General

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was an American single-engined, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1958 until 1967. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it continued in service with Air National Guard units until it was phased out in 1975. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) flew a small mixed fleet of F-104 types in supersonic flight tests and spaceflight programs until they were retired in 1994. Several two-seat trainer versions were produced, the most numerous being the TF-104G.

The F-104C was used in combat with the USAF during the Vietnam War, and F-104A aircraft were deployed by Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistani wars. Republic of China Air Force F-104s also engaged the People's Liberation Army Air Force over the disputed island of Kinmen. A set of modifications produced the F-104G model, which won a NATO competition for a new fighter-bomber and saw widespread service with many European air forces into the late 1980s. Lockheed developed the final and most advanced version, the F-104S, for use by the Italian Air Force which was designed to carry AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. The Italian Air Force was the last remaining Starfighter operator, retiring their fleet in 2004. A projected, highly-modified version of the F-104, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, did not proceed. the project was cancelled at the mock-up stage.

The poor safety record of the Starfighter brought the aircraft into the public eye, especially in Luftwaffe service. the subsequent Lockheed bribery scandals surrounding the original purchase contracts caused considerable political controversy in Europe and Japan. However, a USAF study of other Century Series fighters revealed that the F-100 Super Sabre had an accident rate far worse than that of the F-104.

Characteristics

In service with 349 squadron

The 'one-o-four' entered service within 349 squadron in November of 1963. The F-104G is the first Mach 2 capable fighter in the Belgian inventory. Therefore, the transition period to obtain the necessary skills takes a little longer. Aircraft are coming off the production line at regular intervals and by July of 1964 the squadron is fully operational on the type.

In the sixties, the tensions of the Cold War were still very much present. A high standard of operability was to be maintained at all times. A new feature coming into being were the so-called 'zoom' flights. These flights followed a specific procedure to obtain altitudes of over 65,000 feet with the record being an astonishing 82,500 feet. The pilot needed to wear a custom made 'moon' suite to be able to perform these flights at the outer edges of the atmosphere.The zoomflights were performed between 1967 and 1976. After that period these flights were seen as unnecessary and suspended all together with the changing mission profile of the F-104G.