A Republic of China Air Force F-5E Tiger II ready for take-off after a Quick Reaction alert bell ringed. The aircraft, equipped with live AIM-9 Sidewinders, was quickly manned in its hardened shelter and taxied to the runway. A final check... and off he goes.

All ready for take-off. Five Taitung F-5 Tiger IIs at the final check platform before entering the runway. Taiwan is a massive F-5 user, currently the RoCAF is still using over 100 F-5s from two Main Operating Bases and five squadrons, Taitung (4 squadrons) and Hualien (one squadron).

A typical take off from an Alpine airfield: full AB low through the valley with the main gear retracting instantly.

Turtmann was only active during the weeks of the annual Wiederholungskurs.

A Navy aggressor F-5 of VFC-13 "Fighting Saints". Based at NAS Fallon.

Any F-5 is a good one, but this one is a real good one :-) A rarely seen USAF F-5E of the 425th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (TFTS) based at Williams AFB (AZ). The camouflaged bird carries LA-tailcode as the squadron was under command of the 405th Tactical Training Wing (TTW) of nearby Luke AFB. But, as that base faced shortage on ramp space, the unit was moved to Williams. The 425th was disbanded in September 1989 and most of their F-5E/Fs were sold to Brazil (this one became FAB 4871 or FAB 4872). Late 1992, the squadron was reactivated and now trains Singapore air force pilots with F-16C/Ds.

527th TFTAS

527th TFTAS, from RAF Alconbury. Crashed near Ramstein AB Germany, January 15, 1986, the pilot ejecting safely.

This is the strangest picture I've ever taken: a Tiger rolls through the village of Turtmann while the traffic on the main street is halted by traffic lights and soldiers.

Wiederholungskurs 2006

VFC-13 Aggressor.

Still fitted with the old black nose.