Lockheed F-104

Lockheed F-104 starfighter
F-104A "Starfighter" the USAF
Type:	Interceptor
Design country:	United States
Manufacturer:	Lockheed Corporation
First flight:	March 4th 1954
Commissioning:	February 20, 1958
Production time:	1956 to 1975
Number of pieces:	2578

Instrument panel of an F-104

The Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter" is a single beam fighter aircraft of the time of the Cold War from American production. The Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter" was manufactured by Lockheed Corporation , Burbank . From 1956 Lockheed and later Canadian and European licensees built the model in large numbers. The F-104 belonged to the so-called Century series ( F-100 to F-110 ) and was designed as a pure day and interceptor fighter, optimized for high speeds and climbing performance .

The United States Air Force , which originally commissioned the Starfighter, only used it until the late 1960s, when they later gave preference to larger and more versatile types. The air forces of several NATO countries, on the other hand, used the F-104 until the 1990s, the Italian Aeronautica Militare even until 2004. However, the operational profile was frequently changed, for example the Starfighter served as an all-weather fighter-bomber in the Bundeswehr .

Allegations of bribery in the procurement led in the Federal Republic of Germany to the Lockheed scandal . A series of F-104 crashes in the German armed forces in the 1960s is known as the Starfighter affair . She wore the type of aircraft sarcastic terms like Widowmaker , peg , flying coffin or casket Fighter one.

history

USAF F-104A in July 1957

In December 1951, Clarence Johnson , chief engineer of the Lockheed Advanced Development Projects Unit , traveled to the Korean theater of war and asked fighter pilots about their expectations of a new fighter aircraft. There the well-trained US pilots met with their North American F-86s on Soviet MiG-15s . The MiG-15 was superior to the larger and more complex F-86 in many features. This is why the pilots surveyed wanted a small and simple, yet powerful type.

Back in the United States, Johnson began designing one of these aircraft. Less than a year later, the prototype Lockheed L-246 was ready to go, which already looked very similar to the later Starfighter.

The draft was presented to the Air Force in November 1952 and aroused the interest of those responsible, so that a corresponding invitation to tender was also sent to other manufacturers. Three additional designs were evaluated - the Republic AP-55 , an improved version of the prototype XF-91 Thunderceptor , the North American NA-212 , which later became the YF-107 , and the Northrop N-102 Fang , featuring a new design the General Electric J79 afterburner engine. Lockheed won the tender and received a development contract in March 1953. Construction of two new prototypes could already begin at the end of May. Since the J79 engine wasn't ready, both prototypes used the Wright J65 instead . The first flight of a star fighter took place on March 4, 1954. The total time between placing the order and the first flight was only about two years. Only the He 162 had a shorter development time , with the period between the placing of the order and the first flight was only 69 days. A development time of around 10 to 15 years is common for new jets today.

On May 16, 1958, an F-104A set a world speed record of 2259.538 km / h. On December 14, 1959, an F-104C reached the world record height of 31,513 m (= 103,389 feet). The Starfighter was the first aircraft that simultaneously held records for speed, altitude and rate of climb .

construction

General

Starfighter in the Deutsches Museum

In order to achieve the planned flight performance, the Lockheed engineers developed a radically new concept for the wings of the Starfighter : They were designed as thin as possible and relatively short in order to reduce aerodynamic drag in the supersonic range . Such a design reduces the rate of change in the air flow over the wing and reduces the wave resistance caused by the sound barrier .

Most of the other high-speed jet planes of the time had swept-back wings that allowed a long chord , even with a narrow span , and provided space for the controls, landing gear and internal tanks. The wings of the Starfighter , on the other hand, were trapezoidal and so thin that there was no space for the landing gear and tanks. These components were instead housed in the rear of the fuselage.

The edges of the wings were so sharp that the ground crew had to attach rubber strips to them immediately after landing so that no one was injured. The advantage of this design was an excellent ratio of rate of climb to drag under most conditions, except in aerial combat at close range at which these wings could cause a very high resistance at sharp turns. However, this disadvantage was insignificant for the planned use as an interceptor for use against Soviet bombers flying in at great heights.

Another side effect of a small wing is a high landing speed. To reduce them, the wing got two very large, one-piece landing flaps. These were massively increased in efficiency by a slat that folds down over the entire length of the wing (Bölkow system). The initial desire for greater support of the landing flaps by also by 10-15 ° pivoting down aileron was in favor of the boundary layer flow discarded ( "boundary layer"). A flow separation at the top of the flaps to which up to 45.3 ° deflected flap to prevent the wing received a relatively complex Grenzschichteinblasung ( "boundary layer control", BLC). Here, bleed air is taken from the engine on both sides at the end of the low-pressure compressor and blown out via a valve flap, a pipe system and an exhaust pipe that is slotted lengthways in the fully extended state in front of the landing flap linkages. It was aerodynamically convincing, but it assumed that the engine was running on the approach. Slat and landing flaps were electrically operated and locked. The landing flaps were mechanically synchronized on the later F-104G and -S; it was not absolutely necessary on the slat flaps. Many years later, the US Navy took up the idea of ​​effectively reducing the landing speed by supporting the landing flaps by means of additional joint aileron deflections on their F / A-18 carrier aircraft. The BLC system was no longer used in later combat aircraft because of the high cost; two-part landing flaps were less complex when needed.

For additional thrust regulation , movable lamellas were attached to the afterburner nozzle, via which the outlet cross-section could be changed. The hydraulic actuation of this "nozzle control" of the J-79 engines of the "A" series that was initially used, like the BLC system, required considerable maintenance and was often part of the cause of the crash. With the later J79-J1K engine modified by MTU in Munich, the nozzle problems were solved and the maintenance effort was significantly reduced.

The Starfighter's long, slim fuselage contributed to its high performance in the supersonic range. However, due to the low internal fuel capacity, the aircraft had a limited range without external tanks. With additional tanks, however, the already modest possibilities for carrying weapons and equipment were further restricted. This was addressed when the Federal Air Force procured the "G". Lockheed proposed two more underwing stations as a solution. For this, however, the wing structure would have had to be revised considerably. So the idea for the procurement of the "G" was rejected again. The Italian Air Force took them up again when designing the "S" version and ordered their machines with two additional underwing stations. Due to the additional weapon load relatively far out on the wing, however, the longitudinal stability changed, which is why the Italian "S" then received two additional fins on the right and left of the central fin for stabilization.

In aerial combat, the F-104 turned out to be below average in horizontal curve combat: its high wing loading caused excessive speed loss in tight turns and restricted maneuverability. For this reason, the pilots in the training of the NATO air forces were encouraged to seek vertical combat in curves as possible, since the enormous climbing ability of the 104 could be exploited here. In addition, there were problems in bad weather. This became particularly clear during the various Indian-Pakistani conflicts when Pakistani starfighters encountered Indian MiG-21s . In short-range air battles at low altitude, for which the aircraft was structurally not designed, it was inferior to other machines. Starfighter pilots therefore always tried to force the enemy into the air, while MiG-21 pilots tried exactly the opposite.

radar

The machine was equipped with an ultramodern radar device of the type NASARR F-15-A (North American Search and Ranging Radar) from the US company Autonetics. It was only in the 2000s, it became known that maintenance technicians by proceeding from this unit X-rays sometimes suffered serious health damage have. An infrared aiming device with a firing range computer is also inserted flush in front of the front cockpit glazing. An IFF (friend / foe recognition) receiver, TACAN and a UHF radio are also installed.

Versions

USAF F-104C in Vietnam in 1965

F-104F of the German Air Force

F-104G of JG 71

An RF-104G of the AG 51 with an RF-101C of the USAF

Air Force TF-104G at Luke Air Force Base in 1982

Italian F-104S at Bitburg Air Base (1988)

XF-104

Wright J65 engine prototypes , two built

YF-104A

Pre-production aircraft with General Electric J79 engines, 17 built

F-104A

Production version as an interceptor, 153 built

NF-104A

Civilian version with an additional 27 kN Rocketdyne LR121 / AR-2-NA-1 rocket motor for astronaut training at altitudes over 36,830 m (120,800 ft), three built

QF-104A

Conversion of 24 F-104A to remote-controlled target display aircraft

F-104B

Two-seat trainer version of the F-104A, 26 built

F-104C

Fighter-bomber with AN / ASG-14T-2 radar and air refueling facility, four underwing stations and a lower hull station, at which an Mk-28 or Mk-43 nuclear weapon could also be carried, 77 were built

F-104D

Two-seat trainer version of the F-104C, 21 built

F-104DJ

Two-seat trainer version of the F-104J, 20 built (were assembled at Mitsubishi )

F-104F

Two-seat trainer version similar to the F-104D for the German Air Force , with a more powerful engine, but without radar and armament, 32 built

F-104G

Fighter-bomber with reinforced airframe and wings, larger fuel supply, stronger chassis with larger wheels and modified flaps for better maneuverability. Equipped with Autonetics-NASARR-F15A-41B radar, Litton LN-3 navigation system and infrared viewing device. A total of 1122 units were built by Lockheed, Canadair , Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm , Fiat Aviazione , Fokker and SABCA .

RF-104G

Reconnaissance version of the F-104G with three KS-67A cameras instead of the on-board cannon, 189 built

TF-104G

Two-seat trainer version of the F-104G with less fuel and no lower body station, 220 built

TF-104G-M

15 TF-104G modified by Aeritalia

F-104G CCV

Modified F-104G for testing a flight control system called C ontrol C onfigured V ehicle. For the test, the stability was artificially reduced. Outward features were ballast tanks and canard wings on the back of the fuselage. The program brought insights for future generations of combat aircraft.

F-104H

Project of a simplified F-104G, not built

F-104J

Interceptors for Japan similar to the F-104A, 210 built (three by Lockheed, 29 were assembled by Mitsubishi, 177 built by Mitsubishi itself).

F-104N

NASA version of the F-104G / ​​TF-104G, three built

NF-104A

NASA version, three built for the Aerospace Research Pilot School to train astronauts; equipped with a rocket engine above the jet engine and a reaction control system in the nose and in the extended wings for altitudes over 80,000 feet, which were reached in parabolic flight.

F-104S

Italian version , improved F-104G with NASARR-R-21G / H radar, four additional weapon stations and a more powerful J79-GE-19 engine. The F-104S could be armed with Sparrow air-to-air missiles, but had no on-board gun. 246 were built by Fiat Aviazione.

F-104S-ASA

147 modified F-104S ( Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma - "improved weapon systems") with Fiat R21G / M1 radar and improved avionics for the use of Sidewinder AIM-9L and Aspide missiles

F-104S-ASA / M

49 modified F-104S ( Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma / Modificato - "improved weapon systems / modified"), equipment as pure interceptors with improved avionics. The last F-104-ASA / M were decommissioned in December 2004.

CF-104

Canadian version of the F-104G with NASARR-R-24A radar (retrofitted 1972) on the use of nuclear weapons and without cannon, Canadian J79-OEL-7-engine (44/70 kN), 200 of Canadair built

CF-104D

Two-seat trainer version of the CF-104, 38 built by Lockheed

Technical data of the F-104G

Three-sided view of an F-104G

Planned further development of the RF-104G of the Federal Air Force with a camera container under the fuselage and an extended nose for larger radar

German F-104G of JG 74 in June 1965

Parameter	Data
Type	Fighter bomber
crew	1
length	16.66 m
span	06.68 m
Wing area	18.22 m²
Wing extension	02.22
Wing loading 1	349 kg / m² minimum (empty weight) 514 kg / m² nominal (normal take-off weight) 723 kg / m² maximum (maximum take-off weight)
Height 2	approx. 4.09 m
Empty mass	06,350 kg (depending on the setup)
normal takeoff mass	09,365 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	13,170 kg
Top speed	Mach 2.0 or approx. 2,200 km / h (at 36,000 ft)
Initial rate of climb	244 m / s
Service ceiling	15,240 m
Deployment radius 3	0.670 km without additional tanks 1,740 km with additional tanks
Transfer range	2,623 km
Engine	to 1970: 1 × jet engine General Electric J79-GE-11A from 1970: 1 × jet engine GE MTU J79 J1K (improved under license from MTU )
Thrust J79-GE-11A	44.50 kN without afterburner 69.42 kN with afterburner
Thrust J79-J1K	46.48 kN without afterburner 70.95 kN with afterburner
Thrust-to-weight ratio	1.11 maximum (empty weight) 0.76 nominal (normal take-off weight) 0.54 minimum (maximum take-off weight)
Unit price	1.42 million US dollars (1961: 6 million  DM 4 )

¹ The wing loading (weight / area) of the F-104G is only a theoretical value, as the fuselage provides approx. 50% of the lift

² Varies by around ± 150 mm depending on the load, fueling, the pressure in the silicone oil struts and the temperature

³An "official" statement at the time: Moscow was therefore "officially" not within range of the F-104G

^4th Adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to 13,640,000 euros based on today's purchasing power

Armament

Opened machine gun shaft of an F-104 in the Museum of Aviation and Technology in Wernigerode

Permanently installed on-board cannon

• 1 × six- barreled 20 mm Gatling automatic cannon General Electric T171 (M61) Vulcan with 725 rounds of ammunition

The Gatling automatic cannon is installed flush with the hull on the left under the cockpit. It has a cadence of 4000 shots / min. The cannon was replaced by a camera set in the reconnaissance versions. Later combat value enhancement programs replaced the T171 with the more modern M61A1.

Explosive ordnance up to 1,841 kg at five (seven on Italian F-104 "S") external load stations

Air-to-air guided missile

• 4 × LAU-7 / A start rails for 1 × Ford AIM-9B "Sidewinder" each  - infrared-controlled self-targeting for short distances
• 2 × RED DOG (catamaran) double start rails for 2 × Ford AIM-9B "Sidewinder" each  - infrared controlled, self-aiming for short distances (F-104S)
• 6 × LAU-7 / A start rails for 1 × Ford AIM-9B / J / N / L "Sidewinder" each  - infrared-controlled self-targeting for short distances (F-104S)
• 2 × LAU-92 / A start rails for 1 × Hughes AIM-7E "Sparrow" each  - semi-active, radar-guided for medium-haul routes (F-104S)
• 2 × start rails for 1 × Selenia Aspide 1A / Mk.1 each  - semi-active, radar-guided for medium-haul routes (F-104S)

Air-to-surface guided missile

• 2 × Aérospatiale AS.30 "Noras" - radio-controlled air-to-ground
• 2 × Aérospatiale / MBB AS.34 "Kormoran 1" - anti-ship missile
• 2 × Kongsberg AGM-119 "Penguin Mk.1" anti -ship missiles

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 4 × LAU-3 / A rocket tube launch containers for 7 × unguided FFAR air-to-surface rockets each ; 70mm / 2.75 inch caliber missiles
• 4 × LAU-32 / A rocket tube launch container for 7 × unguided Hydra -FFAR air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inches
• 4 × Matra F4 (Matra 155) tubular launchers for 18 × unguided SNEB air-to-surface missiles, caliber 68 mm
• 4 × LAU-5002 rocket tube launch container for 7 × unguided CRV7 air-to-surface missiles each ; Caliber 70 mm / 2.75 inch

Unguided free-fall bombs

• 5 × Mark 82 LDGP (227 kg / 500 lb free fall bomb )
• 5 × Mark 82 "Snake Eye" (227 kg free-fall bomb)
• 2 × M117 GP (372 kg / 820 lb free fall bomb)
• 2 × British Hunting Engineering BL755 (254 kg cluster bomb with 147 bomblets with shaped charges)
• 1 × B28 (nuclear free-fall bomb with 1.45 MT explosive device)
• 1 × B43 (nuclear free-fall bomb with 1 MT explosive device)
• 1 × B57 (nuclear free-fall bomb with 20 kT explosive device)
• 1 × B61 (nuclear free-fall bomb with 0.3–170 kT explosive device)

Additional container

• 1 × photo reconnaissance container Vinten VICON
• 1 × photo reconnaissance container Odelft Orpheus
• 2 × ejectable wing tip additional tanks for 645 liters of kerosene
• 2 × drop-off under wing additional tanks for 645 liters of kerosene
• 1 × target towing container Secapem
• 1 × luggage container CNU-188 / A
• 1 × training bomb case SUU-21

Technical problems

See also : Starfighter Affair

• The first version provided for an ejector seat , which should not move the pilot up, but down from the aircraft. The reason for this was the fear that the pilot on the committee could collide with the T-tail unit. The ejection seat ("C1") could not be used in low flight, as the pilot would have been "shot into the ground". Therefore, this solution was discarded when the German version F-104 "G" was purchased and replaced by an upward-shooting ejection seat (model Lockheed "C2"). Only relatively few modifications were necessary for this: roughly outlined, the four pairs of rollers on the C1 seat (for the two guide rails) were moved from top to bottom (on the C2 seat), the cabin emergency opening was modified and the cannon turned over for ejection. The US Air Force stayed with their versions "A" to "D" until 1959 with the "C1" seat, as they had no such concerns with other models (e.g. X-3 and B-47 ) at high altitudes . The last successful “C1” committee on June 30, 1959 (JF-104A, serial number 56-0768) proved that a seat that protrudes downwards is feasible with this operational profile. After 1959, the US Air Force also had its Starfighters converted to the better C2 seat. Although actually no longer necessary, the opening provided for the C1 catapult seat below the cockpit (“hatch”) has been retained for practical purposes. This gave you good access to the cockpit for maintenance work. Only four Allen screws had to be opened, then the hatch could be removed with the seat installed and instruments and pedals were easily accessible. This solution with the flap placed under the ejection seat proved itself so well in daily practice that it was later adopted for the Alpha Jet : here, too, the hatch can be opened downwards.
• At the beginning, the Air Force used the original Lockheed "C2" ejection seat, which only worked safely above a certain airspeed (approx. 60 knots approx. 111 km / h). If the ejection seat was deployed at too low a speed, the pilots often suffered fatal injuries. The seat required manual handling and could become entangled in the suspension lines of the parachute when the seat and man were separated. From 1967 - also under pressure from the pilots - the English ejector seat Martin-Baker Mk. GQ-7 (A) was converted, which still allows the pilot from a machine standing on the ground (zero ("zero") - speed and zero altitude ) could save with an acceptable risk. Compared to the “C2” seat, this “zero / zero seat” also had a rocket propellant so that it could climb as far as possible from the aircraft if necessary. After the committee, the seat was stabilized with a small additional braking parachute and the man-seat separation was easy. A barometric device ensured that at high altitudes and until deeper layers of air (around 5,000 m / 15,000 feet) were reached, the pilot initially remained connected to the seat and thus to its oxygen supply. If the amount was lower, the separation occurred immediately after the committee. Since the introduction of the new GQ-7 type, the number of fatal accidents has dropped significantly at the end of the 1960s: if the pilot was still able to trigger a reject, the chance of survival was almost reached. On September 24, 1968, the first successful committee with the GQ-7 ejector seat from an F-104 during an emergency landing on Ramstein Air Base . To further improve the rescue system on the two-seater machines, they were retrofitted with an automatic reject system in the 1970s. This ensured that when the ejection seats were activated, the rear seat was catapulted out of the machine first and prevented the seats from colliding in the air thanks to the fixed time interval between the "bail outs".
• Because of the high take-off speed of around 400 km / h (due to the very high wing loading and the low- lift profile) and the strong acceleration of the machine after take-off, the landing gear had to be retracted within two seconds of take-off. At a speed of over 420 km / h it jammed because of its high air resistance and could be damaged if it was exceeded extremely. However, if such a situation did occur, the pilot had to climb further with reduced thrust in a traffic area in order to adopt a landing approach configuration at a safe height (slats and flaps are fully extended), reduce the speed and at approx. 350-400 km / h ( approx. 190–215 knots ) retract the landing gear. After that, the flight could either be continued or, if the pilot decided for a technical check, it could be ended regularly by landing.
• The boundary layer control (BLC) required a running engine during landing. After an engine failure, it was difficult to land the Starfighter because of the risk of stalling . Initial unilateral failures of the BLC inevitably led to a total loss on landing, but could be detected quite reliably by the first wait before take-off during the last chance check . To do this, with the flaps fully extended, he had to move his bare hand over the slots above the flap linkages. If the two currents were unequal, the waiting broke off the start procedure. With the introduction of this simple procedure and improved maintenance rules, this danger was almost completely eliminated.
• In the event of a one-sided failure of the landing flaps due to a defective drive motor, an uncontrollable rolling movement occurred that could not be compensated for by the ailerons. To prevent this, a simple mechanism was introduced quite successfully, which synchronized the two electric landing flap drives in front of their gearbox with two 110 V three-phase motors via two slip clutches and a thin, flexible shaft . This effectively prevented the uneven deployment of the flaps and solved the problem. By flanging the shaft directly to the motor and in front of the gearbox, the diameter of the shaft could be kept very small (only about 12 mm). It was led in a large arc to the other drive motor in the top of the cell above the engine.

Nozzle (adjustable thrust nozzle) of the J-79 engine of the F-104

• The hydraulically operated lamellas of the afterburner nozzle were normally controlled automatically by the engine control. In the event of a hydraulic failure of the thrust regulation, the nozzle opened fully ("open nozzle failure"), which resulted in a sudden loss of thrust and often caused the engine to stall due to a flame failure . The re-ignition required time and thus a certain minimum altitude. Occasionally restarting the engine was not successful either. The failure of the hydraulic thrust regulation could be corrected in an emergency using the retrofitted "emergency nozzle closure system" (red handle on the front instrument panel on the right). After its activation, the pilot could fly to the next airfield without any problems (but without an afterburner). To do this, after throttling the starting power, he had to watch the "Nozzle display" and, if necessary, operate the red handle. Although this relatively simple emergency closure had been discussed very early before the purchase of the Starfighter, the actual implementation dragged on for many years due to bureaucratic obstacles in the multinational license production.

Instruments in the cockpit of an F-104

• The general accusation that is often made that some of the instruments in the aircraft supplied have been exchanged for German or European models cannot be proven. Allegedly this would have led to an increased take-off weight and changed trim. The F-104G was a Lockheed development based on the structure and aerodynamics of the F-104C, and was built by the European licensees exactly according to the original documents (for monitoring the production see also section " Production ").

production

The Starfighter was produced in several versions, including training aircraft (TF-104) in a two-seat version. The US Air Force only ordered 296 starfighters in one and two-seat versions.

Dutch F-104

The aircraft appeared to be more useful for the NATO partners, and so 2578 units (some as part of a US military aid program) were delivered to or built in various countries. Essentially: Canada , Federal Republic of Germany , Italy , Norway , Netherlands , Belgium , Denmark , Greece , Turkey , Spain , Republic of China (Taiwan) and Japan . In Europe, the machine was licensed by several working groups in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium as the F-104 G (for Germany - German version) and by Fiat / Italy as the F-104 S (for the use of " Sparrow " -Air- Air missiles).

In order to coordinate the extensive European production with over 140,000 employees, the ODC ( O rganisme de D irection et de C ontrole) was founded in Koblenz in May 1960 . In order to further improve the decision-making process, the ODC was then converted five months later into NASMO ( NA TO S tarfighter M anagement O ffice), also based in Koblenz. It included around 30 technicians and engineers from Lockheed and the American licensors from the supplier industry and a good 130 employees from European licensees and operators. Two permanent bodies from the four participating countries, consisting of employees from the procurement authorities and the industry, coordinated the extensive European production. The being moved as well in Koblenz Laao ( L ockheed A ircraft A dvisory O ffice) worked closely with the NASMO together and in turn monitored their decisions.

The assemblies were assembled in the various production facilities in such a high quality that in the event of failure of individual locations (e.g. during the storm surge in Hamburg in 1962 ) the parts supplied by other companies could be installed without any problems. With the technical level at that time, that was by no means a given.

The individual working groups (ARGE):

ARGE USA:

• Lockheed - Palmdale (Plant B-4) (including construction segment 100 - final assembly)
• Lockheed - Burbank (Plant B-1) (including construction segment 220 - hull complete)
• Temco (Texas Engineering & Manufacturing Company) - Dallas (including construction segment 400 - wings)
• Beech Aircraft Corporation - Wichita (including 260 - rear fuselage)
• Rheem - Downey (California) (including construction segment 500 - tail unit)
• and more

(Complete European assemblies were also finally assembled in the USA)

ARGE Nord (Germany / Netherlands):

• Fokker - Schiphol (construction segment 100 - final assembly)
• Fokker - Dordrecht (building segment 400 - wings complete)
• Aviolanda Papendrecht / Woensdrecht (Netherlands)
• Focke-Wulf - Bremen
• Hamburger Flugzeugbau (HFB) - Hamburg-Finkenwerder
• Weser-Flugzeugbau - Nordenham (including construction segment 241 - central fuselage section)
• and more

ARGE West (Belgium):

• SABCA (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) - Gosselies (construction segment 100 - final assembly)
• Avions Fairey - Charleroi-Gosselies
• Fiat Aviazione - Turin (segment 241 - middle section)
• WMD - Siebelwerke ATG (WMD / SIAT) - Donauwörth (including construction segment 260 - trunk rear)
• Heinkel - Speyer - former Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke (construction segment including 500 - tail unit complete)
• FN ( Fabrique Nationale ) - Herstal (engine production)
• and more

ARGE South (Germany):

• Dornier - Neuaubing and Oberpfaffenhofen
• Heinkel - Speyer
• Messerschmitt (later Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB)) - Augsburg and Manching (final assembly)
• WMD / SIAT - Donauwörth
• BMW / MAN turbo engines (now MTU ) - Munich-Allach (engine production also for ARGE Nord)
• and more

ARGE Italy:

• Fiat Aviazione (final assembly, general contractor and engine production with Alfa Romeo ) - Turin
• Aermacchi
• Aerfer - Naples (including construction segment 400 - wings, 500 - tail unit and much more)
• SACA ( Società per Azioni Costruzioni Aeronautiche) - Brindisi (including flaps)
• Piaggio - Finale Ligure (including building segments 242 - fuselage center section)
• Aeronavali - Venice (including 115 - Stabilizer)
• SIAI-Marchetti - Sesto Calende (including 247, 248 - air inlet)
• and more

The LN3 inertial navigation system from the US company Litton was manufactured in Germany (Freiburg), the NASARR radar device under license from Telefunken in Ulm - as was the Sidewinder air-to-air guided missile from Bodenseewerk Geräteechnik GmbH (Überlingen).

Canadair (Canada) was a supplier for various components for European production and to Lockheed itself.

USAF production

The F-104 was delivered to various nations as part of the Military Assistance Program (MAP). The USAF procured 140 F-104s from Canadair as offshore procurement.

Acceptance of the F-104 by the USAF:

version	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	TOTAL
XF-104	1		1										2
YF-104A		17th											17th
F-104A			43	110									153
F-104B			4th	22nd									26th
F-104C				28	49								77
F-104D				4th	17th								21st
F-104F Germany					1	29							30th
F-104G MAP								15th	24	18th			57
F-104G MAP Canadair									2	80	54	4th	140
TF-104G MAP								1	23	4th			28
TF-104G Belgium										1	2		3
TF-104G Germany								11	47	14th			72
TF-104G Italy										12			12
TF-104G Spain											1		1
RF-104G MAP									24				24
RF-104G									15th	1			16
TOTAL	1	17th	48	164	67	29	0	27	135	130	57	1	679

Use in the Bundeswehr

Starfighter in the air force barracks madness

In 1957, when looking for a modern supersonic interceptor, the German Air Force had the choice between the US Lockheed F-104 “Starfighter” (top speed of the record version about 2260 km / h) and the Grumman F-11F “Tiger” (top speed about 1170 km / h), the French "Mirage III" (top speed about 2150 km / h) and the British Saunders-Roe SR.177 (P177) (top speed about 2400 km / h), which is in the planning phase . According to Lieutenant General Josef Kammhuber , the Inspector of the Air Force , an all-weather fighter should ideally get by with a very short runway and achieve a Mach number of over 2 in order to be able to effectively fight supersonic Soviet bombers such as the Myasishchev M-50 . Such an aircraft did not yet exist at the end of the 1950s. On behalf of Kammhuber, Walter Krupinski carried out comparison flights of the two American models in the USA in December 1957. The comparison flight was completed in May 1958 in Villaroche with the Mirage. As a result of these tests, Krupinski recommended the acquisition of the F-104. After initial doubts, Kammhuber also favored the "Starfighter". Thereupon the then Defense Minister Franz Josef Strauss suggested the introduction of the modern American weapon system Starfighter, although this weapon system did not allow the range politically desired by the German side. This made it possible, on the one hand, to replace the various previous types of fighter aircraft such as the F-86K Saber , F-84F Thunderstreak and RF-84F Thunderflash with a modern multi-purpose fighter , and on the other hand, it helped the Bundeswehr in Europe to gain the political weight it needed to adhere to the NATO strategy To be involved in massive retaliation and to have a say in nuclear deployment planning through nuclear participation .

Nuclear participation was regarded as an indispensable part of German security policy and only allowed an American weapon system to be considered as a nuclear "vehicle" in order to be able to make its own contribution under the nuclear protective shield of the United States and, with the new weapon system, to carry out military operations against what was to be feared offensive potential of the Warsaw Pact.

However, the F-104G weapon system itself was soon no longer needed to attack Soviet bombers with air-to-air missiles at high altitudes, as the majority of the bombers were replaced by ICBMs .

Troop service

F-104G of the Marinefliegergeschwader 2 (1984)

From the summer of 1960 until it was retired on May 22, 1991, the Bundeswehr deployed a total of 916 starfighters (30 F-104F, 586 F-104G, 163 RF-104G and 137 TF-104G, 35 of them in the USA). Almost a third of these, namely 269 machines, were lost due to crashes. A total of 300 machines had to be written off due to accidents. Including the last fatal accident in 1984, 116 pilots had a fatal accident (108 Germans and eight US Americans).

On July 18, 1966, Lieutenant Siegfried Arndt crashed during a target practice over the North Sea. He was able to get out of the ejection seat in time. Although the destroyer Bavaria and the minesweeper Düren were nearby, no immediate rescue took place. Arndt drowned in the troubled sea as a result of considerable equipment deficiencies. The Düren ran over his bandaged even with the parachute body during rescue attempt. Four weeks later, his body was recovered on the North Sea island of Langeneß . After his father reported a criminal offense on suspicion of negligent homicide, the public prosecutor in Oldenburg soon abandoned the investigation because Arndt himself was to blame for the crash and had died hanging on a parachute. Only an investigative committee of the Bundestag, which was set up at the request of the social democratic members of the defense committee, discovered the deficiencies in the rescue operation and the equipment. The equipment deficiencies were known before the crash, but were dismissed as an isolated case. After sharp criticism of members of parliament in the rescue operation and the trivialization of equipment deficiencies by the Ministry of Defense dismissed Defense Minister Kai-Uwe von Hassel the Inspector of the Air Force , Lieutenant General Werner Panitzki . He was succeeded by Johannes Steinhoff , who, endowed with extensive powers, reorganized the air force and training.

On March 10, 1970, the naval pilot Oberleutnant zur See Joachim von Hassel, son of the then Bundestag President Kai-Uwe von Hassel, fell fatally.

The Starfighter was used as a fighter in Fighter Squadrons 71 and 74 , as a fighter-bomber in Fighter-Bomber Squadrons 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 and 36 , as a reconnaissance aircraft in Reconnaissance Squadrons 51 and 52 and for anti-naval targeting in Naval Aviation Squadrons  1 and 2 (also reconnaissance aircraft). The training took place at the USAF in the USA and at the Luftwaffe  10 weapons school in Nörvenich (later Jever). From May 1984 to autumn 1988 there was also the F-104 command at Air Force Supply Regiment 1 in Erding , where all the pilots received their authorizations on the Starfighter, whose units were already retraining for the Panavia Tornado , but which did not yet receive the model training on the successor to the F-104. The Fighter Bomber Wing 31 was the Luftwaffe ready for use on 20 June 1962 as the first bandage on the Starfighter.

The Bundeswehr used the F-104G versions in various configurations as a fighter, conventional fighter-bomber, nuclear weapon carrier and for naval warfare. In addition, the version RF-104G was used, the reconnaissance version ("Reconnaissance") had several cameras instead of the M61 Vulcan machine cannon on board. The F-104F - a two-seater trainer based on the F-104D of the USAF - was used for training in the first few years, because the TF-104G, which was originally intended as a two-seater trainer based on the F-104G, was not yet ready. The F-104F were gradually supplemented or replaced by the TF-104G and retired by April 1971. Some F-104 of different designs were stationed in the USA with American national emblems for training purposes (see below for details on the stationing locations in Germany and the USA).

Aerobatics

→ Main article : Crash of a Starfighter formation of the Bundeswehr Air Force in 1962

Starfighter formation (1965)

After there had already been a few aerobatic teams within the Air Force with different aircraft types in the pilot's schools A and B, which found widespread interest among the population, and formation flights of up to four F-104Fs in normal training flight operations as well as at the first public presentation of the aircraft in September 1961 in Fürstenfeldbruck went without problems, the Bundeswehr decided to set up an aerobatic team with F-104. This should demonstrate the capabilities of the F-104. The first performance was scheduled for June 20, 1962, the day the Starfighter was put into service at JaboG 31. The day before, however, the formation crashed due to a pilot's error, and four pilots were killed. The Air Force then disbanded all aerobatic teams.

From the 1970s onwards, a display team made up of two aircraft was presented to the naval aviators of the German Armed Forces at various flying days; these presentations were discontinued at the end of the decade. For the flight day at Eggebek Air Base in 1983, a one-time demonstration with two star fighters was planned again, but no more aerobatic maneuvers were to be flown, only demonstrations of the tactics. By flying parallel to the spectators, risks in the event of a crash were reduced. The concept proved to be extremely successful, and from then on the machines carried out further sightseeing flights under the name “Vikings”. The "Vikings" also gained great popularity abroad and went on a farewell tour across the USA, even flying over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco at a low level. Domestically, this team made sure to improve the reputation of the F-104. The Vikings had their last appearance on the Starfighter on September 27, 1986 at the flight day of JG 74 in Neuburg.

Flight hours

The Starfighter was used in the Bundeswehr with a total of 15 squadrons. From February 1962 to May 1991 a total of 1,975,646 hours were flown, of which 269,750 hours were spent on training at the hatch AFB. The low number of flight hours in the reconnaissance and fighter squadrons as well as in the fighter-bomber squadron 36 can be explained by the early conversion of these units to the RF-4E / F-4F Phantom II in the 1970s.

Flying hours of the German starfighter associations

operator

F-104 Starfighter operator

military

 United States ( USAF )

295 copies ordered, 277 delivered (153 “A”, 26 “B”, 77 “C”, 21 “D”), an order for 18 RF-104A was canceled.

 Belgium ( Belgian Air Force )

101 F-104G, 12 TF-104G, built by SABCA . In service from 1963 to 1983; During this time, 38 machines were lost in accidents. Discontinued copies were sold to Taiwan and Turkey, among others.

 Canada ( Canadian Air Force )

200 CF-104 and 28 two-seat CF-104D, built by Canadair and equipped with a radar warning system. In service from 1963 to 1986, individual copies were also sold to Denmark, Norway and Turkey.

 Taiwan ( Republic of China Air Force )

A total of 281 F-104A, B, D, G, J, DJ, RF-104G and TF-104G starfighters. In service until 1997.

Taiwan Air Force F-104J

 Denmark ( Danish Air Force )

Initially, 25 CF-104s from Canada and four TF-104Gs were purchased, and later more machines followed. The total of 51 aircraft were in service until 1986 and some were then sold to Taiwan.

 Germany

F-104G (specified above)

Greek F-104G

 Greece ( Polemikí Aeroporía )

45 newbuildings F-104G and six TF-104G that were in service from 1964 to March 1993.

 Italy ( Aeronautica Militare )

The Italian Air Force received 105 F-104G, 24 TF-104G and 20 RF-104G that were built in Germany. 1964 began the license production of a total of 205 aircraft under the name Aeritalia F-104S; there were also six TF-104Gs from the German Air Force. Some of the 360 ​​machines remained in service until 2004; In the almost forty years of service, a total of 137 aircraft were lost in crashes and accidents, which corresponds to 38% of the total number.

F-104J of JASDF 1982

 Japan ( Air Self Defense Forces )

178 F-104Js under license and 20 F-104DJ trainers from 1962 to 1986; 36 crashes during this time.

 Jordan ( Jordanian Air Force )

Under the Military Aid Program, 29 F-104A and four F-104B from US holdings; the planes were relocated to Turkey by Americans during the 1967 Six Day War .

 Netherlands ( Koninklijke Luchtmacht )

138 F-104G licensed buildings

 Norway ( Luftforsvaret )

18 CF-104 and four CF-104D from Canadian production, later also 19 F-104G and four TF-104G. In service until 1982.

 Pakistan ( Pak Faza'ya )

F-104A and F-104B from US stocks, combat missions in the Kashmir War 1965.

 Puerto Rico ( Air National Guard )

F-104C

F-104 of the Turkish Air Force

 Spain ( Ejército del Aire )

18 F-104G and three TF-104G from Canadian production, sold to Greece and Turkey in 1972. It is noteworthy that not a single aircraft was lost in an accident in 17,000 flight hours, since, unlike in most NATO countries, the Starfighter was used in its original role as a fair-weather interceptor.

 Turkey ( Türk Hava Kuvetleri )

In addition to 48 F-104Gs produced by Lockheed and Canadair, 70 F-104S were ordered in Italy. In addition, Turkey later acquired numerous CF-104, CF-104D, F-104G and TF-104G from other NATO countries and had a total of over 400 aircraft in service, which, however, were often decommissioned quite soon and served as spare parts donors . The last units were decommissioned in 1995.

Civil operator

 United States

• NASA various versions, after the USAF had retired the Starfighter, German machines were also regularly loaned.
• The Starfighters , civil jet demo team, three planes

Station locations in Germany and the USA

Canadian Forces Air Command

RCAF / CFB Lahr , April 1967 to July 1970, CF-104 / CF-104D ( 1st Wing : 430th , 439th and 441st Squadron )

RCAF / CFB Söllingen , July 1963 to March 1986, CF-104 / CF-104D ( 4th Wing : 421st , 422nd , 427th , 430th , 439th , 441st and 444th Squadron )

RCAF / CFB Zweibrücken , October 1962 to May 1969, CF-104 / CF-104D ( 3rd Wing : 427th and 434th Squadron )

air force

Bremgarten Air Base , March 1969 to April 1971, RF / TF-104 / G ( Reconnaissance Wing 51 "I" )

Büchel Air Base , August 1962 to May 1985, F / TF-104G ( Fighter Bomber Wing 33 )

Erding Air Base , May 1984 to September 1988 ( Luftwaffenschleuse 11 - LVR 1 )

Hopsten Air Base , February 1965 to January 1975, F / TF-104G ( Jagdbombergeschwader 36 )

Jever Air Base, February 1964 to September 1983, F-104F, TF-104G ( Weapons School 10 )

Lechfeld Air Base , December 1964 to April 1984, F / TF-104G ( Jagdbombergeschwader 32 )

Leck Air Base , November 1964 to September 1971, RF / TF-104G ( Reconnaissance Wing 52 )

Manching Air Base , February 1962 to May 1991, F-104F, F / TF-104 / G ( Wehrtechnische Dienststelle 61 )

Memmingen Air Base , July 1964 to October 1987, F / TF-104G ( Jagdbombergeschwader 34 )

Nörvenich Air Base, May 1960 to April 1983 F-104F, F-104F, F / TF-104G ( weapons school 10 , fighter-bomber squadron 31  "B" )

Neuburg Air Base , May 1964 to July 1974, F / TF-104G ( Jagdgeschwader 74  "M" )

Wittmundhafen Air Base , April 1963 to September 1974, F / TF-104G ( Jagdgeschwader 71  "R" )

Federal Navy

Eggebek Air Base , March 1965 to September 1986, F / RF / TF-104G ( Marinefliegergeschwader 2 )

Schleswig -Jagel Air Base, September 1963 to October 1981, F / TF-104G ( Marinefliegergeschwader 1 )

For crew training, the Air Force in the USA maintained the Air Force Training Squadron equipped with F / TF-104G ( 2nd DtLwAusbStff USA ). The machines had tactical characteristics of the USAF and the unit was fully embedded in the USAF organization.

The first course had already taken place in the spring of 1962 at the USAF at George Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert on F-104D, the training was the responsibility of the 4443rd Combat Crew Training Squadron (CCTS).

In the summer of 1964, the squadron moved to Luke Air Force Base , where it continued school operations as part of the 4510th CCTW (W for wing / squadron), now equipped with F / TF-104G. This squadron had already set up the 4540th CCTG (G for Group) a few months earlier for the air force training program , and the 4512th and 4518th CCTS were already under its control . After the 4443rd CCTS and 4540th CCTG were deactivated in early September 1967, the other three designations were changed to the 69th and 418th Tactical Fighter Training Squadron (TFTS) as part of the 58th Tactical Fighter Training Wing in early October 1969 . After the fighter and reconnaissance squadrons and the JaboG 36 had been converted to the F-4, the 418th TFTS was also deactivated in early October 1976. The F-104 training ended with the retirement of the 69th TFTS in March 1983.

Others

North American Eagle

Parts of an F-104 - converted into a four-wheeled vehicle - formed the basis for the North American Eagle Project , which was intended to break the ThrustSSC land speed record from 1997. On August 27, 2019, the driver Jessi Combs had a serious accident with the North American Eagle in the Alvord Desert in the US state of Oregon and died at the scene of the accident.

See also

• List of aircraft types

literature

• Klaus Kropf: German Starfighters . The F-104 in German Air Force and Naval Air Service. Midland Publishing, Hinckley 2002, ISBN 1-85780-124-5 (English, German: Deutsche Starfighter .).
• Siegfried Wache: Lockheed F-104G Starfighter . F-40 - The Aircraft of the Bundeswehr Volume 45.BMVD Verlag, Buchholz 2003, ISBN 3-935761-45-7 .

Web links

Commons : Lockheed F-104  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• The history of the German starfighter
• Restoration of the 22 + 58: a documentation
• F-104 losses. Crashes or separation after severe damage
• German starfighter crashes
• How the legendary Starfighter was used to train astronauts: the story of the NF-104

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 50 years of Starfighter purchase. Widowmaker with stubby wings. In: one day . March 15, 2009, accessed September 24, 2013 . 
2. ^ The Starfighter World Milestones
3. ^ Kyrill von Gersdorff: The German aviation. Volume 12 - Ludwig Bölkow and his work . ISBN 978-3-7637-6124-1
4. ↑ F-40 Lockheed F-104G interceptor
5. ↑ Mike Spick: Modern Fighting Aircraft Vol.7 F / A18 . Aero Publishing, New York 1984, ISBN 0-668-06071-9
6. ↑ Starfighter Special F104CCV
7. ^ Daniela Bommer: CCV-F-104G A Historical Cornerstone. (PDF; 840 kB) Mforum
8. ↑ Reinhard Wunschik: Starfighter - 25 years of the F-104 in the Navy - balance sheet and chronicle 1963-87. Self-published
9. ↑ Last successful bail-out with a downward shooting "C1" seat
10. ↑ Deadly tumbling . In: Der Spiegel . No. 51 , 1966 ( online ).
11. ^ The Ejection Seats of the F-104 . ejectionsite.com (English, "The ejection seats of the F-104")
12. ↑ First successful committee with GQ-7
13. ↑ Georg Fischbach: Starfighter , Chapter II
14. ↑ Statistical Digest of the USAF 1955, p. 80; 1956, p. 91; 1957, p. 97; 1958, p. 72; 1959, p. 68; 1960, p. 62; 1961, p. 70; 1962, p. 72; 1963, p. 71; 1964, p. 58; 1965, p. 60; 1966, p.116; 1967, p. 123
15. ↑ The little general . In: Der Spiegel . No. 50 , 1957 ( online ).
16. Jump up ↑ Kurt Braatz: Walter Krupinski - fighter pilot, secret agent, general . 2010, p. 211ff.
17. ↑ Claas Siano: The Air Force in the Modern Age . Ed .: Eberhard Birk, Heiner Möllers, Wolfgang Schmidt. Mönch Medien & Print, 2011, ISBN 978-3-941149-26-7 , The procurement of the weapon system F-104G in the field of tension between the military, politics and economy, p. 177–203 (The author cites the Air Force inspector's travelogue from a tour of the USA from January 11 to February 19, 1957).
18. ↑ Who is closer to the enemy? In: Der Spiegel . No. 36 , 1958 ( online ).
19. ↑ ^{a b} Air Force Press and Information Center: The Air Force inspectors. (PDF; 10.6 MB) October 1, 2010, p. 2 , accessed on September 11, 2014 . 
20. ↑ Julia Egleder: Saved to Death . In: Association of Reservists of the German Federal Armed Forces e. V. (Ed.): .Loyal The Magazine for Security Policy No. 5/2016 . S. 25th ff .
21. ↑ Starfighter Crash in Blind Spot. Retrieved September 27, 2017 . 
22. ^ Fatal Defense , Time Magazine, March 23, 1970
23. ↑ Goiter: German Starfighters . Hinckley, 2002, p. 93
24. ^ Website of the Air Force on the aerobatic team crash
25. ↑ Goiter: German Starfighters . Hinckley, 2002, pp. 136f
26. ↑ Goiter: German Starfighters . 2002, p. 153
27. ^ John M. Andrade: US Military Aircraft Designations and Serials . 1979, p. 109
28. ↑ Vehicle on landspeed.com, accessed on August 29, 2019
29. ↑ Jessi Combs: "Fastest woman on four wheels" dies in an accident with a rocket car on spiegel.de, accessed on August 29, 2019