The F-104 Starfighter was not built for dogfights. In fact, Lockheed’s designers purposely sacrificed maneuverability for speed.
Known as the “Widowmaker,” the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was first introduced in 1958 as an interceptor for the United States Air Force. It was also a widely exported craft, notably being purchased by the German Luftwaffe. The F-104 was the result of hard lessons learned from the Korean War, after which American pilots insisted that the Air Force build a lightweight, high-performance jet to outpace the Soviet Union’s vaunted MiG-15.
Iconic Lockheed Martin engineer Kelly Johnson, the brain behind the company’s famed “Skunk Works” development wing, heeded the call. He delivered a sleek, pencil-thin fuselage with paper-thin, miniature wings (7.5 feet long each). The F-104 could climb 50,000 feet in under five minutes. Its original nickname among American pilots was a “Missile with a Man in It.” Lockheed first tested the F-104 in 1954. Four years thereafter, the Air Force put the plane to work, with a total of 2,575 being built and exports going to 15 nations.
The mission of the F-104 Starfighter was simple enough: to intercept Soviet bombers at high altitudes, and to deploy high above the Earth, fly near Soviet forces and territories, and conduct reconnaissance missions. Unlike, say, the F-86 Sabre of the Korean War or the F-4 Phantom II that dominated the skies over Vietnam, the F-104 Starfighter was not built for dogfights. In fact, Lockheed’s designers purposely sacrificed maneuverability for speed.
What the F-104 Was Made For
Despite the fact that this plane was not built to be an effective dogfighter, it still came equipped with weapons. Notably, it carried Sidewinder missiles and a 20mm Vulcan cannon. However, this warplane’s payload was very lightweight: it could only carry up to 4,000 pounds. The United States used this plane only for a brief time, as a stopgap between the F-86 Sabre and the F-4 Phantom II. But other nations, especially West Germany, used the F-104 heavily throughout the Cold War.
It was in Germany that the plane earned its macabre “Widowmaker” label. As one might expect from a “Missile with a Man in It,” the plane had a notoriously brutal accident rate. West Germany purchased 915 F-104Gs (the multirole variant) starting in 1960, adapting it for low-level strike missions. Remember, this plane was designed for fast, high-altitude interception and/or reconnaissance missions. So, low-level strike missions were not in this plane’s bailiwick.
Nevertheless, the West Germans, for whatever reason, desired to turn this high-flying bird into a low-flying strike plane—with disastrous results. In its new role, the Germans lost 292 F-104Gs from 1961 to 1987, killing an astonishing 116 pilots. In other words, for the duration of its 26 years of service to the West German Luftwaffe, 32 percent of these planes were lost.
The Germans Learned to Hate the F-104
The losses arguably were not the fault of the F-104 itself, but rather the Luftwaffe brass, which took a high-altitude interceptor and reassigned it as a low-altitude attack craft. Still, there were design flaws with the bird itself. Most notably, the small wings on the plane meant that there could not be traditional takeoff and landings. Indeed, the F-104s had to take off and land at extremely high speeds. The T-tail design could have led to what is known as a “deep stall” at high angles of attack, where the tail blocked airflow to the rudder, making recovery almost impossible for the pilot.
Early versions of the J79 engines were prone to compressor stalls and flameouts, especially at low altitudes. Upgrades were ultimately made to the J79 engines, but not soon enough for many of those who died as a result of using these planes in ways they were not designed to be used. Further, this plane was poorly suited to weather and geography, let alone the mission sets, of Europe.
Oh, and the complex systems and rushed training for ground crews led to errors, such as improper ejection seat setups—which in some cases made the seats fire downward. Oops.
Chuck Yeager Loved the F-104
In essence, the Germans—as well as the Canadians, with their similar CF-109 variant—misused the F-104 in ways that exacerbated the design flaws of the plane. Nor was the plane’s poor record restricted to Germany or Canada; the United States, too, had a high rate of loss with the F-104. With hindsight, it appears as though the F-104 was simply not that great of a plane for what the Americans and their allies needed at that time.
It should be noted, however, that Chuck Yeager, the famed test pilot who became the first man to break the sound barrier in 1947, loved the F-104 for its sheer power and speed. Before denigrating the plane as a “widowmaker,” perhaps we should remember that it had at least one admirer—the greatest American ace of all time.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a Senior Fellow at the Center for the National Interest, and a contributor at Popular Mechanics, consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / Barbara Ash.
