It is generally accepted that the Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975. When North Vietnamese T-54s kicked out the gates of the presidential palace in Saigon, symbolizing the fall of South Vietnam and the defeat of the United States in this conflict.
Shortly before this, the South Vietnamese Air Force, thanks to American assistance, came out on to the 4th place in the world in terms of number. Second only to: the USA, the USSR and the PRC. However, this only prolonged the agony of the thoroughly corrupt Saigon regime.
North Vietnamese tank enters the gates of the presidential palace in Saigon
The North Vietnamese military got a large fleet of captured aircraft. Subsequently, F-5 fighters, A-37 attack aircraft and UH-1 helicopters were used by the Vietnamese armed forces until the late 1980s.
Trophies were concentrated at the Tansonnat airbase - the remnants of the South Vietnamese Air Force, which were in good technical condition: 23 A-37 attack aircraft, 41 F-5 fighters, 50 UH-1 helicopters, five AD-6 attack aircraft, five CH-47 helicopters, and five aircraft U-6A. In addition, the adoption of another 15 aircraft remained in question: U-17, 41 L-19, 28 C-7A, 36 C-119, 18 T-41, 21 C-47, seven C-130, seven DC- 3, five DC-4 and two DC-6.
During the conduct of hostilities, Soviet military specialists have repeatedly had the opportunity to get acquainted with the most diverse American technology. So the following were sent to the USSR: the cockpit of an F-111 bomber, engines from A-4, A-6, F-105 and F-4, radar from F-4, Bulpup and Sparrow missiles. But after the end of the war, the opportunity arose to get acquainted with the samples of aircraft that were in flight condition.
In Da Nang, where samples of interest to the Soviet side were transported, our specialists were tasked with monitoring the technical condition of captured aircraft transferred to the USSR, then preparing it for transportation by sea and loading it onto a dry cargo ship. What types of aircraft and in what configuration they will transfer were decided by the military attaché with the officers of the General Staff who arrived at the airbase. First, one of the F-5 fighters had to be selected.
The Vietnamese demonstrated three cars in the air: they raised a pair of MiG-21s, and then
alternately took off, circled and landed F-5s, piloted by former South Vietnamese pilots. After making sure that the aircraft were in flight condition, they began their detailed inspection.
The equipment was driven in turn into a well-equipped hangar, where it was thoroughly examined for several days. The first F-5 was rejected: the oil cooler was leaking and the communication radio station did not work. We chose the next one, which turned out to be in perfect working order. This plane was sealed to prevent equipment replacement.
The F-5 made a very good impression, comparing favorably with the MiG-21. The mass-dimensional characteristics of the equipment were significantly better. For example, the generator is 2-3 times smaller than ours. Very tiny and handy disposable batteries were used. Manufacturability of service is ideal: the plane was so easy to operate that our specialists practically did not use technical documentation. For filling the hydraulic system, a special self-propelled trolley with a diesel engine was used. The engines are started by air, using a trolley equipped with PGD. In terms of the composition of the cockpit equipment, it is similar to the MiG-21, but the instruments are smaller, many of them with strip indicators. The gas station toggle switches were rubberized, which was unusual back then.
The painting of the cockpit is a soft turquoise color (in this, but sharper color, the cockpits of the MiG-23 were later painted).
Together with the fighter, we received a significant number of spare parts and an almost complete set of technical documentation. We didn’t pass any manuals on flight operations of the F-5 through our hands. The documentation was compiled in an accessible way, and a competent specialist could easily master the operation of this machine. In addition, the Vietnamese donated a lot of ground equipment: a complete set required to service one aircraft, a complete set (including test equipment) for four aircraft and some of a kit for 10 aircraft.
The F-5E Tiger II tactical fighter is designed for air combat, ground strikes and reconnaissance. In the mid-1950s. Northrop, on its own initiative, began designing a light fighter. The result was the T-38 Talon trainer for the US Air Force, followed by a variant of the prototype N-156F single-seat fighter, which first flew on July 30, 1959.
The aircraft had a light glider, modern aerodynamic shape, and was equipped with two small turbojet engines. The aircraft went into production under the designation F-5A Freedom Fighter, but the two-seat training version of the F-5B was the first to operate.
The upgraded version was equipped with two General Electric J85-GE-21 turbojet engines, the power of which was 23% more than that of the F-5A version.
The reconnaissance version of the RF-5A was obtained by installing four cameras in the nose of the fuselage. The F-5A and RF-5A aircraft were widely used during the Vietnam War.
In November 1970. it was decided to start production of a new version under the designation F-5E Tiger II. The first production F-5E Tiger II took off on August 11, 1972.
From the previous version, the F-5E differed in improved maneuverability and higher takeoff and landing characteristics (which allowed the aircraft to be used with short runways), increased fuel capacity and a combined fire control system.
The two-seat training version of the F-5F based on the F-5E had an elongated fuselage, but retained the combined fire control system, so it could be used as a combat one.
The F-5E Tiger II is equipped with a target detection system with AN / APQ-159 radar, a TACAN radio navigation system, a gyroscopic sight with a lead computer, an INS Lytton LN-33 (optional), an AN / APX-101 instrumental landing system, VHF radio receivers, central computer, radar warning system "Itek" AN / ALR-46.
Serially produced in 1973-1987. About 1,160 F-5E aircraft and 237 RF-5E and F-5F aircraft were built.
The aircraft is armed with two M-39-A2 cannons (20 mm caliber, 280 rounds of ammunition) and can carry two Sidewinder missiles or seventy-six NUR (70 mm caliber) or bombs weighing up to 454 kg at 7 hardpoints; UR "Bulpup". It is possible to use the UR "Maverick".
On the initiative of the Chief of the Air Force Research Institute, General I. D. Gaidaenko, supported by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force for Armaments M. N. This work was attended by test pilots of the Air Force Research Institute N. I. Stogov, V. N. Kondaurov, A. S. Beige.
Hero of the Soviet Union N. I. Stogov before taking off on the F-5E "Tiger II"
The technical staff who prepared the elegant American aircraft for flights remembered it for its simplicity and thoughtfulness of design, ease of access to serviced units. One of the participants in the study of the American aircraft, the leading engineer of the Air Force Research Institute A. I. Marchenko, recalling, noted such an advantage of the fighter as a non-glare instrument panel: high-quality enlightened glasses of instruments in any lighting did not create problems with reading information. The engineers of the Air Force Research Institute puzzled over the purpose of the button at the bottom of a deep niche in the cockpit for a long time. As it turned out later, it was intended to release the lock on the use of weapons when the landing gear was extended.
The pilots appreciated the comfort of the cockpit, good visibility from it, rational placement of instruments and controls, easy takeoff and excellent maneuverability at high subsonic speeds. The F-5E flew in Vladimirovka for about a year, until one of the chassis tires collapsed. After testing at the Air Force Research Institute, the aircraft was transferred to TsAGI for static tests, and many of its components and assemblies ended up in the design bureaus of the aviation industry, where interesting technical solutions from Northrop were used in the development of domestic aircraft. In addition to Soviet specialists, Polish engineers met with the American fighter, in 1977 they received an aircraft from Vietnam with the serial number 73-00852, intended to assess the possibility of rearmament with Soviet NR-23 cannons. This proposal was not implemented. Third F-5E, serial number
73-00878, brought in two boxes from the Czechoslovak training aircraft L-39 "Albatross" to the Prague Museum of Aviation and Cosmonautics in 1981, where it is to this day.
F-5 during tests in the USSR, the airfield "Vladimirovka"
One copy of the A-37 light attack aircraft and the spare parts and technical documentation necessary for it were also carefully selected. The plane is even simpler than the F-5. The location of the pilots nearby made a special impression. The cockpit is compact, but comfortable; the composition of the equipment resembles a helicopter one. Working with this machine was as enjoyable as the previous one.
Trophy A-37, in the Aviation Museum of the DRV
In the spring of 1976, one of the A-37B aircraft captured in Vietnam was delivered to the USSR for study. Initially, it was demonstrated to all interested specialists in the hangar of the Air Force Research Institute at the Chkalovskaya airbase, and then transported to Akhtubinsk, where Dragonfly's flight tests were carried out (they were supervised by VM Chumbarov, the leading engineer of the Air Force Research Institute). In general, the American attack aircraft was highly appreciated by Soviet specialists. The ease of maintenance of the aircraft, a well-developed system of combat survivability, devices that protect the engine from foreign objects were noted. In December 1976, the flight tests of the A-37B were completed and the aircraft was handed over to the P. O. Sukhoi, where at that time work was underway on the T8 attack aircraft (Su-25).
For the F-5 and A-37, the Vietnamese also donated two additional engines, which were packed in special sealed containers filled with inert gas. This storage method excluded harmful climatic influences and did not require de-preservation before installing the engine on the aircraft.
Also provided was the "gunship" AS-119 - a medium military transport aircraft with a powerful set of small arms installed in the cargo compartment for operations on ground targets.
Transportation by sea of an aircraft of such dimensions is fraught with certain difficulties.
For unclear reasons, they did not want to overtake it by air, although the car was in flight condition. Having received the appropriate assignment, our representatives got acquainted with the AC-119 in detail and reported that the aircraft itself was clearly outdated and of no interest, only its special equipment deserves attention. This was followed by a command not to transport the car to the Union, but to dismantle and send the armament complex.
From the helicopters available at the airbase, two were selected: the CH-47 Chinook in the landing version and the UH-1 Iroquois in the transport and combat version.
Compared to our combat Mi-8, the American Iroquois looked clearly preferable. The vehicle is much smaller, but much better equipped for warfare: two six-barreled machine guns mounted in the openings of the cargo compartment, a grenade launcher and guided missiles on beams. The cockpit is armored below and on the sides.
UH-1 "Iroquois" in the Aviation Museum of the DRV
The information obtained after familiarization with the modern American technology at that time was used to create countermeasures. And some units and technical solutions were directly copied and used in the creation of new aircraft in the USSR.
