F-104 (Family)
Description
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engined, supersonic interceptor aircraft which became widely used as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was later sold to and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.
Nicknames
| F-104 Nicknames | |
|---|---|
| ▃ Lockheed | missile with a man in it |
| ▃ Official | Starfighter |
| ▅ Official | Eiko (栄光, Glory) |
| ▃ Pilots | Oh-Four · Zip-Four · Zipper / Zip |
| ▀ Pilots | Zipper · Gustav (◄F-104G) |
| ▅ Pilots | Mitubishi Pencil |
| ▄ Pilots | Spillone (Hatpin) |
| ▃ Public | Widowmaker |
| ▀ Public | Witwenmacher (Widowmaker) · Fliegender Sarg (Flying coffin) · Erdnagel (Ground nail) |
Vehicles
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VI Rank
|
 F-104A  F-104C  |
F-104J  |
␗F-104A  |
▄F-104G  F-104S  | |
VII Rank
|
◄F-104G  |
␗F-104G  |
 ▄F-104S TAF  F-104S.ASA  |
Rank VI
- ▃F-104A - Initial US variant
- ␗F-104A - Identical to US F-104A
- ▃F-104C - Improved US variant with improved engine, RWR, and ground attack ordnance compared to the F-104A
- ▅F-104J - Export F-104G to Japan, comes with 4 x AIM-9P Sidewinders
- ▄F-104G - Export F-104G to Italy, comes with 60 countermeasures and 2 x AIM-9J Sidewinders
- ▄F-104S - Italian variant, improved F-104G with a stronger engine, improved ground attack ordnance, 6 x AIM-9J Sidewinders or 2 x AIM-7E Sparrow SARH missiles
Rank VII
- ◄F-104G - Export F-104G to Germany, comes with 60 countermeasures, a large array of ground attack ordnance, and 4 x AIM-9J Sidewinders
- ␗F-104G - Very similar to German F-104G
- ▄F-104S TAF
- ▄F-104S.ASA - Italian F-104S upgrade; ASA stands for Aggiornamento Sistemi d'Arma ("Weapon Systems Update"). Equipped with a stronger engine, 60 countermeasures, AIM-9L Sidewinders, a look-down/shoot-down radar, and Aspide-1A SARH missiles.
Media
- Videos
The Shooting Range #211 - Pages of History section at 04:15 discusses the Starfighter.
