Airframe records

A growing collection of individual F-5 aircraft with named sources and clearly stated limits. Each record starts with an identity we can verify.

Browse the collection

Each record follows one real aircraft by its serial number, not just a type. Open a record for its confirmed identity, its dated history, how it is displayed today, and exactly where each fact comes from.

IllustrationN-156F / YF-5A · Northrop prototypeMuseum pageSerial 59-4987The first F-5 ever built. Supersonic on its first flight in 1959, now in Seattle.

PhotoYF-5A Freedom Fighter · U.S. Air Force MuseumMuseum recordSerial 59-4989One of three YF-5A prototypes. The museum records its transfer to the collection in 1970.

IllustrationF-5B Freedom Fighter · Pima Air and Space MuseumMuseum recordSerial 72-0441A two-seat aircraft with a documented service timeline from 1972 to its museum loan in 2001.

IllustrationF-5E Tiger II · Pima Air and Space MuseumMuseum record + pressSerial 741564A single-seat Tiger II displayed in VFC-13 markings. The museum identifies the aircraft and scheme.

IllustrationF-5N Tiger II · Former Swiss Air ForcePhoto-database captionBuNo 761550Swiss F-5E J-3025, flown to the Navy in 2007 and rebuilt as an adversary F-5N.

IllustrationF-5S Tiger II · Republic of Singapore Air ForcePhoto-database captionSerial 800Built as USAF 77-0366, flown by Singapore from 1979 to 2015 and now in the RSAF Museum.

IllustrationF-5E Tigre III · Chilean Air ForceBook and photo databaseSerial 81334 years at Antofagasta, Red Flag in 1998, and still flying from Punta Arenas.

IllustrationF-5E Tiger II · Fort Worth Aviation MuseumMuseum record (claim noted)Serial 74-1558An Air Force and Navy aggressor. The museum says it flew in Top Gun; here is what is and is not documented.

How a record is built

Identity firstA record starts only when a museum, agency or other named source ties a serial number to a real aircraft.
Dated historyEach move, unit or rebuild gets a date and a source. Gaps are left as gaps, not guessed.
Display vs. historyMuseum paint often shows a different unit or era. Records say which markings are the display and which are the jet's own past.
Evidence labelThe badge on each card shows the strongest source behind it, so you can judge how firm the record is.

Know a documented F-5 with a public serial and a source? It could become the next record. See how the site is checked.