In 1976,
the Swiss Government placed an order for 72 Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II in the
'Peace Alps I' program. The order consisted of 66 single seat F-5E and 6 two
seat F-5F as a replacement of the ageing DH-112 Venom fleet. The new aircraft
were to be manufactured at the Northrop plant in Hawthorne, California and
the final assembly performed by the Eidg. Flugzeugwerk Emmen (F+W).
The new Tiger aircraft suited Switzerland's militia pilot system with respect
to operations and maintenance. The 'Peace Alps II' program was initiated shortly
after the initial batch had been declared operational and a further batch
of 38 additional aircraft including 6 F-5F were ordered. Operational readiness
was achieved in 1978 and the phase-in concluded by 1984.
Tigers delivered in the original first batch (J-3001 - J-3066 and J-3201 -
J-3206) did not have the extended Leading Edge Wing Extensions (LERX) or the
aerodynamically more streamlined shark shaped radar nose cones. However the
second batch (J-3067 - J-3098 & J-3207 - 3212) delivered from 1982 onwards,
were built from new with the LERX and the improved nose cone. The prominent
VHF antenna was installed behind the cockpit. These modifications were also
retrospectively introduced to the earlier Tiger fleet.
As has become an established tradition, the last aircraft off the production
line received special nose art and J-3066 became Peace Alps I and featured
a flying dove while J-3098 had Peace Alps II titles above a flying witch (both
aircraft are featured on the 'Peace Alps Part Two' decal sheet). There is
hardly any F-5 in Swiss service that did not receive a squadron badge at some
time during its service life. Since the aircraft are not assigned to any specific
squadron, some aircraft have more than one squadron badge applied or may have
had a mix of various badges at different times. Tiger airplanes also participated
in training missions and competitions abroad. Sardinia (SAKA) or Waddington
(NORKA) in the United Kingdom created new badges. It is imperative to check
photo references to get a picture of the exact look of a particular aircraft
at any given time.
The paint scheme applied was similar to the USAF F-15's of the time. The original
colors are F9453 Medium Grey and F9452 Light Grey, produced by the company
Walter Mäder AG in Switzerland. The closest equivalent is a mix of FS
35237 Grey Blue and FS 36622 Grey in parts 33/67 and 50/50 respectively. With
the introduction of the F/A-18 Hornet in 1998, things became easier and the
colors were harmonized with FS 36320 Dark Ghost Grey and FS 36375 Light Ghost
Grey. This is a matter of evolution, some aircraft were completely repainted,
some merely received only a partial replacement while others simply received
a touch up, thus leaving a 4 color mottled effect. While similar, the new
Ghost Grays are a shade darker than the original colors; a very pleasing challenge
to the modeler.
In 2002, the US Navy purchased 32 surplus F-5Es from the Swiss Air Force to
strengthen their 'Aggressor Squadrons'. Later, a similar deal for an additional
12 F-5E was finalized. Renamed as "F-5N" and reinstated with their
original round black nose cones, these Tigers now serve with VFC-13, VMFT-401
and also VFC-111 'Sundowners' in Florida, a suitable retirement home for ageing
airplanes!
From 2004 until 2008, Austria leased 12 F-5Es for 4 years from Switzerland
to gap the bridge between the end of the service life of the Saab J35 Draken
and the introduction of the new Eurofighters.
During almost 30 years of Swiss service, 9 Tiger aircraft were lost in accidents.
Today, 42 F-5E & F are still operational. When parliament originally decided
on the purchase of the Northrop F-5, its subsequent 30 in-service life could
never have been foreseen, it was more of an economical stop gap filler after
the proposed Corsair purchase had been negated and more Hunters purchased.
With the 2010 decision to delay the purchase of a Tiger replacement fighter
for a few more years, the F-5 continues to be the mainstay of militia Air
Force squadrons and the Patrouille Suisse team have had their tenure extended
for at least a few more years.
Decals are 'ALPS' printed by Matterhorn Circle
1/72
- CHF 16.-
1/48 - CHF 25.-
1/32 - CHF 25.-
suggested kts: Italeri, AFV, Hasegawa, Revell
While I support the idea and intention that it is possible to create with this decal sheet all most any F-5 in the Swiss Air Force inventory - at least at one stage during the 30+ year long career, there are some exceptions. To name a few, actually Peace Alps One and Two or the RUAG F-5 come to mind. But then, that's what the Peace Alps Part two decal sheet is for. As you can imagine - work is involved and I will need some time to create the graphics for those aircraft.
However, having said almost any at some time… I must stress that it is important to collect the references for every modelling project you will plan. I will support this decal sheet with some pictures - good sources for references are: www.airliners.net , www.aviapic.ch or www.aviapress.ch. Unfortunately, most pictures on these websites origin from the last ten years.
Still wearing the original paint scheme with a heavy overspray of the slightly darker colors - FS36375 & FS36720 in a patchwork manner. The appearance is a very mottled effect.
Photos:
airpic.net &
aviapress.ch
J-3030 has a history of having carried diffrent squadron badges. The F-5 Enthusiast Site reports the followng sightings: 1988 - 19 Sqn r / 1994 - 2003 - 6 Sqn l / 2004 - 2008 - Austrian AF / 2010 - Flugplatzkommando 13 l& r
Special thanks for support, fotos and references go to:
Bruno
Schneider
Olivier Borgeaud
Peter Lewis
Geri Friedlos