The Northrop F-5 tactical fighter was designed as an extremely maneuverable, supersonic
fighter with a high rate of reliability at a low operating cost. The F-5 first flew on July 30,
1959 with the first customer delivery in 1964. The last of more than 2,600 F-5’s was
produced in 1989 and about two-thirds of these are still in service with 26 countries more
than 4 decades later. The F-5 was manufactured by Northrop Grumman and under license
in Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.

VFC-13 “Fighting Saints” provide adversary training for the USN and regular squadrons, as
well as the USMC, USAF and Canadian forces. F-5F Tiger II “Red 20” was constructed as
c/n L 1055 and handed over to the USN as 761580 in 1980. In 1991 the aircraft became
the property of the Swiss AF at Payerne. Later the F-5s the USN was using were becoming
aged so they acquired some low-hour aircraft from the Swiss. In 2007 this aircraft returned
to the U.S.A. and first appeared in USN markings in 2010.

Specification for the Northrop F-5E/ F-5F Tiger II
Number Built – 1,400 + E/F
Role F-5F - Two-seat Combat Trainer Version Of The F-5E Tiger II

Dimensions
Length (F-5E) - 47 feet 4.75 inch (14.65 m)
Length (F-5F) - 51 feet 4 inch (15.65 m)
Wingspan F-5E & F-5F – 26 ft 8 in
Height (F-5E) - 13 feet 4 inch (4.06 m)
Height (F-5F) - 13 feet 1.75 inch (4.01 m)

Weight
Empty Weight (F-5E) – 9,723 lb (4,410 kg)
Empty Weight (F-5F) - 10,576 lb (4,797 kg)
Max Take-off Weight (F-5E) - 24,722 lb (11,214 kg)
Max Take-off Weight (F-5F) - 25,152 lb (11,409 kg)

Performance
Powerplant – 2 x General Electric J85-GE-21B Turbojets With 5,000 lb.s.t. With
Afterburning
Maximum Speed F-5E – Mach 1.64 @ 36,000 ft
Maximum Speed F-5F – Mach 1.55 @ 36,000 ft

Range (F-5E) - 1,545 nm (2,863 km)
Range (F-5F) - 1,270 nm (2,353 km)
Service Ceiling (F-5E) - 51,800 ft (15,780 m)
Service Ceiling (F-5F) - 50,800 ft (15,484 m)
Max Rate of Climb (F-5E) - 34,500 feet/min
Max Rate of Climb (F-5F) - 32,900 feet/min

Armament
1 x In-Nose 20mm M39A2 Cannon With 140 Rounds
2 x AIM-9 Sidewinder Missiles On Wing Tips
5 x Pylons Capable Of Carrying Up To 7,000 lbs. Of Ordnance Or Fuel
1 x Under Fuselage Center-line
4 x Under Wing (2/Wing)

This new site is being updated regularly and it will be much improved before too long. Please be patient, give it time, and check back regularly. Opportunities for community collaboration are in the works for a little further down the road.