F-5 Tiger II

Successor of the F-11F Tiger, the Tiger II was one of the most agile and powerful fighters of the Vietnam era and even beyond. While her predecessor, the F-11F Tiger had an underpowered and unreliable engine, the Tiger II was powered by a pair of the most powerful and reliable turbojets ever designed, the General Electric J-85. To this day, the J-85 is counted among the best jet engines availible. The Tiger II's could push her through the air at up to Mach 1.5

Though her service in the U.S. on the front lines was brief, she gave her enemies hell; she was one of the few fighters agile enough to turn with the feared MiG-21 in the skies over Vietnam. It was also small and light enough that it could catch the nimble MiG-17 and less common MiG-19.

She saw more use outside combat in the U.S. though as an "aggressor aircraft" for advanced combat training. Because her flight characteristics matched the MiG-21's so well, instructor pilots would fly them as if they were MiG-21's (they were even painted in Soviet markings to further the impression) to train combat pilots in air combat and what to expect once over the real battlefield.

Several other nations made and still make use of the F-5 in a front line combat role, where its acceleration, agility and speed make it the perfect dogfighter, and its respectable ordinance capacity make it a decent bomber and strike craft.

Its most potent weapon, and the one that helped U.S. pilots out in Vietnam the most though were its two M-39 20mm autocannons mounted in the nose. Missiles in Vietnam were notorious for failing well over 85% of the time, while guns seldom did. Many aircraft early in the war were armed only with missiles, and when those failed, only a quick escape could prevent one's demise...the Tiger II, carrying built in guns, still could not only defend itself but could press the attack.

After the war, the Tiger II's designed was evolved into the supreme F-20 Tigershark, considered one of the greatest fighters ever designed at the time, though unfortunately a number of complications and controveries would doom the Tigershark and result in its demise as a design.

The design would actually recover though...through another metamorphosis, it became the YF-17 Cobra, then with a few more changes she would become the F/A-18 Hornet, a design still flying over 30 years later.

This Tiger II is configured as a Navy strike craft carrying heavy ordinance; fight your way in, blast your targets, and fight your way out.

More Pics: (she's an older model of mine, so she might not be quite up to the same par as my older designs. Still, I think she looks just as nice, so I'm showin' her off. ^^ XD)

Head on: The black "dots" on the fuselage behind the radome are the muzzles of the 20mm cannons:
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Cockpit canopy and port engine intake:
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9 o'clock:
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Port ordinance pylons and centerline fuel tank:
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Nose gear and fuselage detail:
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7 o'clock:
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Planform:
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Underside: Ordinance load out is from left to right: AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missile, Paveway III Laser guided bombs, 2x Mk 83 bombs, external fuel tank, 2x Mk 83 bombs, Paveway III Laser guided bomb, AIM-9 Sidewinder air to air missile:
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Here she is alongside her predecessor, the F-11F Tiger:
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