When the subject of the Northrop F-5 comes up in conversation, the words ‘aggressor’ or ‘adversary’ inevitably come to mind. And, yeah, many a wing-nut will also feel the need to mention the ‘MiG-28’.
Originally named ‘Freedom Fighter’, later variants of the F-5 came to be dubbed ‘Tiger II’, undoubtedly because of the Skoshi Tiger Project. And that’s the subject of this-here little ramble.
An Inexpensive, Modern Combat Jet
The Northrop F-5 was conceived in the mid-1950s as an inexpensive, lightweight, supersonic fighter that would be easy to operate and maintain. Developed to satisfy the needs of many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) air forces, the F-5 would be marketed mainly for export.
Though Northrop hoped to generate interest in the jet at home, the United States Air Force (USAF) was not interested in the F-5. However, the Air Force did express interest in a trainer variant, which would result in the T-38 Talon.
Conversely, numerous NATO air forces, as well as some of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), were very interested in the F-5.
Many nations, NATO, SEATO or not, wanted a jet like the McDonnell F-4 Phantom II, but simply could not afford it. Northrop offered the F-5 as a much less-expensive and highly-capable alternative, and there were plenty of takers.
In 1962 the USA selected the F-5 for inclusion in the Military Assistance Program (MAP), which provided many NATO and SEATO allies military aid. As result, the F-5 soon became one of the most successful export military aircraft in history.
But soon there were some critics, largely from abroad, who wondered why the F-5 had not been procured by the USAF. A relative few were operated by the 4441st Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS) at Williams AFB, Arizona. But only for the purposes of training foreign personnel on the type.
The basic reasoning behind the foreign critics’ objections was, “If the USA doesn’t want the airplane, why should we?” The F-5’s capabilities and overall worth had come into question.
To allay these concerns, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara ordered a force of F-5As sent to Southeast Asia for a combat evaluation.
Precursor to the Skoshi Tiger Project
This coincided with a USAF request for more assets in-theater. So McNamara killed two birds with one stone. Before entering combat, however, the jet’s basic capabilities had to be tested.
Those tests took place at the Air Proving Ground Center at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB), Florida from 15 April to 15 July 1965.
Project Sparrow Hawk saw the F-5 pitted against several other types, including the McDonnell F-4, North American F-100, and Douglas A-4.
In most respects, the F-5 was in an entirely different class than the F-4. ‘Twas a smaller aircraft with a smaller payload. Nonetheless, the little jet compared favorably to the brutish Phantom in its ability to put bombs on target.
And it proved itself equal to the F-100 and A-4 in all aspects except range and endurance. This little detail would be overcome later, though, with the addition of air refueling capability.
The F-5 came through Sparrow Hawk with flying colors, proving itself highly capable of dropping things that go boom. After all, that’s what it was designed for.
The Skoshi Tiger Project
The initial evaluation completed, the next step was to form the outfit that would take the F-5 into combat. On 22 July 1965 the 4503rd Tactical Fighter Squadron (Provisional) (TFS[P]) was formed at Williams AFB with 12 F-5As.
These jets were modified with a non retractable air-refueling probe, and external armor plating for the cockpit and engines. Updated avionics and ordnance delivery systems were also installed. This resulted in a new designation: F-5C.
An intense, condensed training program took place at Williams AFB, Arizona beginning on 1 August, running through late October.
From formation of the squadron, to training, and aircraft modifications, the whole thing was thrown together in just 88 days. The Skoshi Tiger Project was now a reality.
Departing Williams AFB on 22 October 1965, the 4503rd TFS(P) arrived at Bien Hoa Air Base, South Vietnam four days later. They flew their first combat sorties that same day.
On their first strike, the 4503rd was directed to a concentration of Viet Cong (VC) and likely wiped out the better part of an entire battalion. The Skoshi Tiger project was off to a good start.
Though capable of carrying the same basic load as the F-100, the F-5 did have shorter legs. So they typically flew ‘in-country’ missions that were between 40 to 50 miles from Bien Hoa, racking sorties up quickly.
Over the first 60 days of operations, the outfit flew more than 1,400 sorties.
One aircraft was lost on 16 December 1965 after taking heavy ground fire on a close air support mission. Major Joe Baggett was killed when his ejection seat malfunctioned.
The Tigers Hunt New Prey
With 1966 came a change of mission profile for the Skoshi Tiger project, as well as a move to a different base. On 1 January the 4503rd deployed to Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam.
In addition to short-range in-country missions, the outfit began flying against targets in Laos. And once the bombing halt of December 1965 to January 1966 was ended, they also flew missions over North Vietnam.
Not only did they fly ground attack sorties, but they were also assigned escort duties.
The 4503rd escorted electronic surveillance aircraft along the Chinese/Laotian border. And later they flew with F-105s during attacks on Red River supply bases over Northwest Vietnam.
The Skoshi Tiger project was scheduled to last roughly four months, and came to an end on 9 March 1966. More than 2,600 sorties had been flown with one combat loss. All in all the project was deemed a success.
After the Skoshi Tiger Project
Though the 450rd TFS(P) had originally been slated to return to the USA after the four-month evaluation, this was not to be.
It was decided that the outfit would remain in South Vietnam as part of the recently authorized buildup of US forces in Southeast Asia (SEA).
Re-designated as the 10th Fighter Commando Squadron (FCS) in April of 1966, they received more aircraft and continued operations for another year. In that time, the 10th FCS flew 7,300 sorties and suffered eight combat losses.
On 17 April of 1967, the 10th FCS officially ended operations, though they still flew missions into May.
On 19 June 1967 all F-5 operations in SEA were taken over by the South Vietnamese. And the 522nd Fighter Squadron (FS) of the Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) assumed ownership of the 10th FCS F-5s. Included among them were some of the original jets from the Skoshi Tiger project.