Quotulatiousness

August 16, 2022

Nimble, Sleek, And Almost Useless In A Real Fight; the story of the Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter

Filed under: Cancon, History, Military, USA, Weapons — Tags: , , , , — Nicholas @ 02:00

Polyus Studios
Published 8 May 2021

Don’t forget to like the video and subscribe to my channel!
Support me on Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/polyusstudios

The multi-role CF-5 was intended to replace the nuclear-armed CF-104 Starfighter and CF-101 Voodoo squadrons with a conventional warfighter. However, as an air superiority fighter, it was useless against all but the oldest relics in the Warsaw Pact arsenal. It fared little better as a close air support tactical fighter, thanks to its short range, relatively small weapons load, lack of all-weather navigation, and its inability to survive in a sophisticated, integrated air defense environment. Despite this, 240 were built in Canada and served with the Canadian Armed Forces for 27 years, not as a replacement for the existing fleet, but as an addition to them no one in the military seemed to really want. So why did Canada operate the CF-5? As you might well have assumed, the story behind the acquisition and operation of the CF-5 is a complicated one.

0:00 Introduction
0:38 The Northrop F-5A
2:13 Canada’s Big Air Force
3:05 Paul Hellyer and the new Air Force
7:02 Selection of the CF-5
10:17 Design development and Production
14:06 Deployment history
17:14 Introduction of CF-18 and upgrades
19:42 Retirement
20:38 Foreign Sales
21:54 Accidents and legacy

Music:
Denmark – Portland Cello Project

Research Sources:
The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast Page – https://www.the-northrop-f-5-enthusia…

Canadair CF-5 – Joe Baugher – http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighte…
A National Force: The Evolution of Canadas Army, 1950-2000 by Peter Kasurak – https://books.google.ca/books?id=JbcA…
Canadian Military Aircraft Serial Numbers – http://www.rwrwalker.ca/
“Training at the Edge: The Canadian Air Force’s Transition to the CF-18, and Lessons Learned for Canada’s Next Generation Fighter” by Richard Shimooka – http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vol15…
The Rise and Fall of Canada’s Cold War Air Force, 1948-1968 by Bertram C. Frandsen – https://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewconte…
“Cold War Air Power Choices for the RCAF: Paul Hellyer and the Selection of the CF-5 Freedom Fighter” by Major Ray Stouffer – http://www.journal.forces.gc.ca/vo7/n…

Footage Sources:
Wing F 4 Phantom II – https://youtu.be/HqEwy5-1jHw
Wings F 5 Freedom Fighter – https://youtu.be/ZMhByYUPfYA
RCAF 419 Squadron 1989 – Bob Lawless – https://youtu.be/EY7MCcXMV78
CF-5 Extreme Low Flying – headfella – https://youtu.be/_xNoMdL2Ch0

#CF5 #CanadianAerospace #PolyusStudios

No Comments

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Powered by WordPress