FEATURING:
SABRE SUCCESSOR
The USAF enters the jet age and Lockheed embarks on a secret plan to build a new fighter.
INTO SERVICE
The F-104A is introduced into USAF service and Lockheed’s first export customers receive the Starfighter.
HIGHER AND FURTHER
Tactical Air Command takes the Starfighter to Vietnam and Lockheed secures the European Sale of the Century.
TWINS AND TEUTONICISM
Lockheed develops a Starfighter trainer and the F-104G Joins the ranks of the Luftwaffe.
STARFIGHTERS WORLDWIDE
The F-104 boasted a remarkable international sales record, with aircraft exported to nations around the globe.
THE F-104 STARFIGHTER IN DETAIL
AND MUCH MORE!
Aeroplane Icons Issue 20: F-104 Starfighter is AVAILABLE NOW from the Key Online Shop. Alternatively, you can pick up your copy from WHSmith or other leading newsagents or download your digital version here.
By: Robbiesmurf - 24th August 2015 at 19:01
I did point out that it was not just the a/c. Maintenance was also not optimum in the beginning. On the early versions the use of downward firing ejection seats also had limitations. I believe the G’s were eventually fitted with MB mk 7 zero-zero seats.
By: WH904 - 24th August 2015 at 16:38
The losses were very high, but the cause of the losses was often a result of the Luftwaffe’s training set-up that was inadequate. Likewise, the Luftwaffe had an awful lot of Starfighters, therefore the loss rate has to be measured against this figure too. Ultimately, the Starfighter was no more dangerous or unreliable than any other contemporary aircraft, but the media got hold of the subject and the reputation stuck.
By: Robbiesmurf - 24th August 2015 at 11:04
If I remember correctly, Germany lost about 200 a/c with about 110 fatalities. That does sound high in anybodies book. The factors surrounding the mishaps were diverse.
By: WH904 - 24th August 2015 at 10:52
It was written by me – I think I’ve given a fairly honest account of the Starfighter’s history – only one minor mistake I subsequently found! I certainly haven’t portrayed the aircraft as being lethal. That’s an old angle that I never agreed with. As you say, the 104 was no more dangerous than any of its contemporaries. It was only the German experience that gave the aircraft the bad reputation.
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By: J Boyle - 21st July 2015 at 00:10
Hopefully it’s not written by the same person that wrote the “Spotlight” on the F-104 in a recent FlyPast.
They went on a great length about safety and crashes…something I’ve never seen them do before. Yes, the 104 had a record, but so did every other 1950s-60s high performance fighter.
It read like something you’d see in the mass media, all sensation, no facts.
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July 16, 2015 at 10:51 am