the west's best fighter of the period after the F-4.

@SoloRenegade 4 месяца назад

F-20 with AESA...

@gotanon9659 4 месяца назад

@@SoloRenegade Woefully short detection range due to its small size and wouldnt have appeared until the early 2000's

@SoloRenegade 4 месяца назад

@@gotanon9659 just like the F-16 then. What's your point?

@aaronsanborn4291 4 месяца назад

The next step after the F-5E was the F-20 Tigershark which was basically sabotaged by bribes so never went into production even though it was a fraction of the cost of the F-16s

@infernosgaming8942 2 месяца назад

F-5 is such a beautifully-simple aircraft. Small, nimble, and its got those old crispy 50s-era cuts and welds. I had the pleasure of working right next to an airbase that sortied them a lot, even had one buzz me as I was driving a truck in front of the landing strip. You can always tell them apart from F-16s when they're front on and then passing by the electric buzzing sound in the turbines I think.

@michaelbeloff3505 3 месяца назад

I flew the lighter trainer version of the F-5 in flight training, the T-38A. After the T-37A that I rolled slowly as part my training, when I tried to roll the T-38 in a similar manner, my bone-dome bounced off the canopy so hard and in such manner that I thought I had broke it (much to the pleasure of my instructor pilot who laughed and laughed). What a little sports car. Thank you tax-payers : )

@michaelhilborn4204 3 месяца назад

The F-5 ultimately morphed into the F-18 Hornet, an underrated airplane that is still capable and relevant today.

@ThePhoenix198 3 месяца назад

Brave use of the NATO reporting name for the MiG-15 at around 0:20 ! To me as a Brit it simply means a meat-ball, usually served with a rich, thick gravy. But to others ...

@tomdis8637 3 месяца назад

F-5 - one of four great fighters our Air Force geniuses passed on. The other three? F-20 Tigershark, F-16XL, YF-23. Am I right, or what? 😂

@therocinante3443 3 месяца назад

I've always thought the F-5 was one of the sexiest jets ever made. I really wish the F-20 Tigershark came to be, just to look at it.

@amdg2023 День назад

Best looking fighter from an art standpoint, great lines, a classic.

@paddy1952 3 месяца назад

I instructed on Tomahawks in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1979. We had one fatal accident while I was there. An instructor and student were killed while training in a Tomahawk. We called them Hatchets. Their build quality was poor and most of us didn't like them. I also flew the MU-2 as an air ambulance out of Toronto. Having trained on it at Flight Safety, in Houston, TX, I found it to be an excellent, safe machine if flown by professional pilots with the right attitude. Not a machine for distracted businessmen or rich dentists. You need to have all your shyte in one sock to fly them IFR in all conditions.

@GrizzAxxemann Месяц назад

A friend of mine was was an Ordie on the CF-116 when he was in the military. He even worked briefly as a contractor to teach the Botswanans how to load CRV-7s on the planes they bought after the CF retired them.

@maciek_k.cichon 4 месяца назад

For those wondering about sledge at 19:09 look up "F-5 towing a sledge funny scene video 336 sqn RNoAF". It's just a taxing precedure gone fun.

@SimonWallwork 3 месяца назад

Saw eight Canadian CF-116s at Prestwick, back in 1985. Wish I'd had a camera.

@RyeOnHam 3 месяца назад

Was hoping for a bit on the F-5E and F-20. Maybe the YF-17 as well. My father was a huge proponent of the F-20 having worked on the radar? IIRC. The F-16 is a passable aircraft, especially the F-16XL, but in my opinion, the F-20 would have been, by far, the better choice for an air defense fighter.

@user-je5do6jn2f 3 месяца назад

I like the F-20 Tigershark because I loved Area 88/U.N. Squadron as a kid.

@halldak1119 4 месяца назад

My favorite fighter jet! I'm excited to see what you have to say about it.

@whos1st 3 месяца назад

Love the work you do on your channel.

@notapound 3 месяца назад

Thank you! Really appreciate the kind words!

@Godvana_ 4 месяца назад

There's a typo in your title, should be built instead of build

@ahuels67 4 месяца назад

Maybe not tho???

@ahuels67 4 месяца назад

Ok ya nevermind, it is wrong

@albow4oops5 4 месяца назад

Sorry, mom.😁

@crispay8304 4 месяца назад

🤓🤓🤓🤓

@stickiedmin6508 4 месяца назад

@@albow4oops5 You don't think professionalism is important?

@chally2mbt12 4 месяца назад

please do a video on the F-14 and its entry to service

@xxGravyBabyxx 4 месяца назад

I discovered the SU-15 yesterday and my first thought was how striking similar the SU-15 looks like the F-5 tiger.

@patrickunderwood5662 4 месяца назад

Su-15 is HUGE compared to the F-5 but yes, there is a resemblance. Same thing with the Su-9 and MiG-21-they look very similar but the Su-9 is much larger than the MiG. What struck me was how the N-102 concept looked like a combination of MiG-21 and F-16.

@RCAvhstape 4 месяца назад

I am loving this channel more each week. I have long been a fan of 1960s era Cold War fighter jets.

@f87max30 3 месяца назад

Working as a consultant on the N 156 program was Edgar Schmued, the famous P 51 Mustang designer.

@alanschneider9433 3 месяца назад

We ran the Es and Fs at Miramar. Love these planes.

@callenclarke371 3 месяца назад

This is the best piece I've found on the F-5 on RU-vid. Great last line.

@terrencejones9817 3 месяца назад

I was lucky enough to See CF-5 perform at 2 air shows in the early 90s. Before the Canadian government made a terrible decision to retire them, just after they finished a major mid life update.

@davidryall-flanders6353 3 месяца назад

Thanks for the video. Great motivation for getting the AFV F-5E out of the stash and onto the model bench.😊

@malcolmlewis5860 4 месяца назад

You so great content. I always learn something important and new to me from you.

@ceremyjlarkson9475 4 месяца назад

Very excellent video. I've spent a lot of time learning about the little tigers, and this video did a great job on the early variants. I would certainly enjoy a video on the later models and even the F-20.

@hckyplyr9285 3 месяца назад

I may have picked a nit regarding the video title earlier but this is the best Cold War Era air combat channel on RU-vid. You do marvelous work thank you.

@mikerodriquez2348 4 месяца назад

Killing it bro. Thank you for the great content

@morganevans3770 4 месяца назад

So glad I found your channel. Your voice is awesome and I like your commentary too follow some facts. Thanks for making videos that are longer than the "optimized" length for revenue.

@IsaacKuo 4 месяца назад

Thanks so much for this cool documentary! The F-5 is so interesting and distinctive.

@90lancaster Месяц назад

A plane I've grown to appreciate even more since I found out it was designed in the 1950's.

@seumasnatuaighe Месяц назад

An exceptionally good video. Well worth the time. I like aircraft like the F5, the OV10 and the Hughes 500D helicopter. They are rugged, multi-role platforms which performed as advertised

@AndrewGivens 3 месяца назад

This script's callback at the end was lovely. Take a bow. Thank you so much for another quality production.

@lLumpyl 4 месяца назад

19:10 LOL

@RB-bd5tz 4 месяца назад

Those were the good old days! Certainly wouldn't be allowed today ...

@paulwoodman5131 4 месяца назад

Running costs were low enough for a little fun. 😅

@peteranson1327 3 месяца назад

Would the title make more sense if 'build' was changed to 'built'? Love your videos btw

@majorbloodnok6659 4 месяца назад

Thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed this video.

@bensonfitch6697 4 месяца назад

What this thing is good at is surprisingly similar to what was needed during WW2 on the eastern front. Light, easier to maintain, and good at lower altitudes.

@jonathanhudak2059 3 месяца назад

Always have been a fan of the F-5 after them in a book I had on military airplanes as a kid in the early 1980s. Thank you so much for this video!

@lynx-alpha2073 3 месяца назад

damn i love this channel, such good content on such underrated topics

@leroyabernathy9934 3 месяца назад

These are simply the best aircraft video presentations on aircraft available, being much like an overall briefing on the given aircraft and both its friendly and enemy competitors.The narrators' scope of knowledge, voice, style and subdued humor make them superior to that of other presenters. - Bravo

@kentl7228 4 месяца назад

At 2:10 it say about Tom Jones as a design engineer. I'm impressed he wasn't just a singer. It is like the Steely Dan guitarist Jeff Baxter, who consults the Pentagon about missiles.

@ianboys1000 4 месяца назад

Excellent video

@jehoiakimelidoronila5450 3 месяца назад

About the scenario of freedom fighters fighting off fishbeds, there is one air battle that happened 1977 to '78 in the horn of Africa that's part of the ogaden war. Somalian migs got ambushed by Ethiopian F-5s and the Ethiopians won. So there's the answer for anyone who's asking which jet wins the fight