On 23 and 24 April 2026, the Ejército del Aire invited the aircraft enthusiast community to a very special event to commemorate the 300.000 flight hours amassed by the F-5 in 55 years of service. Aviagraphers were on the scene at the "spotters night & day."
We can of course start with the shots that we took during this special occasion, however let us mesmerise a bit over the good old days....
Part of this throw back is of course the SF-5B in its old silver livery. Back then both the SF-5A and SRF-5A were also still operational. Those wore camouflage colour schemes. All photos were taken in 1991 during a base exercise at Morón de la Frontera. Little did we know then that the faithful SF-5 was not even halfway down its career path with the Ejercito del Aire yet...!
The first F-5, SF-5B CE.9-001, was rolled out on 11 May 1968 and made its maiden flight on 22 May 1968 at Getafe. It was handed over was to the Ejército del Aire on 16 June 1969 and delivered to Escuadrón 202 at Morón along with four others in January 1970. The F-5 was used by four Wings during its career in EdA so far. These were:
| Escuadrón: | Renumbered: | Wing: | Base: | From: | To: | Replaced: | Superseded by: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 202 | 211 | Ala 21 | Morón de la Frontera | jan70 | 1992 | HA200, F-86F | Unit disbanded |
| 204 | 212 | Ala 21 | Morón de la Frontera | sep70 | 1992 | HA200, F-86F | Unit disbanded |
| 464 | Ala 46 | Gando/Las Palmas | 1978 | 1982 | HA200 | Mirage F1 | |
| Centro Logístico de Armamento y Experimentación (CLAEX) | Torrejón de Ardoz | 1969 | 2002 | n/a | various | ||
| 731 | 231 | Ala 23 | Talavera la Real | nov70 | present | T-33A, F-86F | current |
| 732 | 232 | Ala 23 | Talavera la Real | nov70 | present | T-33A, F-86F | current |
Obviously the remaining airframes have received numerous updates and only the dual-seat SF-5M remain in service as advanced and tactical training aircraft.
Talavera la Real still house the 23rd Wing (Ala 23) with 231 and 232 squadrons using about a dozen aircraft.
In total, 70 F-5 were delivered, divided between 34 dual seat SF-5B, later upgraded to B+ and M standard, 18 SF-5A and 18 SRF-5A reconnaissance aircraft. For details of the final fates and/or current whereabouts of the fleet, check out: Scramble.nl
For the 300.000 flight hours commemoration, one of the aircraft was painted with special tail markings. This aircraft was very much a part of the "spotters day & night" as well. Being parked on the static and taking part in the flight demonstrations too.
Flying started at dusk and we positioned ourselves along the taxiway and runway for that.
Visitors during this special event were an EF-18M, also in service for quite a while. After being on the static it performed a display in the twilight.
Another distinguished guest, was a relative newbie, the Eurofighter 2000. This particular aircraft came from Ala 11 at Moron de la Frontera, closing the circle as this was once the primary F-5 base (see the throw-back shots above.)
Apart from solo flights, the visitors were escorted by two SF-5M for a mixed fly-by.
At dusk, the shape of things to come was also shown, an unmanned aerial system, MQ-9 Reaper (pronounced as répero in Spanish). These are operated by Escuadrón 233 of Ala 23. Four of these were bought in October 2015 and were delivered by 2020.
When all aircraft were safely back on the ground, part one, the "night" half, was over.
Next day, new action!
With a big "thank you" to base commander Colonel Daniel Fernández de Bobadilla Lorenzo and his team, we say goodbye to the F-5, for now....