In the mid-1950s, the well-known American aviation company Northrop conducted an analysis of fighter development, production costs, subsequent operating costs and potential markets. Specialists drew attention to the lack of a cheap, lightweight multirole fighter. In 1955, a team of designers on their own initiative began designing a new aircraft, which was assigned the company designation N-156.
In 1954, an interesting turbojet engine appeared — the General Electric J-85, designed for unmanned aircraft, which was characterised by small dimensions, low weight and high thrust. The engine, after fitting an afterburner, proved to be an ideal powerplant for the N-156 under development.
In mid-1958, negotiations were conducted with the Department of Defense, resulting in a return to the fighter project, now named the N-156F Freedom Fighter. The fighter was a low-wing monoplane powered by two J-85 engines. Its fuselage was built according to the “area rule”; thanks to its appropriate shape and flat underside, it cooperated with the wings in generating lift (a so-called lifting body).
The aircraft’s armament consisted of two 20 mm cannons, two infrared-homing Sidewinder air-to-air guided missiles, bombs (including radio-guided ones) and unguided rockets; auxiliary fuel tanks could also be carried. The aircraft could carry 2,800 kg of combat load.
In April 1962, the N-156F was selected for the MAP (Mutual Assistance Programme) providing military equipment deliveries to countries friendly to the United States. The new fighter was ideally suited for this purpose, as it was cheap and simple to maintain, and therefore more accessible to less wealthy nations. Thanks to its excellent characteristics, it was also later purchased by the air forces of several NATO countries. In October 1962, the prototypes were renamed YF-5A. In 1964, serial production began under the name F-5A. The first MAP delivery of F-5As went to Iran. Other countries followed. The F-5A and its two-seat combat trainer variant F-5B were also produced under licence in Canada by Canadair (aircraft built for the Netherlands were assembled in cooperation with the Dutch firm Fokker) and in Spain by CASA. F-5As and F-5Bs delivered to different recipients differed in some design solutions and equipment.
In 1968, General Electric developed a new version of the J-85 engine with 25% more thrust. It was used to power the next version of the F-5 fighter, first flown in August 1972 and ordered into production under the name F-5E Tiger II. The new design incorporated a number of solutions used and tested on various F-5A variants. The new aircraft received wing mechanisation (leading and trailing edge flaps for changing the wing profile camber depending on flight conditions), applied in the NF-5 produced for the Netherlands. Also from the Dutch NF-5s and Canadian CF-5As, side-mounted auxiliary engine air intakes with louvered covers were adopted. From these two aircraft, a two-position nose gear leg facilitating take-off and enlarged fuel tanks were also adopted. The arresting hook for shortening the landing run was taken from the F-5A(G) produced for Norway. The F-5E received wings of greater span with enlarged root extensions. The F-5E could be fitted with an in-flight refuelling system from a tanker aircraft. A radar gunsight was installed in the forward fuselage section. All these changes in design and equipment increased speed, underwing ordnance capacity (3,175 kg) and improved manoeuvre characteristics. The existing armament was expanded to include additional gun pods, laser-guided bombs and Maverick air-to-ground guided missiles.
In 1974, export of the F-5E began. That same year, the combat trainer F-5F made its first flight, and in 1979 the reconnaissance RF-5E was first flown. Production ended in 1987. A total of 1,166 F-5E fighters, 241 F-5F combat trainers and 12 RF-5E reconnaissance aircraft were produced.
The American air force used several dozen F-5E aircraft in special training units. The fighters served to simulate adversary aircraft (Russian MiG-17 and MiG-21 types) during training and military exercises. Various versions of the F-5 remain in service in some countries and are being modernised. F-5 aircraft of various versions took part in several local conflicts, including the Vietnam War, the Iran-Iraq War and the civil war in Ethiopia.
The museum specimen was donated to Poland by the Vietnamese government in the late 1970s. It was used for testing. In 1992, it was transferred to the Museum.
| Wingspan | 8.13 m |
| Length | 14.68 m |
| Takeoff weight | 11192 kg |
| Maximum speed | 1734 km/h |
| Ceiling | 15545 m |
| Range | 2863 km (with auxiliary tanks) |
| Armament | described in text |
| Engine | 2 x J85-GE-13 with 2270 kG thrust each |
