Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter"

[Wingman81]

Husband of my Dad's cousin worked at Messerschmitt and Heinkel where Starfighter was license produced since the 1960s. Starfighter was also called Widow Maker here because 292 of 916 of Bundeswehr Starfighters crashed or had accidents 
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F-104 at Wehrtechnische Sammlung Koblenz

Image © Stahlkocher Wikimedia commons
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The J-79 engines were produced by BMW, Fabrique National (Belgium), Fiat/Alfa Romeo. Later at MTU a joint company out of BMW and MAN which produced an improved version J - 79 - MTU - 1K and 1000 replacement motors designated J - 79 - 11 A.
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http://p3.focus.de/img/gen/H/p/HBHp0ogi_Pxgen_r_467xA.jpg
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Here you can see the Units that used it and flight hours they had in it:
http://www.cactus-starfighter-staffel.de/story/liststory.php3
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A crashed F-104 G "Starfighter", 1969
http://50jahrebw.bundeswehr.de/mgfa/mgfa/U2.3.3.5h.jpg
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In this movie they say at times only 10% of a squadrons F-104 were ready because of lack of trained maintenance personnel, also you can see how hard it was to land this machine, pilot makes touch-and-go:
http://media.bwehr.de/Redaktionen/50jahre/mgfa/02/19_zl838_6_300k.wmv
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Maybe our friends from Holland/Belgium and Italy here can tell something about license production in their countries. Would be interesting.

Kilian

[mfg495]

Great post Wingman81, I use to see these aircraft when I was posted in Germany.
To me, I could never understand how it got into the air, it looks just like a rocket with bits sticking out the side, you cannot call them wings can you 

In the early days of the F104 it the ejection seat should fire downwards.

Read more on F104 ejection seats here

[No.1]

This is one of my favorite airplane. But for sure it have much of troubles. Wingman and mfg- have you search this forum? Long time ago Nico Braas have put one very interesting image of this airplane 

[mfg495]

Found it.

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/forum/index.php?topic=101.0

 

[Letipapa]

Hey guys, what to say, great topic, great photo's and links. Just go ahead.

[No.1]

My old work and it is Danish machine 

[Wingman81]

 

And here some high res NASA Starfighters:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/F-104/index.html

[No.1]

Great link mate!! Must say that your topic coming in good time as well I prepare soon to finish my 1/48 Hasegawa Starfighter

[samuraj77]

Great topic,very useful links...
This is also one of my favorite Jets,I remeber the first time I saw this plane it was in this movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086197/ and famous Chuck Yeager flying it...

[Wingman81]

http://www.f104g.de/piloten/thueringer_heinrich/thueringer_right-stuff.htm
-Short Interview with the German Pilot who flew the scenes for "The Right stuff", also a handcamera movie of Yeager's real crash that was the idea to replay in the later movie-

Yeager didnt fly in the movie he was 60 years when the movie was made 

http://www.f104g.de/bildergalerie/index.htm
-Pictures of the restorated 22+58 from Memmingen-

http://home.arcor.de/jabomm/walk%20around.html
-Closeups of airplane parts-

[samuraj77]

@Wingman81 Thank's for the links,I know that Yeager didn't flew in that movie,but he was Yeager to me  I was 7 years old 1984

[Wingman81]

Im not sure if i have seen the movie but i was 3 years old by then 

[samuraj77]

It is a great movie if you can you should get it.It is about breaking sound barrier and breaking all sort of records in flying...
One of the best I've seen so far

[Wingman81]

I dont know what they want to do with this poor fella but he was standing out there on the field in Speyer.