{"id":59374,"date":"2025-04-23T21:46:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T19:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=59374"},"modified":"2026-05-07T09:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:42:45","slug":"the-spanish-srf-5a-reconnaissance-plane-explained-by-one-of-its-former-pilots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/04\/23\/the-spanish-srf-5a-reconnaissance-plane-explained-by-one-of-its-former-pilots\/","title":{"rendered":"The Spanish SRF-5A reconnaissance plane explained by one of its former pilots"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Spanish Air Force operated a total of 70 Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter aircraft, with the first units arriving in 1969.<\/p>\n

The F-86 Sabre, the first and most numerous jet fighter of the Spanish Air Force<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe Spanish F-4 Phantom II fighters, their tanker aircraft and the sad end of many of them<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

These aircraft were license-built by Construcciones Aeron\u00e1uticas S.A. (CASA) in Spain<\/strong> at its factories in Madrid and Seville, except for the first eight (of the SF-5B variant), which were manufactured in the USA and shipped to Spain in parts, being assembled in Getafe. The aircraft were generically referred to as SF-5<\/strong> (the S stands for Spain). Their purpose was to replace (along with the F-4C<\/a> and the Mirage III<\/a>) the F-86 Sabre fighters<\/a> and the T-33 Shooting Star trainers.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The delivery of the last SF-5 manufactured by CASA on April 11, 1972. It was an SRF-5A, CR.9-070, assigned to the 212th Squadron of the 21st Wing based in Mor\u00f3n de la Frontera, Seville. This aircraft crashed on April 23, 2003, in an accident that killed its pilot, Captain Manuel Rivera Hern\u00e1ndez, during an exhibition at Talavera la Real Air Base (Photo: Museo del Aire y del Espacio<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The Spanish Air Force operated three versions of the SF-5: the SF-5A<\/strong> (18 units, now retired), manufactured between 1969 and 1971 (with construction numbers from 2035 to 2052), designated C.9 and later A.9, was a single-seat version dedicated to fighter and attack missions; the SF-5B<\/strong> (34 units, of which 19 are still active), manufactured between 1967 and 1969 (with construction numbers from 2001 to 2034), designated CE.9 and later AE.9, was a two-seat advanced training version, which is still active today, modernized and currently named F-5BM; and the SRF-5A, a single-seat reconnaissance variant<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The SRF-5A CR.9-062 (464-62), of the 464th Squadron, in a photo taken on August 11, 1978, at Gando Air Base, Gran Canaria, when the Canary Islands SF-5s completed their first 5,000 flight hours. The CR.9-062 is currently preserved at the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum in Madrid (Photo: Museo del Aire y del Espacio<\/a>).<\/div>\n

The Spanish Air Force received 18 SRF-5As<\/strong>, which were initially designated CR.9 and later AR.9. They were manufactured between 1970 and 1972<\/strong>, with construction numbers from 2053 to 2070. The first SRF-5As arrived at the Spanish Air Force in September 1970, being assigned to the 204 Squadron based in Mor\u00f3n de la Frontera (Seville)<\/strong>, along with some SF-5Bs (the 202 Squadron, at the same base, was equipped with SF-5As and SF-5Bs).<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The SRF-5A AR.9-064 (212-64) on display as a memorial at Zaragoza Air Base. It displays the beautiful three-color tactical camouflage worn by these Air Force aircraft during part of their operational life (Photo: Alan Wilson<\/a>).<\/div>\n

In 1971, the 21st Wing was formed at Mor\u00f3n, with the SRF-5As of the 205th Squadron being assigned to the 212th Squadron<\/strong>, with the radio callsign \"Sis\u00f3n\". In February 1976, the 212th Squadron was disbanded and its aircraft were assigned to the 464th Squadron at Gando, Canary Islands, in 1976 due to the conflict that resulted in the loss of the Spanish Sahara. SF-5s of all three variants were at Gando until May 1981<\/strong>, when they returned to Mor\u00f3n, reactivating the 212th Squadron again. The SRF-5As remained active until October 1992.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The SRF-5A AR.9-062 (23-62), on display outside the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum in Madrid (Photo: Museo del Aire y del Espacio<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Initially, these reconnaissance aircraft were equipped with four American Fairchild KS-92 cameras<\/strong>, mounted in the nose of the aircraft. In addition, these aircraft were equipped with two 20 mm M-39 cannons and seven gun mounts and external magazines in the wings and on the underside of the fuselage. The Fairchild cameras were later replaced by British Vinten Model 547 cameras<\/strong>, also used on the Canadian version of the SF-5A.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
The SRF-5A AR.9-69 (23-32), with the elegant gray livery that these aircraft wore at the end of their operational life. The aircraft has been on display as a memorial in the Trejo Municipal Park in Higuera de Vargas (Badajoz) since 2021 (Photo: Ej\u00e9rcito del Aire<\/a>).<\/div>\n

Today, two of the SRF-5As are in museums<\/strong> (one in the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum in Madrid, and another in the Elder Museum of Science and Technology in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria), while six are preserved as monuments<\/strong>. This Monday, the Friends of the Air Museum Association<\/a> published an interesting video in which Colonel (R) Jos\u00e9 Terol Albert talks about the SRF-5A next to the aircraft he himself piloted<\/strong>, the AR.9-062 (23-62), exhibited in that museum (the video is in Spanish, you can activate automatic English subtitles in the bottom bar of the player):<\/p>\n