F104 Starfighter — The Strangest War Aircraft the Sky Has Ever Seen
The F104 is a single-engine multi-role combat aircraft developed by the American firm Lockheed Martin in the 1950s, which made its first flight in 1954. This aircraft was also produced by many countries. Origin Story: Following interviews with combat pilots who served during the Korean War, Lockheed Martin’s chief designer Kelly Johnson concluded that rather than building complex and large aircraft, it made more sense to build a simple but lightweight aircraft capable of reaching high altitudes. The first design was then put forward; the Lockheed XF104 took flight on March 4, 1954, and serial production was approved in 1958. Service: Just a few months after serial production began, the Taiwan Strait Crisis broke out. It was used against Chinese-origin MiG-15s and MiG-17s, but since the USAF needed aircraft with longer range and greater ammunition capacity, and due to problems stemming from the GE J79 engine, its service life was kept very short. Although it could not meet America’s needs, it became a favourite among allies. In 1958, West Germany elevated the Starfighter to the position of primary combat aircraft. Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and Italy also wanted to give this aircraft a chance. Despite gaining popularity, the F104 was also an aircraft with safety problems. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) lost 292 of its 916 aircraft. Design and Equipment: The F104’s design has a very radical appearance compared to other aircraft. Its wings are very small relative to the fuselage, and the fuselage itself has a cylindrical structure. The wings became a factor that increased the aircraft’s speed, earning it the title of the first aircraft to break the Mach 2 barrier, though its manoeuvrability remained very limited. It is equally successful in terms of altitude — the F104 was also the first aircraft to reach 100,000 feet. Due to the very small wings, in order to reduce the effect of inertia coupling, the stabilator was placed directly above the tail. The F104 is also the first aircraft on which the M61 Vulcan cannon was tested. After many trials, the cannon was able to operate without issues in the F104C variant. Two AIM-9 Sidewinders or fuel tanks can be carried on the wingtips. From the C variant onwards, bombs, missile pods, fuel tanks, and nuclear missiles could be attached to a firing pylon at the aircraft’s centre point. On early models, an underbelly firing rail was added for nuclear missiles, but since there was no need for its use, NASA took ownership of the aircraft for its own experiments. Conclusion: Although the F104 was not a magnificent aircraft from a combat standpoint, it secured a place for itself in popular culture with its iconic design and records. It has appeared in many Cold War-themed films. It also played a role in laying the groundwork for aircraft such as today’s Eurofighter Typhoon and F2000 Typhoon II. The F104s also featured in special training programmes used to simulate the landing profiles of spacecraft. In summary — it did everything except what it was supposed to do. Records:
Speed Record: On February 27, 1958, American test pilot Major Howard C. Johnson reached Mach 2.5 (approximately 2,645 km/h), breaking the world speed record. Altitude Record: On May 14, 1958, Major Howard C. Johnson reached an altitude of 103,395 feet (31,504 m), breaking the world altitude record. Continuous Low-Level Flight Record: On December 6, 1958, Captain Eugene J. Devlin of the US Air Force set a continuous low-altitude flight record of 91 hours, 32 minutes, and 22 seconds. Low Altitude Record: On February 1, 1962, American pilots Bob Little and Robert W. Smith set a low-altitude flight record of 34 metres at a speed of 20,252 km/h. Air-to-Ground Firing Record: In 1959, the F104 set an air-to-ground firing record by hitting a target with its 20mm cannon from a height of 300 metres.
Variants:
F-104A: First produced version F-104B: Two-seat training version F-104C: Improved version of the F-104A built for the US Air Force F-104D: Two-seat training version, derivative of the F-104C F-104G: Variant produced for NATO’s fighter-bomber project F-104S: Version developed for the Italian Air Force, with more powerful engines and modernised avionics CF-104: Canadian Air Force variant TF-104G: Two-seat training version, derivative of the F-104G