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5050 Santa Fe Drive • Atwater, California • 95301
Lockheed F-104D Starfighter
MUSEUM HOURS
May 1- October 31
9:00am - 5:00pm
November 1 - April 30
10:00am - 4:00pm
The museum is open
daily year round,
except for the
following days:
New Year's Day,
Easter,
Thanksgiving and
Christmas Day.
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was designed as an air superiority fighter with experience gained over the skies of Korea. Pilots translated their combat experience with MiG 15s into the specifications for the Starfighter. It was designed at Lockheed's famous "Skunk Works" led by the legendary C. L. "Kelly" Johnson.
It was the first fighter to hold the official world records for speed, time to climb, and altitude. The F-104 set a speed record of 1,404 mph in 1958 and an altitude record of over 103,000 feet in 1959. The F-104 served with air forces of many other nations, such as Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, Jordan, Turkey, Taiwan, Pakistan, Belgium and the Netherlands. Approximately 2,536 were built, most under license in Europe, Canada (designated the CL-90 by its Canadair manufacturer and included such items of navigational and other equipment as: a Tactical Analogue Bombing (TAB) computer and a Litton LN-3 Inertial Navigator to provide guidance to any one of 12 pre-programmed targets. Also fitted were a Garrett Air-Data computer, a Honeywell Automatic Control System and a position and homing indicator made by Computing Devices of Canada. and CL-201 -- two-seat variant) and Japan. Only about a third were built in the U.S. The U. S. Air Force accepted only 296 of that total. The last ones in U. S. service were retired from the Air National Guard in 1975, but the type continued in service in many other countries for a number of years after that.
In the RCAF, the Starfighter was bought in 1959 to fulfill a high speed strike and reconnaissance role. In the 1960s, the CF-104 was used as a nuclear strike Aircraft and, from 1971 on, it was used exclusively as a low-level attack Aircraft.
It was the first "lightweight" fighter with its maiden flight in 1954. It became operational in 1958. Known as the "missile with a man in it", it was designed around the most powerful engine of the time, the General Electric J79. F-104s were sent to Vietnam but were not effective. The F-104 has a very short wingspan. It measures less than 22 feet from wing tip to tip and is only 10 in. thick at the thickest point. While on the ground, protective covers were installed to protect the ground crews from the sharp edges.
26 F-104Bs, the two seat version of the F-104A, and 20 F-104Ds, the two seat version of the F-104C, were built for the USAF. The CAM aircraft was restored for the Air Force by an outside contractor. Why it was painted with a F-104B tail number is not known.
On the web at: http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/equip/hst/starfighter-eng.asp and at: http://www.starfighters.net/
Specifications
Country of Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Lockheed Aircraft Co.
Role/Function: Fighter
Serial Number: 57-1314 (c/n 5026) (Displayed as F-104B 57-1312)
Model Number/Mk. #: n/a
Crew: 1 (student and pilot in tandem in the F-104B and D)
Power Plant: 1 - General Electric J79-GE-7 turbojet engine with 15,800 lbs. of thrust.
Maximum Speed: 1,328 mph.
Cruising Speed: 640 mph.
Service Ceiling: 58,000 ft.
Range: 1,630 mi.
Weights: Empty: 14,000 lbs. Loaded: 20,640 Maximum: 29,027 lbs. (with stores and gas)
Wing Span: 24 ft. 11 in.
Length: 54 ft. 9 in.
Height: 13 ft. 6 in.
Wing Area: 196.1 ft² (18.22 m²)
Armament: 1 - 20mm M-61 cannon and 2 - Sidewinder missiles on wing tips, and 7 hard-points with a capacity of 4,000 lb
Cost: $1,420,000.00
# Built: 2,536 (Most under license in Canada, Europe and Japan), 296 went to the U.S.A.F.
# in Current Service: The Starfighters, a civilian demonstration team in Florida, operates three ex-Canadian Military CF-104 Starfighters (1 - CF-104D and 2 - CF-104's). Another is owned and operated by a private collector in Arizona.
