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Operator profile / Europe

Norway's Arctic Freedom Fighters

Arctic airfields, tiger stripes and forty-one years of F-5 flying.

A natural-metal F-5A with a tiger-striped tail taxiing on a snowy Arctic airfield
Original illustration A Norwegian-style F-5A taxiing through blowing snow under the mountains, imagined for this site. The tiger tail nods to the Eye of the Tiger unit; it is not a specific aircraft.
VariantsF-5A, F-5B, RF-5A
Received78 F-5A, 14 F-5B, 16 RF-5A[1]
First aircraft1966[1]
Last flown2007[1][2]

Arrival

Norway's F-5s replaced the F-86 Sabre.[2] The first nine F-5As and two F-5Bs flew in from the United States in early 1966, routing across Greenland and Iceland to Sola.[3] In all, Norway received 78 single-seat F-5As and 14 two-seat F-5Bs from 1966, plus 16 RF-5A reconnaissance jets from 1969.[1] Some were paid for through U.S. military aid and some by Norway itself.[3]

Built for the north

The Norwegian jets were a version adapted for Arctic airfields, later updated with a life-extension program between 1984 and 1986.[3] Squadrons such as 332 and 336 flew them, and an F-5B now displayed at Gardermoen flew 5,750 hours before its last flight in 1994.[4]

EoT

Eye of the Tiger

336 Squadron was officially disbanded on 30 June 2000, but in practice it carried on as "Eye of the Tiger," a training unit whose jets wore tiger stripes. When that ended in 2007, the F-5s had served Norway for over 41 years and 339,359 flying hours.[2]

Four squadrons, three bases

The F-5s were officially handed over at Rygge on 22 March 1966, with defence minister Otto Grieg Tidemand in the cockpit for the ceremony.[5] By the time deliveries ended in 1970, four fighter-bomber squadrons flew them: 332 and 336 at Rygge, 334 at Bodø, and 338 at Ørland.[6][7][8] At Bodø, 334 Squadron flew them in the maritime-attack role, guarding the long northern coast.[9] Norway also had its own F-5 display team, the Flying Jokers of 336 Squadron.[10]

The fighter school

From 1980 to 1996, 336 Squadron's main job was teaching new pilots fighter fundamentals, bad-weather flying and Norwegian operations before they moved on to the F-16.[11] For a few months in 1984 and 1985 the squadron even flew brand-new F-16s alongside its F-5s.[11]

Seven extra years for a missile

336 Squadron was the last to give up the F-5, in 2000. A few jets kept flying for seven more years as test aircraft for Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile.[5] F-5A 134 made its last flight on 13 December 2007 and is now at the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø.[12]

Where they went

Some Norwegian F-5s were passed to Turkey. One F-5A went in 1983 and was later preserved at Kütahya, and at least one RF-5A followed.[10][13] After retirement, fifteen remaining F-5As and F-5Bs were given away, several to aviation technical schools.[5]

Where to see them

The Norwegian Armed Forces Aircraft Collection at Gardermoen displays an F-5A, an F-5B and an RF-5A inside, with a tiger-striped F-5B outside.[4] Treat display details as dated; check with the museum before visiting.

Last updated

Sources

  1. Store norske leksikon | F-5 Freedom Fighter
  2. DigitaltMuseum | Norwegian F-5 fighter (Air Force Museum collection)
  3. The Aviationist | F-5A of 336 Squadron in Norway (2020)
  4. Airfighters.com | Norwegian F-5s at Gardermoen
  5. F-5 blir gitt bort, Teknisk Ukeblad
  6. RNoAF F-5A (G) squadron overview, War Thunder forum (community history)
  7. No. 334 Squadron RNoAF, Wikipedia
  8. 338 Skvadron history, 10wtac.be
  9. Norway Air Force F-5 serial 595, AirHistory.net
  10. Flying Jokers / 336 Skv photos, AirHistory.net
  11. 336 Skvadron, NATO Tiger Association
  12. F-5A(G) 134, AirHistory.net
  13. RF-5A(G) 103, AirHistory.net
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