The Lockheed F104 Starfighter is an American singleengine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which was extensively deployed as a fighterbomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an allweather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.

After a series of interviews with Korean War fighter pilots in 1951, Kelly Johnson, then lead designer at Lockheed, opted to reverse the trend of everlarger and more complex fighters and produce a simple, lightweight aircraft with maximum altitude and climb performance. On 4 March 1954, the Lockheed XF104 took to the skies for the first time, and on 26 February 1958 the production fighter was activated by the USAF. Only a few months later it was pressed into action during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis, when it was deployed as a deterrent to Chinese MiG15 and MiG17 fighters. Problems with the General Electric J79 engine and a preference for fighters with longer ranges and heavier payloads meant its service with the USAF was shortlived, though it was reactivated for service during the Berlin Crisis of 1961 and the Vietnam War, when it flew over 5,000 combat sorties.

While its time with the USAF was brief, the Starfighter found much more lasting success with other NATO and allied nations. In October 1958, West Germany selected the F104 as its primary fighter aircraft. Canada soon followed, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and Italy. The European nations formed a construction consortium that was the largest international manufacturing program in history to that point, though the Starfighter's export success was marred in 1975 by the discovery of bribe payments made by Lockheed to many foreign military and political figures for securing purchase contracts. The Starfighter eventually flew with fifteen air forces, but its poor safety record, especially in Luftwaffe service, brought it substantial criticism. The Germans lost 292 of 916 aircraft and 116 pilots from 1961 to 1989, its high accident rate earning it the nickname "the Widowmaker" from the German public. The final production version, the F104S, was an allweather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. It was retired from active service in 2004, though several F104s remain in civilian operation with Floridabased Starfighters Inc.

The Starfighter featured a radical design, with thin, stubby wings attached farther back on the fuselage than most contemporary aircraft. The wing provided excellent supersonic and highspeed, lowaltitude performance, but also poor turning capability and high landing speeds. It was the first production aircraft to achieve Mach 2, and the first aircraft to reach an altitude of 100,000 ft (30,000 m) after taking off under its own power. The Starfighter established world records for airspeed, altitude, and timetoclimb in 1958, becoming the first aircraft to hold all three simultaneously. It was also the first aircraft to be equipped with the M61 Vulcan autocannon.

Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft. At the time, the American pilots were confronting the MiG15 with North American F86 Sabres, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American fighters. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially highspeed and highaltitude capabilities. Johnson started the design of such an aircraft upon his return to the United States.
General characteristics

Crew: 1
Length: 54 ft 8 in (16.66 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 196.1 sq ft (18.22 m2)
Airfoil: Biconvex 3.36% root and tip
Empty weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 29,027 lb (13,166 kg)
Powerplant: 1 × General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet, 10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust dry, 15,600 lbf (69 kN) with afterburner
Performance

Maximum speed: 1,528 mph (2,459 km/h, 1,328 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 420 mi (680 km, 360 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,630 mi (2,620 km, 1,420 nmi)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 48,000 ft/min (240 m/s) Initially
Lifttodrag: 9.2
Wing loading: 105 lb/sq ft (510 kg/m2)
Thrust/weight: 0.54 with max. takeoff weight (0.76 loaded)
Armament
Guns: 1 × 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan 6barreled rotary cannon, 725 rounds
Hardpoints: 7 with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), with provisions to carry combinations of:
Missiles: 4 × AIM9 Sidewinder
Other: Bombs, rockets, or other stores

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