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SVNAF flew a lot of F-5s, not sure USAF operated many if any in SEA.

 

Many VNAF F-5s were lifted onto the Midway during the pull-out. F-5s on stbd bow & port mid-deck, A-37s on port bow & aft stbd. A lowly Cessna at the end of the row of F-5s.

 

USS_Midway_transporting_ex-VNAF_aircraft

 

F-5-embarcado-1.jpg

Edited by habu2
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Are you talking about the F-5E on the box art?  That’s not an aircraft used in Vietnam.  It’s a US based F-5E that happens to be in SEA camouflage.  USAF F-5Es weren’t used in Vietnam.  In fact, the first F-5E didn’t fly until August 1972, near when the war ended.  The Skoshi Tiger program just used earlier Tiger IIs like the A, B, and C models.

Edited by Dave Williams
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That jet with the LA tail code was from the 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron at Luke AFB. It was painted in standard Southeast Asia camouflage but was never used in combat.

 

Ben

 

Edit: Huh. Weird change in text size!

Edited by Ben Brown
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1 hour ago, habu2 said:

SVNAF flew a lot of F-5s, not sure USAF operated many if any in SEA.

 

Many VNAF F-5s were lifted onto the Midway during the pull-out. F-5s on stbd bow & port mid-deck, A-37s on port bow & aft stbd. A lowly Cessna at the end of the row of F-5s

 

F-5-embarcado-1.jpg

 

To me the F-5s show in this picture look to be F-5E's. F-5A's vertical tail was blended into the fuselage dorsal panels, as well forward facing scoops would be visible on top the fuselage over the engine. The wing leading edge extension looks to be the larger variety they used on the F-5E.

 

Correct me if I am wrong.

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And it looks like the ones in that shot on the Midway were those brand new F-5Es. The thing I look for first is the "double bubble" cross section of the spine. The F-5A had the double bubble that ran back almost to the tail. On the F-5E, the crease ran out just a few feet behind the canopy. Also, the shape of the leading edge extension on the F-5E was larger and had a kink as those in the photo. There were other differences but not so easy to spot.

 

I photographed a lot of F-5As being delivered to Vietnam during "Operation Enhance Plus" in November and December 1972, and some of them were in the "Asia Minor" scheme of tan, brown, and green with light gray bottoms, as opposed to the standard Tactical camo of tan, green, and dark greeen with light gray bottoms. I think they came from Iran or maybe the Saudies; not sure. Of course, the photos I took all went to the USAF, so I'm only going with my memory now.

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35 minutes ago, Nino_Belov said:

Look what I found...It says that in Vietnam was F-5E and that Russian have get one for testing,and boy o boy it was F-5E.

http://alert5.com/2017/06/12/soviets-flew-captured-f-5-against-the-mig-21-f-5-was-the-winner/

unnamed.jpg

 

What is confusing me is that it looks a little diferent shape of the leading edge extension,than this in the box.

South Vietnam operated early F-5A’s and also later the got F-5E’s.  When the south fell some F-5E were captured.  The united Vietnamese government gave at least one captured F-5E to the USSR for testing as you stated above. The USAF Never operated the F-5E in Vietnam. 

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16 hours ago, Nino_Belov said:

Look what I found...It says that in Vietnam was F-5E and that Russian have get one for testing,and boy o boy it was F-5E.

http://alert5.com/2017/06/12/soviets-flew-captured-f-5-against-the-mig-21-f-5-was-the-winner/

unnamed.jpg

 

What is confusing me is that it looks a little diferent shape of the leading edge extension,than this in the box.


That is the original Leading Edge Wingroot Extension (LERX).  Later in life, many aircraft were fitted with an extended LERX, as in the kit.  The kit also has RWR blisters molded on the sides of the nose and rear fuselage, a vent molded into the left rear side of the canopy, and a chaff/flare dispenser molded into the belly.  There were many small differences in F-5s used by different countries at different times in life, but other than the two types of radome, KH missed them. The kit in the box only represents one configuration (technically two since you get both radomes), so some modifications are needed to make many of the F-5Es flown by different nations.  In fact, I believe all of the decal options in the kit require some modification to the plastic to be accurate.

 

KH made a lot of errors in the kit.  Aside from configuration issues, the cockpit is too shallow, and the two refueling ports on the spine just behind the canopy are on the wrong side.  Also, although full engines are included, there are no intake ducts or covers, so you can look down the intakes into the big empty fuselage with a couple of engines just sitting there.

Edited by Dave Williams
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19 hours ago, Dave Williams said:

South Vietnam received some F-5Es in late 72 or 73, but rarely used them.  They were still there and captured when the North took over the South.

 

So, yes there were some F-5Es in Vietnam at the very end, but they were not USAF aircraft.

 

Like this one that went to the Poland and then to the museum at Kbely in Prague where I photographed it last year.

 

resized_f2bc3015-ab23-4b08-8dd9-c417335d

Edited by Jabba29
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4 minutes ago, Nino_Belov said:

I was hoping that Kitty Hawk done this kit right...this one goes to swap...No more Kitty Hawk for me!!!!

 

It' still a nice kit. What it mainly needs is a good resin cockpit set, but since it's not a teen fighter (F-14 F-15 F-16, ect) or BF/FW-whatever, it's not looking like it's going to happen. KH screwed up many of the small details of the kit, but the overall kit is still quite nice, and a good starting point. Don't be fooled, its totally build-able.

 

All of the modifications that need to be done are based on the time frame of the particular aircraft being modeled. The South Vietnamese jets were very early production jets, and didn't have most, if any,  of the later modifications. They were very basic versions.  Lots of folks here would be happy to help you get the KH kit right. It's not really that hard..... just a little research.

 

As a side note, while the SVAF apparently did not fly their new F-5E's a whole lot, many were captured by the North Vietnamese, and incorporated into their air force. They were reportedly flown for several years in a mixed F-5/MiG-21 squadron, and used in combat against their neighboring countries. That would be an interesting build option ;0) HTH, Fred K.

 

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Brings back memories.  Was stationed at U-Tapao AB in 1975 during the month(s) when three countries fell and we recovered a 20 year freighter.  Was assigned to the 635MMS and was involved in support operations for all four efforts. When SVN fell something like almost 200 VNAF aircraft evacuated to U-Tapao--included A-1E/Hs, A37A/Bs, F-5A/B/EFs, C/AC-47s, AC-119s, and C-130s (and maybe others that I don't recall).  [Remember counting 5 VNAF personnel climbing out of an F-5A/E--had to admire that pilot's skill.] The 635MMS/635CSG personnel were the ones who safed/downloaded/parked these aircraft. This was an interesting experience as the 635MMS had no assigned loaders or loading associated gear. The F-5A/Bs were well used by 1975 but the F-5E/Fs had very few hours on them (most less than 100 hours). When the US cut all aid to SVN that included spares for the F-5E/Fs so the VNAF didn't use them that often preferring the A/Bs.  My understanding is that all aircraft taken out were reused by USAF or passed on other allied nations.

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13 minutes ago, AFammo65 said:

Brings back memories.  Was stationed at U-Tapao AB in 1975 during the month(s) when three countries fell and we recovered a 20 year freighter.  Was assigned to the 635MMS and was involved in support operations for all four efforts. When SVN fell something like almost 200 VNAF aircraft evacuated to U-Tapao--included A-1E/Hs, A37A/Bs, F-5A/B/EFs, C/AC-47s, AC-119s, and C-130s (and maybe others that I don't recall).  [Remember counting 5 VNAF personnel climbing out of an F-5A/E--had to admire that pilot's skill.] The 635MMS/635CSG personnel were the ones who safed/downloaded/parked these aircraft. This was an interesting experience as the 635MMS had no assigned loaders or loading associated gear. The F-5A/Bs were well used by 1975 but the F-5E/Fs had very few hours on them (most less than 100 hours). When the US cut all aid to SVN that included spares for the F-5E/Fs so the VNAF didn't use them that often preferring the A/Bs.  My understanding is that all aircraft taken out were reused by USAF or passed on other allied nations.

 

Thanks for the story.... very interesting! All of the F-5E's that returned to the US from the SVAF ended up in aggressor service or with the 425th TFTS at Williams AFB. The jet in this pic, 73-0865, was one of them and served as a USAF aggressor at Nellis for number of years before being passed on to the Navy in the early 90's. It served with VFA-127 then VFC-13 until about 2005 or so before finally being retired. I do believe that it got preserved and is at a museum at Perris, Ca (I think) I'd bet money that its one of the jets pictured on the USS Midway in the pic that Habu posted! Fred K.

 

F-5E 730865 VFC-13 01.jpg

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On ‎3‎/‎22‎/‎2020 at 5:40 PM, habu2 said:

SVNAF flew a lot of F-5s, not sure USAF operated many if any in SEA.

 

Many VNAF F-5s were lifted onto the Midway during the pull-out. F-5s on stbd bow & port mid-deck, A-37s on port bow & aft stbd. A lowly Cessna at the end of the row of F-5s.

 

USS_Midway_transporting_ex-VNAF_aircraft

 

F-5-embarcado-1.jpg

look at all the A37's! 

gary

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