Northrop F-5F Tiger II Patrouille Suisse “50 Year Anniversary” HAS3321 1:72

Hobby Master highly detailed die-cast model Northrop F-5F Tiger II Patrouille Suisse “50 Year Anniversary” Item: HAS3321 1:72 Scale The Northrop F-5 tactical fighter was designed as an extremely maneuverable, supersonic fighter with a high rate of reliability at a low operating cost. The F-5 first flew on July 30, 1959 with the first customer delivery in 1964. The last of more than 2,600 F-5’s was produced in 1989 and about two-thirds of these are still in service with 26 countries more than 4 decades later. The F-5 was manufactured by Northrop Grumman and under license in Canada, Taiwan, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland. The Swiss Air Force purchased 98 Northrop F-5E Tiger IIs as well as 12 dual-seat F-5Fs acquired in two contracts. The F-5E Tiger IIs were assigned serials J-3001 through J-3098 and the 12 dual-seat F-5Fs were given serials J-3201 through J-3212. The Swiss Air Force had retired their De Havilland Venoms placing a large strain on their Hawker Hunters and the F-5s were meant to alleviate this problem. Founded on August 22, 1964 the Swiss Air Force aerobatic team, the “Patrouille Suisse” flew the Hawker Hunter for the next 30 years until they began flying the faster and more maneuverable Northrop F-5E in their 1995 season. The team uses 6 F-5Es painted in the Swiss national colors of white and red. Their team mascot is a stuffed furry toy called “Eric Flathead”. Specifications Northrop F-5E Tiger II Crew: 1 Dimensions Length - 47 ft 4.75 in (14.45 m) Wingspan - 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m) Height - 13 ft 4.5 in (4.08 m)