Editing Lockheed F-104 Starfighter (section)

==Development==

===Background and early development===
{{main|Lockheed XF-104}} Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at [[Skunk Works|Lockheed's Skunk Works]], visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft.<ref name="Upton2003p7">Upton 2003, p. 7.</ref><ref name="Pace1992p10">Pace 1992, p. 10.</ref> At the time, the American pilots were confronting the [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15|MiG-15]] with [[North American F-86 Sabre]]s, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American fighters. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially high-speed and high-altitude capabilities.<ref name="Bowman2000p26">Bowman 2000, p. 26.</ref> Johnson started the design of such an aircraft upon his return to the United States. In March 1952, his team was assembled; they studied over 100 aircraft configurations,<ref name="Upton2003p8">Upton 2003, p. 8.</ref> ranging from small designs at just {{convert|8000|lb|kg|abbr=on}},<ref name="Upton2003p9">Upton 2003, p. 9.</ref> to large ones up to {{convert|50000|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Upton2003p10">Upton 2003, p. 10.</ref> To achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a small and simple aircraft, weighing in at {{convert|12000|lb|kg|abbr=on}} with a single powerful engine. The engine chosen was the new [[General Electric J79]] turbojet, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs.<ref name="Bashow1986p13">Bashow 1986, p. 13.</ref> The small design powered by a single J79, issued Temporary Design Number L-246, remained essentially identical to the prototype Starfighter as eventually delivered. Lockheed designated the prototype Model 083.<ref name="Pace1992pp12,15">Pace 1992, pp. 12, 15.</ref>

Johnson presented his new fighter concept to the United States Air Force on 5 November 1952, and they were interested enough to create a general operational requirement for a lightweight fighter to supplement and ultimately replace the yet-to-fly [[North American F-100]]. Three additional companies were named finalists for the requirement: [[Republic Aviation Company|Republic Aviation]] with the AP-55, an improved version of its prototype [[Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor|XF-91 Thunderceptor]]; [[North American Aviation]] with the NA-212, which eventually evolved into the [[North American F-107|F-107]]; and [[Northrop Corporation]] with the [[Northrop N-102 Fang|N-102 Fang]], another J79-powered entry. Although all three finalists' proposals were strong, Lockheed had what proved to be an insurmountable head start, and was granted a development contract on {{nowrap|12 March}} 1953 for two [[prototype]]s; these were given the designation "[[Lockheed XF-104|XF-104]]".<ref name="Bowman2000p32">Bowman 2000, p. 32.</ref><ref name="Pace1992pp12–15">Pace 1992, pp. 12–15.</ref>

Work progressed quickly, with a mock-up ready for inspection at the end of April,<ref name="Bowman2000p32">Bowman 2000, p. 32.</ref> and work starting on two prototypes soon after.<ref name="Pace1992p15">Pace 1992, p. 15.</ref> Meanwhile, the J79 engine was not ready. Both prototypes were instead built to use the [[Wright J65]] engine, a license-constructed version of the [[Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire]].<ref name="Bowman2000p31">Bowman 2000, p. 31.</ref> The first prototype was completed at Lockheed's Burbank facility by early 1954 and [[Maiden flight|first flew]] on 4 March at [[Edwards AFB]].<ref name="Kropf2002p11">Kropf 2002, p. 11.</ref> The total time from contract to first flight was less than one year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/happy-birthday-lockheed-f-104-starfighter.html|title=Sixty years of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter|access-date=7 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811223357/http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/fun-facts/happy-birthday-lockheed-f-104-starfighter.html|archive-date=11 August 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Though development of the F-104 was never a secret, only a vague description of the aircraft was given when the USAF first revealed its existence. No photographs of the aircraft were released to the public until 1956, even though the XF-104 first flew in 1954. At the April 1956 public unveiling of the {{nowrap|YF-104A}}, the engine inlets were obscured with metal covers. Visible weapons, including the [[M61 Vulcan]] cannon, were also hidden.<ref name="Upton2003p20">Upton 2003, p. 20.</ref><ref name="Donald2003p138">Donald 2003, p. 138.</ref> Despite the secrecy, an artist's rendering of the yet-unseen F-104 appeared in the September 1954 edition of ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' that was very close to the actual design.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Popular Mechanics|author=Hearst Magazines|title=Air Force Puts Supersonic XF-104 Through Its Paces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeADAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA104|date=September 1954|publisher=Hearst Magazines|page=104}}</ref>

The prototype made a hop into the air during taxi trials on 28 February 1954 and flew about {{convert|5|ft|spell=in}} off the ground for a short distance, but this was not counted as a first flight. On 4 March, Lockheed test pilot [[Tony LeVier]] flew the XF-104 for its first official flight. He was airborne for only {{nowrap|21 minutes}}, much shorter than planned, due to landing gear retraction problems.<ref name="Pace1992p16-17">Pace 1992, p. 16-17.</ref><ref name="Upton2003p37">Upton 2003, p. 37.</ref><!--Pace 1992 states the first flight was on 5 March, but of the ten references that I have access to with first flight dates, nine of them say 4 March, while only two say 5 March (one has both 4 March and 5 March in different places). I've listed one of the nine here.--> The second prototype was destroyed several weeks later<!--Sources pretty evenly disagree whether it is 14 April or 18 April 1955--> during gun-firing trials when the hatch to the ejector seat blew out, depressurizing the cockpit and causing the pilot to eject in the mistaken belief that a cannon mishap had crippled the aircraft.<ref name="Pace1991p20">Pace 1991, p. 20.</ref> Nevertheless, on 1 November 1955 the remaining XF-104 was accepted by the USAF.<ref name="Pace1991p131">Pace 1991, p. 131.</ref>

===Further development===
Based on the testing and evaluation of the XF-104, the next variant, the YF-104A, was lengthened and fitted with a General Electric J79 engine, modified landing gear, and modified air intakes.<ref name="Cacutt1988p159">Cacutt 1988, p. 159.</ref> The YF-104A and subsequent models were {{convert|5|ft|6|in|abbr=on}} longer than the XF-104 to accommodate the larger GE J79 engine. The YF-104 initially flew with the GE XJ79-GE-3 turbojet which generated 9,300 pounds of dry thrust (14,800 with afterburner), which was later replaced by the J79-GE-3A with an improved afterburner.<ref name="Upton2003p38">Upton 2003, p. 38.</ref>

Seventeen YF-104As were ordered by the USAF on 30 March 1955 for further flight testing.<ref name="Pace1992p23">Pace 1992, p. 23.</ref> The first of them flew on 17 February 1956 and, with the other 16 trial aircraft, was soon carrying out aircraft and equipment evaluation and tests. On 1 May 1957 one of the prototypes was destroyed when the ailerons malfunctioned, resulting in the aircraft tumbling wildly. The pilot ejected safely.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dowling |first1=Stephen |title=The ejector seats that fire through the floor |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220802-why-some-aircraft-had-downward-firing-ejector-seats |website=www.bbc.com |access-date=6 August 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Lockheed made several improvements to the YF-104A throughout this testing period, including strengthening the airframe, adding a ventral fin to improve directional stability at supersonic speed, and installing a [[boundary layer control|boundary layer control system]] (BLCS) to reduce landing speed.<ref name="Upton2003p38"/>

Problems were encountered with the J79 afterburner; further delays were caused by the need to add [[AIM-9 Sidewinder]] air-to-air missiles. On 28 January 1958, the first production F-104A to enter service was delivered to the [[83d Fighter Weapons Squadron|83rd Fighter Interceptor Wing]].<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=Bruce |editor-last=Robertson |title=United States Army and Air Force Fighters 1916–1961 |publisher=Harleyford Publications Limited |location=Letchworth |date=1961 |lccn=61-16739 |page= 132}}</ref>

===Redesign for NATO===

In response to a 1957 German Air Staff Paper asking for a single aircraft to fulfill its fighter, fighter-bomber, and reconnaissance mission requirements,<ref name="Kropf2002p16">Kropf 2002, p. 16.</ref> Lockheed redesigned the entire airframe, including 96 new forgings, additional skin panels, and reinforced landing gear with larger tires and improved brakes. The proposed F-104G (for Germany) "Super Starfighter" featured a more powerful J79-11A engine, a larger tail with powered rudder (the same used on the two-seat F-104B and D), improved blown flaps with a mode for improved maneuverability, electric de-icing equipment for the air intake inlets, and a larger drag chute. Avionics were improved as well, primarily with the [[Autonetics]] F15A NASARR (North American Search and Range Radar) multi-mode radar and the [[LN-3 inertial navigation system]] by [[Litton Industries]], the first such system to be placed into operational service. Altogether, these changes increased the amount of external weapons that could be carried to {{cvt|3000|lb}}, and also allowed the aircraft to fulfill the [[NATO]] requirement of carrying a {{cvt|2000|lb}} "special store" (nuclear weapon) under the fuselage.<ref name="Cacutt1988pp165–166">Cacutt 1988, pp. 165–166.</ref>

Belgium, the Netherlands, and Italy selected the F-104 soon after as well, and the four European nations set up four production groups to jointly manufacture the F-104G under license. ''Arbeitsgemeinschaft'' (ARGE) South consisted of [[Messerschmitt]], [[Heinkel]], [[Dornier Flugzeugwerke|Dornier]], and [[Siebel]]; ARGE North comprised [[Hamburger Flugzeugbau]], [[Focke-Wulf]], and [[Weserflug]] in Germany, as well as [[Fokker]] and [[Aviolanda]] in the Netherlands; the West Group was made of [[SABCA]] and [[Avions Fairey]] in Belgium; and the Italian Group was formed of [[Fiat Aviazione|Fiat]], [[Aermacchi|Macchi]], [[Piaggio Aerospace|Piaggio]], [[Societá per Azioni Costruzioni Aeronavali|SACA]], and [[SIAI-Marchetti]].<ref name="Kropf2002pp19–21">Kropf 2002, pp. 19–21.</ref> The four groups were contracted to manufacture 210, 350, 189, and 200 F-104G aircraft, respectively.<ref name="Donald2003p152">Donald 2003, p. 152.</ref> In addition, 1,225 J79 turbojets were also produced under license by [[BMW]] in Germany, [[Fabrique Nationale]] in Belgium, and [[Alfa Romeo]] in Italy.<ref name="Donald2003p154">Donald 2003, p. 154.</ref><ref name="Kropf2002p21">Kropf 2002, p. 21.</ref> Canada, who had also chosen the Starfighter to fulfill its NATO obligations, delivered 121 sets of wings, aft fuselages, and tail assemblies built by [[Canadair]] to Europe while it constructed 200 CF-104s with [[Orenda Engines|Orenda]]-built engines for the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]]. Later the two would also build an additional 110 MAP-funded F-104Gs destined for Europe.<ref name="Cacutt1988p166">Cacutt 1988, p. 166.</ref> Lockheed for its part built 191 two-seat trainers for both Europe and Canada, as well as supplying spares and technical support.<ref name="Donald2003p154"/>

The multinational consortium formed a central coordination office named NASMO (NATO Starfighter Management Office) in [[Koblenz, Germany]], which succeeded in achieving a high level of standardization and cooperation. This was evidenced by an F-104G being assembled in April 1963 at [[Erding Air Base]] in Germany consisting of components constructed in all four European partner countries. However, this central coordination resulted in long delays in implementing needed modifications and upgrades. Some of the modifications that were proposed during this time, mainly from the Joint Test Force at Edwards AFB in California, were the installation of an arrester hook, a standby attitude indicator, and the emergency engine nozzle closure system.<ref name="Kropf2002pp19–21"/>

In all, 2,578 F-104s were produced by Lockheed and under license by various foreign manufacturers.<ref name="Matricardi2006p129">Matricardi 2006, p. 129.</ref>