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Northrop F-5 Enthusiast Page - Home
Πολεμική Αεροπορία /Polemiki Aeroporia - Hellenic
Air Force
Credit: Roundels
of the World
Last update 06-06-2022
WINGS, SQUADRONS, GROUPS
HISTORY
Designations:
Pterix
Mahis
/ Combat Wing
Mira Dioseos Bombardismoy / Fighter-Bomber
Squadron
Mira Taktikis Anagnoriseos
/
Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Mira Angatiseos Imeras /
Day
Intercept Squadron
Σμήνους
Μετεκπαίδευσης / Sminos
Metekpedephsis (SMET) / Operational Converion Unit
Following
units received
Freedom Fighters, shown in re-equipment sequence with their F-5
operation history:
WINGS: 
110th Wing
111th Wing
113th Wing
115th Wing
Nea Anchialos AB
Larissa AB
Mikra AB
Souda AB -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SQUADRONS:
The
original statutory strength was 16 single and 2 double-seaters but the
number varied later very much, due to attrition (kown losses: 24 F-5A,
3 RF-5A, 4 F-5B till its retirement) and aging of the airframes
with consequent withdrawal from use
341st Squadron "Assos / Ace"
The
341st Day Intercept
Squadron, 111 Combat Wing at Nea Anchialos, was equipped
with Canadair F-86E Mk2 when it officially received its 16
Northrop F-5A and 2 Northrop F-5B on June 17th 1965, transitiong as first unit on the Nothrop fighter. It
was declared operational at the end of the same year (the first NATO Northrop F-5 equipped) having day interception as
primary and close support as secondary role. Its
roles changed to close support/day interception in June 1971 and back to day interception/close support in 1975; additionally
in worked as an Operational Conversion Unit (SMET) for young pilots.
Northrop
F-5A-30 69142, 341st Squadron, at Istrana AB (Italy) in June 1970.
Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
Northrop
F-5A-15 38405 at Istrana
AB in June 1970. In the background F-5A-30 69135
Northrop F-5A-40 89054 341st Squadron seen at
Istrana in July 1973.
still
in metallic colours of the "New Hellenicin Flame" acrobatic
Team.
Photos :
Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
Northrop F-5B 69230 at Cervia AB on 01-08-84 in exchange tour with Italian Fiat G-91R, 2° Stormo
The Squadron was disbanded in August
1993, its aircrafts were transferred to the 343rd Squadron; the unit was
reactivated on 30-03-98 with the arrival of new General Dynamics
F-16C/D Block 50. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
343rd Squadron "Asteri / Star"
The
343rd All Weather
Intercept Squadron
gave up its North American F-86D beginning March 1966 to re-equip with
Freedom Fighters, to be
reclassified as an Day
Intercept
Squadron with secondary role of air-to-ground strike. It
was fully
equipped by spring 1967, having
close-support as secondary duty.
Following restructuring of the Hellenic AF it was transferred in
July 1974 to the 113 Combat Wing at Mikra AB until June 1985, when it returned to the
Nea Anchialos based 111th
Combat Wing, moving definitely back to Mikra AB in July 1987.
The year 1993 saw the arrival of 10 Canadair NF-5A and
1 Canadair NF-5B formerly in use by the 349th Squadron and the concentration of all variants
(F-5A, RF-5A, F-5B) in this unit,
withdrawal of the Canadairs starting
already in 1997.
The
Northrop Fighter, though its main role was close-support, was armed
with AIM-9P3, Sidewinders to provide an improved interception
capability, after an incident at the end of 1997,
when Turkish
F-16s chased a transport aircraft with the Greek Defence Minister on board. They were
driven away by an F-5 patrol from Mikra AB.
The
Squadron was on constant alert for daylight interception of foreign
aircrafts, particularly Turkish, introducing into Greek, or disputed,
air-space; Turkish F-10G, F-104S, F-4E, RF-4E,
F-16C,
F-16D fighters and S-2E Trackers and some helicopters were intercepted
in addition to US Navy and Marines F-14, P-3 Orions and CH-53
helicopters during its stay at Mikra AB.
Beautiful line-up of AIMP-9P3 Sidewinders armed Northrop F-5As, ready
to depart. Northrop F-5A-25 10480 in F-16 colours seen in April 1996.
Photo:
unknown
Photo:
Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
Photo:
Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
Former Jordanian Northrop F-5 stil in desert camouflage seen at Thessaloniki/Mikra AB in 1996
Northrop F-5B-10 6413377 at Grazzanise AB (Italy) 17-06-97;
camouflage Europe 2.
F-5B 13378 at
Mikra in 1993 in F-16 camouflage
In background F-5s in various camouflages.
Photos: Archive
The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
The
Squadron was disbanded on 29 March 2001, contemporaneously to the
official retirement of
the Freedom Fighter from Greek use. Reformed
at Souda AB (Creta) on 21-07-03 it received the latest Lockheed-
Martin F-16C and F-16D Block 52+. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
337th Squadron "Φάντασμα
/ Fantasma / Ghost"
On
31-05-67 the 337th All-Weather
Fighter Squadron, equipped with North American F-86D Sabre,
attached to the 112 Combat Wing, ended its operation and started conversion on the F-5 as
Day Intercept
Squadron.
An selective embargo on armament delivery, imposed by the US government
due to a military coup in Greece on 21-04-67, blocked re-equipment. Two flights were established as a provisional
solution, one fully operational on the
North American F-86D as above, the other training on F-5s at the 111th
Combat Wing.
Anyhow,
the 337th Day Interception Squadron was re-established on 16-11-67, deliveries of
Freedom Fighters starting again in late 1968 when the embargo was cancelled;
the Squadron
could
be declared operational at the end of June 1969. Its
pilots manned from July 1967 the Greek aerobatic team: the
New Hellenic Flame with 5 Northrop F-5As. Unfortunately, the team
performed
only 2 apperances,
disbanding later.
Photo: unknown
Northrop F-5A 69135 seen at Istrana AB in June 1970 in "New Hellenic Flames " colours.
The end as an F-5 unit came on 31-03-78, when it was disbanded, to be
reformed on 07-09-78 flying McDonnell F-4Es. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
349th Squadron "Kronos / Phoenix" changed to "Cronos / Kronos" after the Cyprus war
The
Squadron was equipped in November 1970
as 336 Squadron with Republic F-84F fighter-bombers at Larissa AB with the 110th Combat Wing when it
started conversion on 20-12-70 to
17 Northrop RF-5A, changing its role to reconnaissance at Nea Anchialos. This was shared
with the 348th Reconnaissance Squadron's Republic RF-84F, but still keeping close support as a
secondary role.
The
Squadron won the NATO Best Hit Meeting for fighter-bombers at
Larissa on 21-07-72 against US Navy A-7B, USAF F-4E , Turkish AF
F-104G, Italian AF G-91R.
Main role changed in 25-04-75 to
day-interception as the Air Force preferred to use the Republic RF-84F, elderly but having longer range for
reconnaissance duties. Cameras
were removed
from the aircrafts, the reconnaissance nose
being
kept except for 5 RF-5As which obtained the "normal" fighter nose. The Squadron's
main role switched again to close- support in 1983,
being re-deployed to the 110th Combat
Wing at Larissa in September
1987.
The furtherst base reached by Greek F-5s was by 2 Northrop RF-5A
and 2 F-5B of this Squadron, when they rotated with the Spanish Ala 21
to Moron de la Frontera on 29-06-89.
April
1991 saw the arrival of a new version of the Freedom Fighter: 10
former Dutch/Canadair NF-5A and 1 NF-5B. Five single- and the double-seater were delivered on 11-04-91,
followed the day after by the
remaining single- seaters. Flown were by Greek and
Dutch pilots, routing via Eindhoven AB/Cameri AB/Sigonella AB/Larissa AB.
Shorty
before disbandement (02-04-93 - 14-04-93) the unit had a Squadron
Exhange with the Italian 14th Gruppo CBR (on Fiat G-91Y) at Treviso. Disbandment
followed on
05-09-97.
Rarely see Northrop RF-5A with underwing tanks and four pylons Northrop
RF-5A-45 97165 349 Squadron at Larissa on 20-07-72, Best Hit Weapons
Meet.
Northrop RF-5A-45 97164, with RF nose but without
cameras, seen on
03-06-91 Photo: Sergio Bottaro
Northrop
F-5A 38412 in 1979 in latest Aegean colours and air-to-air AIM-9
Sidewinder. Canadair
NF-5A Aegean blue camouflage, serial
3047 with blue excercise Sidewinder seen in-flight
Both photos: Hellenic AF
Canadair
NF-5A 3062, painted in Aegean Blue colours; before delivery to
Greece it was in special
red colours with inscription "Redskins go
F-16".
Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast
By
1996 air-defence is the primary role of the unit, while two flights
each had a secondary role of ground attack and tactical reconnaissance; most aircrafts carried two AIM-9P Sidewinders for self-defence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
130th Combat Group "Readiness"
Combat Groups are Air Bases from where aircrafts operated on temporary assignment from their home Combat Wings. frame. Formerly
designated
Lemnos Air Detachment it was
renamed 130th Combat Group sub-ordinated to the 111th
Combat Wing in September 1974; 6 F-5s were detached to the Group in March 1975. The Group was active on the
Freedom Fighter until at least until 1985; it reported directly to the Tactical Air Force Headquarter as of
01-01-77, an independent unit under the Tactical Air Force Headquarters.
Possibly transitioned to the McDonnell F-4E in 1985 and again to the Northrop F-5 in 1987, and (probably before 1996) on loaned LTV A-7 Corsair.