During
May 1967 the Kingdom of Libya reached an agreement with Eight
single- and two double-seater were handed over to Libya at
Mc Clellan
AFB (USA) from May till November 1968; deliveries
should have been as
follows: 3 F-5A in July 1968 (not confirmed),
3 F-5As and one F-5B air-delivered to Wheelous AFB near Tripoli
via
Malta on 25/26-05-69 69 (confirmed). The remaining 2 single-
and 1
double-seater took place later in 1969 (not confirmed).
They were based at Wheelus AFB where pilot training by USAF
instructors took place.
Northrop F-5A
in transit at Malta on 25-05-69
Photo:Victor Pisani
Also transiting Malta on 25-05-69 was F-5B-25 21278
Photo:Victor Pisani
CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT
A pan-Arab military coup had ousted the Libyan King on September 1st, 1969 when the Libyan Arab Republic was established; following this the name was changed from Royal Libyan AF to Libyan Arab Republic AF.
The
new government entered a collision course with the USA and the United
Kingdom, both had bases in the country, and ordered the
closure of these bases.
Personnel
trained in USA were removed from the Air Force as too pro-Western,
resulting in only 10 fighters pilots remaining on duty, while there
were six additional undergoing F-5 transition training at Wheelus AB
(renamed Okba Ben Nafi) beginning 1970.
The
US training detachment left in June 1970; contemporanously the US
government put an embargo on 8 additional
F-5As, foreseen to be supplied in 1970, and on spare parts. A 10 men Northrop Corporation in-situ maintenance team was also withdrawn.
Northrop F-5B-25 at WheelusAFB/Okba
Ben Nafi in April 1970 with new nationality markings.
Photo: Collection
D. Lohuis
The Greek AF took over local maintenance and training. Pilots were given a 240 hrs course on Lockheed T-33A and North American F-86 before conversion to the Northrop fighter in Greece; 17 officer were charged with maintenance in Libya.
It is not known how long the Freedom Fighters were kept flying due to missing embargoed spare parts. Replacement for the Northrop fighter came from France in the form of a large number of Dassault Mirage (110!) in various forms; the initial purchase contract was signed in January 1970. Possible sale of 5 CASA built Northrop F-5B, as advanced trainer for future Mirage pilots, was taken under consideration by the US government but rejected in December 1971.
Transfer to other countries and withdrawal/losses
Uncofirmed is the transfer of three Libyan Northrop F-5A to Pakistan; US sources mention the transit on 26-12-71 at Teheran IAP piloted by Pakistanis with Pakistani markings transiting from Turkey. This was too late to
participate to the war; the aircrafts were returned, possibly, on 20-07-72.
According to Turkish unofficial sources 7 Northrop F-5 were transferred without US authorisation to Turkey in August/September 1975, as
part of an USD 33.6 million military aid package including engines,
tyres and other parts. The USA government protested at this breach of
the 1967 contract of sale.
Later sightings confirmed the use by Turkey of 5 ex Libyan Northrop F-5As and 2 Northrop F-5Bs.
Missing three single-seaters are reported as follows:
one dumped at Okba Ben Nafi AB, now named Mitiga AB (see photo below); this might have been the one damaged ca. July 1969 in a landing accident, possibly never repaired and later used in some form of
anti-USA propaganda actions before having been withdrawn to the dump;
two others lost
before 1971 in training accidents, one is reported as lost in the
Mediterranean sea, one source mentions that there was an in
flight-collision with the of 2 aircrafts.
Northrop F-5A 22551 on
07-12-06 at Okba Ben Nafi AB/Mitiga AB, note US insigna on air intake.
Photo: Chris Lofting
INFORMATION NEEDED
Arab name Royal Air Force
Any additional information/correction is most welcome.