Imperial Ethiopian Air Force

Ye Ithopya Ayer Hail  /  Ethiopian Air Force

Credit:  Roundels of the world


BASES                                                          PROCUREMENT

 
  The Ethiopian AF received considerable military assistance
  from the Government of the USA during the 1960s, including
  ageing North American F-86F fighters. Evaluation of the
  Northrop F-5A to supplement/supplant these aircrcrafts
  started at the end of 1962, when a team went to Washington.
  Aprroval to supply the Freedom Fighter was only given during
  1964, following the November 1963 armament aid agreement
  between the Republic of Somalia (which claimed the Ethiopian
  part of the Ogaden region as own) and the Soviet Union. The
  agreement included the delivery of numerous MiG-15 and
  MiG-17, giving air superiority to Somalia.

  A Squadron of 10 Northrop F-5A, 2 Northrop F-5B was
  promised by the USA under Military Aid Programm and pilots
  started training with the 4441st Comabt Crew Training Squadron
  at Williams AFB; an USAF Mobile Training Team was sent to
  Debre Zeit AB.

Handover of the first 2 single-seaters was on the 20-04-66 at Mc Clellan AFB, followed by 3 on 18-05-66, 2 on 24-07-66 and 1 on 25-07-66, for a total of 10 F-5As; handover dates of double-seaters are not known.

     

    Second lot Northrop F-5A 10510, 10511, 10512 awaiting delivery at Mc Clellan AFB in 1966.

                                                                                     Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

Exact handover date of the two-seaters is not known; one single-seater was lost shortly after delivery, replaced by one handed over at Mc Connel AFB on 17-06-68.

These aircrafts were assigned to the Harar-Debre Zeit AB based 5th Fighter Squadron, formerly operating North American F-86Fs. No Sidewinder air-to-air missiles were supplied.

WAR OPERATIONS
Guerrilla activities had started in the Eritrean region in 1961 but evolved to a full war only around 1970, when Northrop F-5A were transferred to Asmara, together with F-86Fs, armed T-28As and English Electric Canberra B.Mk.52, to operate agains the Eritrean People's Liceration forces.
Continous requests for additional Freedom Fighters resulted in the delivery of 4 additional F-5As, handed over at Mc Clellan AFB on 04-10-71. These were ferried from California to Ethiopia in USAF markings, accompanied by an North American T-39 pathfinder aircraft for the last part of the journey, between Ramstein AFB (Germany) to Harar Debre AB via Rimini, Athens, Incirklik, Teheran, Dhahran, Jeddah, Addis Ababa. A long way.

There was no change in the F-5 fleet till a military revolution overthrow the Emperor Haile Selassié in April 1974. US military aid continued almost without interruption, even after the new government (DERG) officially declared itself Marxist on 20-12-74, due to the strategic importance of the country, even authorising the transfer of 4 Northrop F-5A from iran in 1974.

During 1974 Somalia signed a Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation with the Soviet Union which started to deliver MiG-21s shortly afterwards, competely changing the armament balance. Intensive Somali guerrilla operations began contemporaneously in the Ogaden region.

The DERG requested McDonnell F-4s to counter the new threat, later scaled down to Northrop F-5E and Cessna A-37s, but the US government was initially not inclined to fully accept the request, suggesting to transfer in 1975 a mix of 8 Norethrop F-5A (former Vietnamese aircrafts) and 4 new F-5Es plus 8 A-37s. The Ethiopians express their unsatisfaction and a sceond offer was submitted beginning 1975 for the sale, under an USD 25m Foreign Military Sales credit, of 16 new Northrop F-5E (formerly foreseen foe Egypt), delivery scheduled to start in November 1975, initially without AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles; AIM-9B Sidewinder were anyhow delivered in 1976. This offer was accepted and the first 8 Tigers were hurriedly transferred to Ethiopia. They went to equip No 9 Squadron at Dire Dawa AB.

Tension between the USA and Ethiopia increased in 1976; it culminated in the signature of an arms supply agreement with the Soviet Union in December 1976, which included Mikoyan-Gurevitch MiG-17 and MiG-21, and the termination of military collaboration with the USA in Aparil 1977. Delivery of spare parts and of additional Tigers was blocked and the aircrafts were rerouted to Yemen.

   

    Embargoed Northrop F-5E serial 426 stored at Mc Clellan AFB seen on 18-09-77

                                                                                     Photo: Archive The Northrop F-5 Enthusiast

 

Freedom Fighters had intervened in Eritrea during 1976 against the local Liberation Army. By 1977 Ethiopian AF aircrafts, mainly of US origin, was below 30% due lack of spares,  political purges and defection of Eritrean personnel and aircrews. Two pilots defected to Kassala (Sudan with their Northrop F-5As, the aircrafts being returned afterwards to Ethiopia.

Somalia felt at this point it had good chances tooccupy the Ogaden region and started in May 1977 an, initially, victorious offensive.
F-5As as fighter-bombers and F-5Es as fighters, now based at Dire Dawa, played a critical role in slowing Somalian offensive; local pilots and, though not officially confirmed, Israelian ones (arrived in July 1977) fought victoriously against Somalian MiG-21s
Unconfirmed information state also that Vietnam supplied Northrop F-5As (inprobable) and spare parts (probable) seized upon the fall of Saigon in 1975.

An victrious encounter by 2 Northrop F-5E with 4 Somalian MiG-21 took place on 17-07-77. Two MiGs were shot down while ther remaining collided trying to avoid AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles.

A reversal of the war situation happend when the Soviet Union abandoned its Somaly allied in favour of Ethiopia and started an air-bridge on 25-11-77, bringing the agreed (and much more) aircrafts into the country. One Squadron each of former Cuban MiG-17 and MiG-21, plus one more of former Soviet Union MiG-21s, started to arrive in December 1977, all supported by Cuban personnell.

Fightings ended in April 1978. Losses inflicted were largely exagerated by both countries, Somalia claiming to have shot down at least 8 F-5A, 1 F-5B and 3 F-5E; Ethiopia claimed that its F-5s had shot 13 MiG-21s down (eight confirmed), 1 MiG-17 (confirmed) against the loss of only 2 F-5s. Somalian claims could be contradicted by the later offer for sale of Northrop fighters. Better training of Ethiopian aircrews, who seemed to prefer the agile F-5 to the heavier MiGs, had shown its benefits. The site ejection-history.org.uk lists the loss of 2 Northrop F-5A and 3 Northrop F-5E during the fighting.
More detailed information about the war can be found on http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article 188.shtml and, from the point of view, of the Cuban Side on http://urrib2000.narod.ru/Etiopia-e.html (in Spanish).
 
The Northern region Eritrea was at the time still in a state of war, again necessitating the basing of Freedom Fighters at Asmara and their intervention till they were definitely withdrawn from use due to lack of spare around 1980. One of these aircrafts was claimed to have been shot down near Barentu (Western Eritrea) on 02-05-78.

RETIREMENT / RESALE
Withdrawn from use F-5s were kept in dumps; early 1984 12 F-5As, 2 F-5Bs and 4 F-5Es were put up for sale. Interest was shown by Thailand which sent a team to asses if possible to make them flyable, but it reported this was out of question. They were still unsold in May 1987.

       

 Asmara dump in March 1994 showing 1 F-5A, 3 T-33A, 3 F-86F, 1 C-199K and several MiGs Photo: Ville Vuorela

The war etween Iraq and Iran in the 1980's brought renewed interest in these airframes. The USA tried to buy them back for USD 7m and scrap them in order to avoid falling them in Iraninian hands but Iran did succeed in its efforts to purchase 10 or 12 (F-5A, F-5B, F-5E) in June 1985 at an unrealistic price of USD 68m. The aircrafts had flown very few hours but had been poorly maintained and kept for years in the open air. They were in such poor conditions that the Iranian AF initially refused their acceptance, later agreed at half price: USD 34m.
Exact number/type of aircrafts sold to Iran is unknown. Some sources state that these were F-5As and that the Iranian aircraft industry was able to make at least one flyable around the year 2000, another source states that Iran received 8 Northrop F-5A and 2 F-5B plus 4 F-5E and another one states it received only 10 F-5s unknown mix.
 
Information needed:

Ahmaric name for Imperial Ethiopian Air Force

Corresponding Ethiopian/US serial for Northrop F-5As and Northrop F-5Bs.
Any earlier or later sighting.
Any additional information/correction.