Subject: Number 104 in the Series--Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (6 of 20)

From: [email-masked]
Date: 27 Dec 93 16:03:45 GMT

>From [email-masked]

The F-104C (Lockheed Model 483-04-05) was the tactical strike version 
of the Starfighter.  It was designed to meet the needs of the Tactical 
Air Command (TAC) which had earlier found the F-104A to be 
unacceptable because of its low endurance and its inability to carry 
significant offensive payloads.  

The TAC needed a supersonic tactical strike fighter to fill the void 
between the forthcoming F-100C and the Mach 2-capable Republic F-105 
Thunderchief.  On March 2, 1956, a contract was approved for the 
initial procurement of 56 F-104Cs.  The order was later increased to 
77 when a second order for 21 more F-104Cs was approved on December 
26, 1956.  

The first F-104C, unofficially designated YF-104C, took off on its 
maiden flight on July 24, 1958.  The F-104C was powered by a General 
Electric J79-GE-7 engine rated at 10,000 lb.s.t.  dry and 15,800 
lb.s.t.  with afterburner.  This thrust was almost a thousand pounds 
greater than the -3A/3B of the F-104A/B.  The F-104C was equipped with 
the improved AN/ASG-14T-2 fire control system which replaced the 
F-104A's T-1.  It made the F-104C capable of operating in clear night 
as well as day conditions, although the F-104C was not truly capable 
of all-weather operations.  The F-104C was equipped to carry bombs or 
rocket pods on underwing and fuselage points.  For nuclear strike, an 
MK-28 "special store" could be carried underneath the fuselage.  A 
removable inflight refuelling probe could be fitted on the port side 
of the fuselage.  The internal 20-mm rotary cannon of the F-104A was 
retained, as well as the ability to carry a Sidewinder air-to-air 
missile on each wingtip.  However, the 20-mm cannon was not actually 
installed until 1964, when the improved M61A1 became available.  

The first F-104Cs began to reach the TAC in September of 1958.  It 
served with four squadrons of the 479th Tactical Fighter Wing based at 
George AFB 

On December 14, 1959, an F-104C boosted the world's altitude record to 
103,389 feet.  This was the first aircraft taking off under its own 
power to exceed the 100,000-foot mark.  

In October 1961, the F-104C was subjected to *Project Grindstone*, a 
program in which the Lockheed factory modernized the fighter.  Among 
the changes was the addition of hardpoints which enabled another pair 
of Sidewinder air-to-air missiles to be mounted underneath the 
fuselage.  The aircraft was also given the ability to carry and 
deliver a larger variety of air-to-ground weapons, including 2.75-inch 
rockets, napalm, and gravity bombs.  

During the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962, the 479th TFW's 
F-104Cs were deployed to Key West, Florida to protect against Cuban or 
Russian aircraft trying to attack targets in the United States or to 
carry out air strikes against Cuba in case an invasion proved to be 
necessary.  Fortunately, the crisis was peacefully resolved.  

The F-104C had a number of operational problems with various 
components.  The major offender was the J79-GE-7 engine--forty serious 
mishaps occurred over a five-year period, destroying 24 aircraft and 
killing 9 pilots.  This led to *Project Seven Up*, a General Electric 
modification program for the engine which began in May of 1963 and 
ended in June of 1964.  

In April of 1965, a single squadron of the 479th TFW deployed with 
their F-104Cs to Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam.  Their job was to 
fly MiG combat air patrol (MiGCAP) missions to protect American 
fighter bombers against attack by North Vietnamese fighters.  They 
flew these missions armed with their single M61A1 20-mm cannon and 
four AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.  

The 479th had a bad day on September 20, 1965, when F-104C pilot Major 
Philip E. Smith was shot down over Hainan Island by a pair of Chinese 
MiGs.  His navigation system had failed while he was on MiGCAP over 
the Gulf of Tonkin and he had gotten lost.  He ejected and was taken 
prisoner of war.  While the rest of the squadron was out looking for 
Major Smith, two other F-104s had a midair collision while returning 
to their base and both their pilots were killed.  A week later, 
another F-104C was shot down by enemy AAA, and its pilot was killed.  

After these four losses, the remnants of the 479th were rotated back 
to George AFB.  However, a new contingent of F-104Cs returned to 
Vietnam in mid-1966.  This time, all four squadrons of the 479th TFS 
were involved.  F-104Cs of the 479th TFW were assigned to the Udorn 
base in Thailand.  These F-104Cs were soon involved in airstrikes 
against targets in both South and North Vietnam, exchanging its role 
of air superiority for that of ground attack.  The F-104C was not very 
well suited for the ground attack role, having a relatively low range 
and being incapable of carrying an adequately large offensive load.  
As a result, the Air Force decided to replace these F-104Cs by more 
efficient McDonnell F-4D Phantoms starting in July of 1967.  The 479th 
was then rotated back to George AFB for the last time.  I don't 
believe that the F-104C ever destroyed a single enemy fighter.  

Following the withdrawal of the F-104C from Southeast Asia in 1967, 
surviving F-104Cs were transferred to the 198th TFS of the Puerto Rico 
Air National Guard.  The F-104Cs replaced that unit's elderly F-86H 
Sabre fighter-bombers.  This ANG unit operated the Starfighter until 
it converted to LTV A-7Ds in July of 1975.  

Serials of the F-104C: 

56-883/938 	Lockheed F-104C-5-LO Starfighter 
57-910/930 	Lockheed F-104C-10-LO Starfighter 

Specification of the F-104C: 

One General Electric J79-GE-7 turbojet, 10,000 lb.s.t. dry and 15,800 
lb.s.t. with afterburning.  Maximum speed was 1150 mph at 50,000 
feet.  Stalling speed was 196 mph.  Initial climb rate was 54,000 feet 
per minute.  Service ceiling was 58,000 feet.  Normal range was 850 
miles, and maximum range with four drop tanks was 1500 miles.  
Internal fuel capacity was 897 US gallons, and maximum fuel capacity 
with two wingtip tanks and two underwing tanks was 1627 US gallons.  
Dimensions were wingspan 21 feet 9 inches, length 54 feet 8 inches, 
height 13 feet 6 inches, wing area 196.1 square feet.  Weights were 
12,760 pounds empty, 19,470 pounds combat, 22,410 pounds gross, 27,853 
pounds maximum takeoff.  Armament consisted of a single 20-mm M61A1 
cannon with 725 rounds in the fuselage, plus a pair of wingtip-mounted 
AIM-9B Sidewinder infrared homing air-to-air missiles.  Up to 2000 
pounds of external ordinance (bombs, rockets, napalm, drop tanks) 
could be carried on underwing and underfuselage attachment points.  
Later, an additional pair of Sidewinder missiles could be carried 
underneath the fuselage.  

Sources:

    The Lockheed F-104G/CF-104, Gerhard Joos, Aircraft in Profile No.
    131, Doubleday, 1969.  

    The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft, Gallery Books, 1989.

    Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Steve Pace, Motorbooks International, 
    1992.

    Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute
    Press, 1987.

    The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.

    The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday 1968.

    American Combat Planes, Ray Wagner, Third Enlarged Edition, Doubleday,
    1982.

    Lancer, Air Enthusiast, September 1971.

Joe Baugher		AT&T Bell Laboratories   	
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