Book Review of
Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
Single no. 25
Authors: Daniusz Karnas & Lieuwe de Vries
MMP (Mushroom Model Publication)
ISBN: 978-83-66549-28-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2021
MSRP: $11.99
ISBN: 978-83-66549-28-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright 2021
MSRP: $11.99
HISTORY:
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber 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 all-weather 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 ever-larger and more complex fighters and produce a simple, lightweight aircraft with maximum altitude and climb performance. On 4 March 1954, the Lockheed XF-104 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 MiG-15s and MiG-17s.
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 short lived, 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 F-104 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 F-104S, was an all-weather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. It was retired from active service in 1994, though several F-104s remain in civilian operation with Florida-based 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 high-speed, low-altitude 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 feet after taking off under its own power.
The Starfighter established world records for airspeed, altitude, and time-to-climb 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 and the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Interceptor, Fighter-bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Lockheed
First flight: 4 March 1954 (XF-104)
Introduction to service: 20 February 1958 (United States)
Retired: 31 October 2004 (Italy)
Status: Retired from military service; in use with civilian operators as warbirds
Primary users: United States Air Force, German Air Force, Turkish Air Force, Italian Air Force
Number built: 2,578
Developed from: Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter
Variants: Lockheed NF-104A, Canadair CF-104, Aeritalia F-104S
Developed into: Lockheed CL-1200/X-27, Lockheed CL-288
THE BOOK:
MMP (Mushroom Model Publications) is based in Italy.
This book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ½” x 11 ¾” page format
The cover is bright orange with a top view profile of the F-104G that wraps around the spine of the book and is partially on the back cover.
The book holds line drawings of 7 side views, a top and bottom view, three front views and a rear view, various weapons, cutaway drawings of the wings and fuselage, dashboard and cockpit side consoles, joy-stick and the landing gear.
There are 13 black and white walk-around photos of the aircraft. Two color photos of F-104’s sitting on runways and 6 color walk around photos of the aircraft.
There is a large full-page color illustration of the dashboard and a 3-view color profile of the aircraft in modern Luftwaffe camouflage.
This is a neat little book. It will be of great interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I want to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all MMP titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber 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 all-weather 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 ever-larger and more complex fighters and produce a simple, lightweight aircraft with maximum altitude and climb performance. On 4 March 1954, the Lockheed XF-104 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 MiG-15s and MiG-17s.
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 short lived, 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 F-104 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 F-104S, was an all-weather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force. It was retired from active service in 1994, though several F-104s remain in civilian operation with Florida-based 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 high-speed, low-altitude 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 feet after taking off under its own power.
The Starfighter established world records for airspeed, altitude, and time-to-climb 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 and the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Role: Interceptor, Fighter-bomber
National origin: United States
Manufacturer: Lockheed
First flight: 4 March 1954 (XF-104)
Introduction to service: 20 February 1958 (United States)
Retired: 31 October 2004 (Italy)
Status: Retired from military service; in use with civilian operators as warbirds
Primary users: United States Air Force, German Air Force, Turkish Air Force, Italian Air Force
Number built: 2,578
Developed from: Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter
Variants: Lockheed NF-104A, Canadair CF-104, Aeritalia F-104S
Developed into: Lockheed CL-1200/X-27, Lockheed CL-288
THE BOOK:
MMP (Mushroom Model Publications) is based in Italy.
This book is soft-cover of 24 pages in 8 ½” x 11 ¾” page format
The cover is bright orange with a top view profile of the F-104G that wraps around the spine of the book and is partially on the back cover.
The book holds line drawings of 7 side views, a top and bottom view, three front views and a rear view, various weapons, cutaway drawings of the wings and fuselage, dashboard and cockpit side consoles, joy-stick and the landing gear.
There are 13 black and white walk-around photos of the aircraft. Two color photos of F-104’s sitting on runways and 6 color walk around photos of the aircraft.
There is a large full-page color illustration of the dashboard and a 3-view color profile of the aircraft in modern Luftwaffe camouflage.
This is a neat little book. It will be of great interest to modelers and aviation historians alike.
I want to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of MMP books and all MMP titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
Highly recommended.