As a son of a German F 104 Driver with over 1000hrs on type, I can say, that my father always spoke of her with respect and with a smile on his face, despite a serious crash, caused by a bird- strike.
He often stated, that the 104 was often underestimated regarding dog fight abilities. But he reported, that more than once, the 104 was not on the receiving end.:p a matter of tactics, he said with a smile….
Low level, he said, she was very stable, very demanding, but with a relatively small RCS. Navigation via INS was a big improvement over the F 84, and the ground mapping mode was first class that time.
Fuel consumption was relatively low when you kept the throttle out of burner range.
Bombing was extremely precise back in the 60ies with the Mergenthal Computer, and he said ( this was confirmed by a squadron mate), that he achieved more DH ( direct hits) during the day, than with the F 84 in a month…..
A close friend of mine ( also an ex F 104 driver with over 800 hrs on type, later flying the Tornado), said that they often teased Dutch, German or British warships by flying over their masts, without being detected before the buzzed the boat……:p
Low level appeared to be no problem……:p:p
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