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National origin | United States |
Manufacturer | Lockheed |
First flight | 4 March 1954 (XF-104) |
Introduction | 20 February 1958 (United States) |
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 |
Variants | Lockheed NF-104A Canadair CF-104 Starfighter Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter |
Developed into | Lockheed CL-1200 Lancer/X-27 Lockheed CL-288 |
Four of the surviving aircraft were later converted for civilian use to firefighting water bombers. Two of the aircraft still remain based at Sproat Lake just outside of Port Alberni, British Columbia, although neither is operational..
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The F-104 series all had a very high wing loading (made even higher when carrying external stores). During the early stall tests, the aircraft demonstrated the tendency to suddenly "pitch up" once it reached an angle of attack of approximately 15 degrees.
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works
The Starfighter served with NASA from 1956 until 1994. A total of 12 F-104A, F-104B, F-104N, and TF-104G aircraft performed high-speed.