A1 hook brake

informationLockheed F-104 Starfighter

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance supersonic interceptor aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1967. It continued to serve with the Air National Guard until its retirement in 1975. NASA then continued to fly a small fleet of the aircraft. NASA used F-104s to support the X-15 and XB-70 Valkyrie projects, and they continued to fly in support of the space program until they were retired in 1995 and replaced by the F/A-18 Hornet. The Starfighter was the first aircraft to hold the official world speed, altitude, and rate of climb records simultaneously. Several two-seat trainer versions were built, the most numerous being the TF-104G.

The F-104C was used by the USAF in the Vietnam War, and the F-104A was deployed in the Indo-Pakistani Wars. Republic of China Air Force F-104s also engaged People's Liberation Army Air Force MiG-19s over Kinmen Island.

The F-104 Starfighter's poor accident rate, especially in service with the Luftwaffe, and the infamous Lockheed bribery scandal surrounding the purchase caused considerable political controversy in Europe and Japan. A USAF study of other contemporary fighters found that the F-100 Super Sabre had a much worse accident rate than the F-104.[2] Due to the high accident rate, the F-104's service role in the USAF began to decline in 1965, ending in 1969. The F-104 became the fastest mass-produced fighter to be retired from service in the history of the USAF, in just 11 years (1958-1969).

The F-104G was sold extensively to NATO air forces, where the fighter-bomber version remained in service with most countries until the late 1980s. Despite its high accident rate, many NATO countries purchased it, and much of the F-104 purchase by these countries was linked to corruption. This was revealed in 1975, when the US Senate investigated Lockheed's bribery of officials in several countries to promote F-104 contracts.

Lockheed developed the final and most advanced Starfighter, the F-104S, for use by the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana), which was modified to carry the AIM-7 Sparrow missile. The Italian Air Force operated the last Starfighters, which were retired in 2004. Many F-104 operators later replaced them with the F-16 or Panavia Tornado. Plans for a significantly improved version of the F-104, the CL-1200 Lancer, did not progress and were abandoned at the prototype stage. A civil aviation demonstration group based in Florida operated the last three airworthy Starfighters.[3]