Difference between revisions of "F-104G (France)"
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<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | <!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' --> | ||
The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} French jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Seek & Destroy"]]. | The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} French jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Seek & Destroy"]]. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The Belgian Starfighter is an aircraft that constitutes the last gasps of an era of supersonic interceptors where speed was of utmost importance, and thus often faces adversaries of the next generation of fighters, carrying high performance missiles, both infrared and radar guided. As such, the tremendous engine power of the F-104G becomes an obsolete asset. The tactics based on hit-and-run, flaking the enemy group, and passing through furballs still work, they yield moderate results. | ||
Belgium operated a fleet of around 100 F-104Gs between 1963 and 1983. Except for the very first aircraft, all F-104Gs for the Belgian Air Force were produced locally in Belgium by SABCA who also produced some for the German Air Force. The F-104G would be the main fighter of the Belgian Air Force until they were replaced by the F-16A. After retirement, they were mainly placed into storage, with around 20 being sold to Turkey and a couple sold to Taiwan. | Belgium operated a fleet of around 100 F-104Gs between 1963 and 1983. Except for the very first aircraft, all F-104Gs for the Belgian Air Force were produced locally in Belgium by SABCA who also produced some for the German Air Force. The F-104G would be the main fighter of the Belgian Air Force until they were replaced by the F-16A. After retirement, they were mainly placed into storage, with around 20 being sold to Turkey and a couple sold to Taiwan. | ||
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{{Specs-Avia-Flight}} | {{Specs-Avia-Flight}} | ||
<!-- ''Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.'' --> | <!-- ''Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.'' --> | ||
| − | ' | + | As with all the Starfighters, the airplane is characterised by it's enormous engine and stubby wings, and demonstrates a good capability for acceleration, but an abysmal manoeuvrability. |
| + | |||
| + | The engine power that was the main advantage of the F-104s of previous generations is neutralised on this particuliar version, not because it is worse in any way, but because at the Battle Rating of 11.0, nearly all adversaries are supersonic, and a few of them can out-accelerate the aircraft. Mig-21s and F-5Cs and Es are of that breed and are a dangerous opponent to the Belgian Starfighter. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Manoeuvrability wise, turning should nearly never be considered as a combat option. The F-104 turns miserably, has a very low nose authority, and when turning trades of it's only remaining viable defense mechanism, it's speed. It is less manoeuvrable than the F-4 family, the A-10, Su-25 family, or even the F-111. | ||
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%" | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%" | ||
| Line 115: | Line 121: | ||
{{Specs-Avia-Armour}} | {{Specs-Avia-Armour}} | ||
<!-- ''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.'' --> | <!-- ''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.'' --> | ||
| − | + | The Belgian F-104G carries a pair of armour plates in the pilot seat, as well as a pane of bulletproof grass in from of him. Compared to the caliber, velocity and explosive mass of the aircrafts it faces, these protections are virtually useless. | |
| + | |||
| + | The two gameplay facets that ensure this aircrafts survival are it's speed, to reduce the enemy reaction and engagement time, and the use of flares, that the aircraft comes equipped with. | ||
| + | |||
| + | It is to be noted that at it's battle rating, this Starfighter can face opponents equipped with advanced radars and SARH missiles. As such, staying in the ground clutter and avoiding to appear as a sore thumb on their scopes is a necessary survival tactic. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In general, not being the center of attention increases the Starfighter lifespan. | ||
=== Modifications and economy === | === Modifications and economy === | ||
| Line 203: | Line 215: | ||
* 3 x BLU-1 incendiary bombs | * 3 x BLU-1 incendiary bombs | ||
{{Navigation-End}} | {{Navigation-End}} | ||
| + | |||
| + | The F-104G in the french tech tree is the first aircraft to propose as it's onboard armament the M61 Vulcan revolving canon. As such, pilots will not be used to it's characteristics, rather being aquainted to the slower firing, but very harder hitting DEFA canons. Where a single DEFA hit redered any adversary unable to keep fighting at the very least (more often than not exploding like a grenade), the Vulcan hits are less catastrophic in terms of damage. On the other hand, multiple hits can be registered on the target in a single pass. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The main Air-to-Air armament of the Belgian Starfighter, the AIM-9J, is a relatively capable missile at it's tier, even if it's manoeuvrability is mediocre with regard to the closing speeds of the engagements. | ||
== Usage in battles == | == Usage in battles == | ||
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' --> | <!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' --> | ||
| − | + | The F-104G should be used as what it is, a last version a style of aircraft based on an obsolete paradigm. Supplanted in 1v1 scenarios by basically any other fighter, the pilote must read the sway of the battle consistently to discover flanking routes and engaged furballs to attack, and notable ennemies to avoid. Overall, the Belgian Starfighter is stuck in a support role for other aircrafts, harrassing high energy state ennemies, and destroying lower energy state ones. | |
| + | |||
| + | In Air-to-Air roles, maintaining the upper hand on the enemy team requires a lot of focus. Flanking routes should be prioritised, and extended as far as possible, even up to attacking from behind. | ||
| + | |||
| + | In Mixed battle, the F-104G is a poor choice, being completely outclassed by aircrafts and weapons decades mode modern, such as the Jaguar A/E, or the Super Etendard, or even the Milan and Etendard IVM. | ||
=== Pros and cons === | === Pros and cons === | ||
| − | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' --> | + | <!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->'''Pros:''' |
| − | '' | ||
| − | + | * Has access to stock flares | |
* | * | ||
'''Cons:''' | '''Cons:''' | ||
| + | |||
| + | * Terrible manoeuvrability | ||
| + | * No radar missiles | ||
| + | * Mediocre IR missiles, unslavable to the radar | ||
| + | * Radar is poor for Air-to-Air roles | ||
| + | * Operating altitudes severely hampered by Fox 1 carriers. | ||
* | * | ||
Latest revision as of 21:49, 6 November 2024
| This page is about the Belgian jet fighter F-104G (France). For other versions, see F-104 (Family). |
.jpg)
Contents
Description
The ▄F-104G Starfighter is a rank VII French jet fighter with a battle rating of 10.7 (AB/SB) and 11.0 (RB). It was introduced in Update "Seek & Destroy".
The Belgian Starfighter is an aircraft that constitutes the last gasps of an era of supersonic interceptors where speed was of utmost importance, and thus often faces adversaries of the next generation of fighters, carrying high performance missiles, both infrared and radar guided. As such, the tremendous engine power of the F-104G becomes an obsolete asset. The tactics based on hit-and-run, flaking the enemy group, and passing through furballs still work, they yield moderate results.
Belgium operated a fleet of around 100 F-104Gs between 1963 and 1983. Except for the very first aircraft, all F-104Gs for the Belgian Air Force were produced locally in Belgium by SABCA who also produced some for the German Air Force. The F-104G would be the main fighter of the Belgian Air Force until they were replaced by the F-16A. After retirement, they were mainly placed into storage, with around 20 being sold to Turkey and a couple sold to Taiwan.
This specific F-104G, FX-99, was the last flying Belgian F-104G during its retirement. It is currently privately owned and was recently restored back to flying conditions.
General info
Flight performance
As with all the Starfighters, the airplane is characterised by it's enormous engine and stubby wings, and demonstrates a good capability for acceleration, but an abysmal manoeuvrability.
The engine power that was the main advantage of the F-104s of previous generations is neutralised on this particuliar version, not because it is worse in any way, but because at the Battle Rating of 11.0, nearly all adversaries are supersonic, and a few of them can out-accelerate the aircraft. Mig-21s and F-5Cs and Es are of that breed and are a dangerous opponent to the Belgian Starfighter.
Manoeuvrability wise, turning should nearly never be considered as a combat option. The F-104 turns miserably, has a very low nose authority, and when turning trades of it's only remaining viable defense mechanism, it's speed. It is less manoeuvrable than the F-4 family, the A-10, Su-25 family, or even the F-111.
| Characteristics | Max speed (km/h at _,___ m) |
Max altitude (metres) |
Turn time (seconds) |
Rate of climb (metres/second) |
Take-off run (metres) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB | RB | AB | RB | AB | RB | |||
| Stock | ___ | ___ | 16000 | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ___ |
| Upgraded | ___ | ___ | __._ | __._ | __._ | __._ | ||
Details
| Features | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combat flaps | Take-off flaps | Landing flaps | Air brakes | Arrestor gear | Drogue chute |
| _ | _ | _ | _ | _ | _ |
| Limits | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wings (km/h) | Gear (km/h) | Flaps (km/h) | Max Static G | |||
| Combat | Take-off | Landing | + | - | ||
| 0 | 546 | ___ | ___ | ___ | ~__ | ~__ |
| Optimal velocities (km/h) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ailerons | Rudder | Elevators | Radiator |
| < ___ | < ___ | < ___ | - |
Engine performance
| Engine | Aircraft mass | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine name | Number | Basic mass | Wing loading (full fuel) | |||
| _____ | _ | _,___ kg | ___ kg/m2 | |||
| Engine characteristics | Mass with fuel (no weapons load) | Max Gross Weight | ||||
| Weight (each) | Type | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | ||
| ___ kg | ___ | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | _,___ kg | |
| Maximum engine thrust @ 0 m (RB/SB) | Thrust to weight ratio @ 0 m (___%/WEP) | |||||
| Condition | 100% | ___%/WEP | _m fuel | __m fuel | __m fuel | MGW |
| Stationary | ___ kgf | ___ kgf | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
| Optimal | ___ kgf (_ km/h) |
___ kgf (_ km/h) |
_.__ | _.__ | _.__ | _.__ |
Survivability and armour
The Belgian F-104G carries a pair of armour plates in the pilot seat, as well as a pane of bulletproof grass in from of him. Compared to the caliber, velocity and explosive mass of the aircrafts it faces, these protections are virtually useless.
The two gameplay facets that ensure this aircrafts survival are it's speed, to reduce the enemy reaction and engagement time, and the use of flares, that the aircraft comes equipped with.
It is to be noted that at it's battle rating, this Starfighter can face opponents equipped with advanced radars and SARH missiles. As such, staying in the ground clutter and avoiding to appear as a sore thumb on their scopes is a necessary survival tactic.
In general, not being the center of attention increases the Starfighter lifespan.
Modifications and economy
| Flight performance | Survivability | Weaponry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
| Ballistic Computer | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CCIP (Guns) | CCIP (Rockets) | CCIP (Bombs) | CCRP (Bombs) | EEGS |
 |
|
|
 |
|
Offensive armament
The F-104G (France) is armed with:
- 1 x 20 mm M61A1 cannon, cheek-mounted (750 rpg)
- 60 x countermeasures
Suspended armament
The F-104G (France) can be outfitted with the following ordnance:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | .png) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 250 kg Matra 25E bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| 500 lb LDGP Mk 82 bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| 500 lb Mk 82 Snakeye bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| 750 lb M117 cone 45 bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| 1,000 lb LDGP Mk 83 bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| BLU-1 incendiary bombs | 1 | 1* | 1 | |||||
| Hydra-70 M247 rockets | 7 | 7 | ||||||
| AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1 | ||||
| AIM-9E Sidewinder missiles | 1 | 1 | ||||||
| AIM-9J Sidewinder missiles | 1 | 1* | 1* | 1 | ||||
| Maximum permissible weight imbalance: 500 kg | ||||||||
| * Ordnance on hardpoint 4 cannot by carried in conjunction with missiles on hardpoints 3/5 | ||||||||
| Default weapon presets | |
|---|---|
| |
The F-104G in the french tech tree is the first aircraft to propose as it's onboard armament the M61 Vulcan revolving canon. As such, pilots will not be used to it's characteristics, rather being aquainted to the slower firing, but very harder hitting DEFA canons. Where a single DEFA hit redered any adversary unable to keep fighting at the very least (more often than not exploding like a grenade), the Vulcan hits are less catastrophic in terms of damage. On the other hand, multiple hits can be registered on the target in a single pass.
The main Air-to-Air armament of the Belgian Starfighter, the AIM-9J, is a relatively capable missile at it's tier, even if it's manoeuvrability is mediocre with regard to the closing speeds of the engagements.
Usage in battles
The F-104G should be used as what it is, a last version a style of aircraft based on an obsolete paradigm. Supplanted in 1v1 scenarios by basically any other fighter, the pilote must read the sway of the battle consistently to discover flanking routes and engaged furballs to attack, and notable ennemies to avoid. Overall, the Belgian Starfighter is stuck in a support role for other aircrafts, harrassing high energy state ennemies, and destroying lower energy state ones.
In Air-to-Air roles, maintaining the upper hand on the enemy team requires a lot of focus. Flanking routes should be prioritised, and extended as far as possible, even up to attacking from behind.
In Mixed battle, the F-104G is a poor choice, being completely outclassed by aircrafts and weapons decades mode modern, such as the Jaguar A/E, or the Super Etendard, or even the Milan and Etendard IVM.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Has access to stock flares
Cons:
- Terrible manoeuvrability
- No radar missiles
- Mediocre IR missiles, unslavable to the radar
- Radar is poor for Air-to-Air roles
- Operating altitudes severely hampered by Fox 1 carriers.
History
Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
- Related development
External links
- [Devblog] Dutch and Belgian Aircraft are Joining the French Tree!
- [Belgian Wings] Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
| Belgian Limited Company of Aeronautical Constructions (SABCA) | |
|---|---|
| Jet Fighters | ▄Mirage 5BA* |
| ▄F-104G* | |
| ▄F-16A* · ▄F-16AM* | |
| * Licensed Production / Variants | |
| See also | Dassault · Lockheed · General Dynamics |
| France jet aircraft | |
|---|---|
| Fighters | M.D.450B Ouragan · M.D.450B Barougan · M.D.452 IIA · M.D.452 IIC · Mystere IVA · Super Mystere B2 |
| ▄F-86K · ▄F-100D · ▄F-8E(FN) | |
| Mirage IIIC · Mirage IIIE · Milan · Mirage 5F · Mirage 2000C-S4 · Mirage 2000C-S5 · Mirage 2000-5F · Mirage 4000 | |
| Mirage F1C · Mirage F1C-200 · Mirage F1CT | |
| Strike aircraft | ▄F-84F · F-84F IAF · ▄F-84G-26-RE |
| Etendard IVM · Super Etendard · Alpha Jet E | |
| Jaguar A · Jaguar E · Mirage 2000D-R1 · Mirage 2000D-RMV | |
| Bombers | S.O.4050 Vautour IIA · Vautour IIA IDF/AF · S.O.4050 Vautour IIB · S.O.4050 Vautour IIN · S.O.4050 Vautour IIN (late) |
| Belgium | ▄Meteor F Mk.8 · ▄Mirage 5BA · ▄F-104G · ▄F-16A · ▄F-16AM |
| Netherlands | ◘Sea Hawk Mk.50 · ◘Hunter F.6 |
