F-5 history

Stories from the F-5's working life, each built on named sources. Start anywhere; they link to each other and to the timeline.

The design that kept flyingHow a small, cheap Northrop fighter became the F-5 family, from the 1959 prototype to the Tiger II.Skoshi TigerTwelve F-5s went to war in Vietnam in 1965 so the U.S. Air Force could see what they could do.F-5 vs. T-38Same family, different jobs. Plus a quick game: can you tell them apart from the wings alone?Playing the enemyWhy the Navy and Marines trained against F-5s for decades, and how Swiss jets kept the job going.IllustrationThe F-5 in Top GunThe "MiG-28" was a Navy F-5. Here is how to check whether a museum jet really was in the film.10 things you didn't knowCargo-plane rides, FrankenTigers and sonic booms: quick facts, each with its source.F-20 TigersharkNorthrop's supercharged F-5: one big engine, a real radar, two tragic crashes and zero sales.South Vietnam's F-5sMore than 260 jets, a palace bombed by one of its own pilots, and captured Tigers that changed sides.

Photos are U.S. government images in the public domain, and one card uses an original illustration made for this site; full credits are on each story and the credits page.