F-104S, F-104S ASA, F-104S ASA-M - Italian starfighters - materiel

All information is collected from open sources. In particular, this material was used: https://www.modelingtime.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17306 I do not give a 100% guarantee. When assembling, additional fact-checking, if possible, will not hurt. I update the material periodically as I find new information.

AMI needed a multi-role aircraft to replace the aging F-86E(M) and F-86K fighters, RF-84F reconnaissance aircraft and F-84F attack aircraft. Unfortunately, the F-104G could not effectively perform the required functions and to solve this problem, the Italians wanted switch to other manufacturers, but eventually agreed with Lockheed that the Americans would develop a new modification in accordance with the requirements of the Italians, which was eventually created under the name F-104S.

But before that - until the end of 1960 - the Italians flew conventional F-104Gs in the following configurations:

• F-104G CI (fighter interceptor): gun removed, two AIM-9 B on wing tips,
• F-104G CB (fighter-bomber): there is a cannon, 2 or 4 external fuel tanks,
• RF-104G (reconnaissance) – camera fairing under the fuselage or Orpheus container on the central ventral pylon,
• TF-104G (double): no gun, no ventral pylon, carried only tanks.

Serial production of the F-104S in Italy and the replacement of Italian F-104Gs with the F-104S began in 1969.

Next we are talking specifically about the F-104S, since they, IMHO, are more interesting for modellers than the “temporary” F-104G.

Important note

The F-104S (like the G, however) was produced in fighter (CI - Caccia Intercettore - Fighter Interceptor) and strike (CB - Caccia Bombardiere - Fighter Bomber) configurations. Most Stormo wings included two Groups: one with interceptors and one with fighter-bombers.

F-104S

Model number: 783 C/n: 1001–1246 (Aeritalia, Italy) Built: 246 vehicles (including 40 for Turkey).

Modification developed by Lockheed for Italy based on the F-104G.

We look at the air intakes. The F-104G had trapezoidal doors that opened backwards during maintenance. On the F-104S, the doors were rectangular and they opened not only during maintenance, but also during takeoff, especially in hot, humid weather. Some claim that at the same time the EOIs were increased, but I did not find such information. On the ground, the doors are usually closed. There are photos where they are open during maintenance and during taxiing.

The S features two ventral fins to improve stability at high speeds (pictured on the F-104S ASA-M).

The angle of inclination of the central ventral ridge has changed.

The engines are General Electric J-79 GE-19, not ...GE-11A, as on the F-104G. The nozzle was different.

The F-104S now has two additional pylons under the wing for a total of four plus two more at the wingtips. G only had two underwing pylons. Under the fuselage was not a “catamaran”, but the lesser known individual pylons of the BL-22. If you find a photo where Sidewinder missiles are hanging on them, there is a 99% chance that this is a photo from an air show or taken for PR purposes. In actual operation, they did not carry missiles. One reason is that proximity to the ground often led to damage to the IR sensors.

The main wheels are thick, the doors have stampings.

The presence of a gun depends on the modification (see below).

The F-104Gs that Italy initially received were equipped with the original Lockheed C2 seats. Around 1970, they began to change to Martin Baker IQ-7A. Please note that there is a German version of this chair (GQ-7A) and an Italian one (IQ-7A). There were some minor changes in the design of the parachute compartment. The buckles and color of the straps have visually changed.

The F-104S is the only Starfighter to carry Sparrow missiles. Actually, the S index means that these are vehicles that were modified and could carry AIM-7E Sparrow missiles.

The white “blub” at the rear of the fuselage is the antenna for the Sparrow missile control system. An Italian on the ARC writes that on the very first cars it was black, then it became white. Although, in the photo it looks like light gray.

There are interesting points about the wheels.

The first 28 F-104Gs (registration numbers 6501 to 6528) had main wheels that were 25 inches in diameter and 6.75 inches wide. The niche doors were smooth.

Further, due to the increase in the number of suspension points and the load on the Starfighters, new wheels with different disks with a diameter of 26 inches and a width of 8 inches began to be installed. In this regard, the main niche received new doors with characteristic bulges for wheels of greater width. Later, the first 28 vehicles were retrofitted.

As for the nose wheel, its dimensions did not change, but there were two types of disks.

Early, like on the F-16

And late

F-104S/CI interceptors

The cannon on the F-104S/CI interceptors was removed because it was considered ineffective in air combat. Only the missiles were left. The F-104S/CI could carry Sparrow missiles, whereas the previous Italian F-104Gs typically flew with two AIM-9Bs. To control Sparrow missiles, the FIAR/NASARR F15G radar was installed on the F-104S/CI (in place of the gun).

Suspension options:

• 4 AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles on wingtips and outer underwing pylons,
• 2 AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips and 2 AIM-9E Sparrow missiles on the outer underwing pylons
• Fuel tanks on the wingtips and one each of the AIM-9B Sidewinder and AIM-9E Sparrow missiles on the outer underwing pylons.

Photos showing two Sparrows and two Sidewinders hanging on the interceptor were usually taken for PR purposes.

There is a photo where there are BL22 pylons under the fuselage of F-104S CI interceptors, but, as I wrote above and as the Italian stated at the ARC, they were never used in real life for missiles. There are several photos of the F-104S on the ground with these pylons and AIM-9B missiles hanging on them, but this is PR or just for show. The only exception is the photo of the F-104S from 53°Stormo in flight with BL22, but without missiles.

During QRA duty, F-104S/CI aircraft typically flew in a lightweight version: the standard was one Sidewinder and one Sparrow missile, as well as wingtip tanks or a pair of missiles without tanks. PS in the second photo - S-ASA.

The F-104S/CI did not have a central ventral pylon.

Interceptor cockpit

Interceptors served in:

• 9° Gruppo (since 1970)
• 10°Gruppo (since 1974)
• 12° Gruppo (since 1970)
• 21°Gruppo (since 1972),
• 22°Gruppo (since 1969)
• 23°Gruppo (since 1973)

F-104S/CB

The F-104S/CB strike modification was intended to strike ground targets. These vehicles also had 9 pylons and could carry a wide range of weapons. These vehicles were equipped with a FIAR/NASARR R21G-H radar and a radio altimeter for working on ground targets from low altitude. They also retain the Vulcan M61A1 cannon. Sparrow missiles were not used. There was an additional internal fuel tank of 462 liters.

Two squadrons of fighter bombers were tasked with launching a nuclear strike (which fortunately did not come to that). On these aircraft, the Vulcan cannon was removed and replaced with an additional fuel tank. There were 4 tanks hanging outside: two on the wing tips and two on the inner underwing pylons.

Fuel tanks were always hung on the wingtips and on the inner wing pylons. The BL22's ventral pylons were rarely used, almost always for demo purposes, so bombs were usually hung on the outer underwing pylons and on the central ventral pylon (the bombers had one).

During bomber training, the SUU-21 container on the central ventral pylon was most often used. It was also used to simulate a nuclear bomb (by mass). Also on the central ventral pylon could hang a tank with napalm, a travel pod, MK.117 bombs, a cluster bomb dispenser or a GP bomb. Under the wing, fuel tanks were always hung on the inner pylons, and two cluster bombs or rocked pods (less often) could hang on the outer ones. The most common suspension: 2 or 4 tanks and a container with SUU-21 cluster bombs on the ventral pylon.

A selection of photos of the F-104S CB can be found on the 155 155th Gruppo website: www.panterenere.it/mainuk.htm

Attack F-104S CB flew in the following composition:

• 102°Gruppo (since 1973) - nuclear strike
• 155°Gruppo (since 1971) - conventional ground attacks
• 156°Gruppo (since 1970) - anti-ship.

F104S 51-34 del 155°CB “Pantere Nere” del 51°Stormo di Istrana, armato con bombe BL755

Bomber cockpit

The Turks ordered 40 F-104S/CB vehicles and this was the only export contract.

Accident rate[ | ]

Taiwan Air Force F-104J F-104 cockpit instrument panel.
In the German press, the F-104 was nicknamed "witwenmacher" ("widowmaker") and "fliegende sarg" ("flying coffin") after the first disasters and the political corruption scandal, which in 1966 received the name "Starfighter Scam". For the German Air Force, 916 aircraft were purchased from the USA and assembled in Germany, of which 292 (about a third) were lost in flight accidents; 116 pilots died[4][5][6]. Shortly after purchase, but before entering service, during a display of an aerobatic team in the German capital on June 19, 1962, four F-104Gs collided. All four pilots—the American commander and three Germans—were killed[7].

The accident rate in the first years was 139 flight accidents per 100 thousand flight hours [8] until the end of the 1960s, but even in the 1970s, after a multiple decrease in the accident rate, about a dozen aircraft crashed annually. In 1966, the theme of the Starfighter disasters became political. There was a joke: to get a Starfighter, you just need to buy a farm and wait for it to fall on it[4]. Although this proportion of aircraft losses was not exceptional: the German Air Force lost 36% of older F-84Fs in flight accidents [8], but this fact did not become a public topic. The final accident statistics for the entire period of use of the F-104 in the German Air Force turned out to be not so bad - one lost aircraft per 6,630 flight hours [9] (or 15 per 100 thousand flight hours). For comparison, the MiG-21 fighter in the USSR Air Force in 1965 had one loss per 4,650 flight hours [10] (21.5 per 100 thousand flight hours).

The relative losses of the Canadian Air Force F-104s are higher - 46%, but they flew two to three times more hours than the German ones[11]. In the Spanish Air Force, about 20 F-104s flew about 17 thousand hours in simple weather conditions over 7 years and did not lose a single aircraft (although in 1965, one F-104 for training Spanish pilots in the USA was destroyed)[12][13]. The Norwegian Air Force lost 13.6% over 20 years[14][15]. Japanese Air Force - about 15% of the F-104J/DJ fleet over 23 years[16].

In the Taiwan Air Force, out of 247 Starfighters, 116 (47%) were lost in battle or destroyed: 66 out of 115 F-104G, 8 out of 8 RF-104G, 13 out of 39 TF-104G, 17 out of 44 F-104A, 4 out of 8 F-104B, 2 of 6 F-104D, 6 of 22 F-104J and none of 5 F-104DJ[17].

The Starfighter disasters killed: in July 1958, the Korean War ace Iven Carl Kincheloe, Jr.; in December 1967, the first black astronaut, Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr.. The famous test driver Chuck Yeager almost died on it. One of two experimental “three-mach” XB-70 Valkyrie bombers was lost in a collision with an F-104. However, the fighter was loved by most pilots, and a significant part of the incidents were associated with unusually relaxed flights on them.

The total flight time of the F-104 operated by the US Air Force was about 582 thousand hours, while 148 aircraft were lost in accidents[18].

F-104S ASA

In the early 80s, due to delays in Eurofighter deliveries, the Italians were forced to order new avionics and weapons upgrades for their F-104S - thus creating the ASA modification (from the name of the Avionics and Armament Upgrade modernization program).

The upgrade was mainly intended for the F-104S/CI, as the radar was rarely used and was often simply replaced with ballast during training. As a result, the F15G radar was replaced with the FIAR R121G/M Setter, and other avionics were added.

The F-104S ASA had ALQ-70 conical antennas on the fuselage. The arrows show the location of the antennas.

On the belly at the rear of the fuselage there was a container with sensors of the ALQ-72 system

In terms of armament, the Sparrow missiles were replaced with Selenia ASPIDE 1A (outwardly almost completely identical to the Sparrow), and the AIM-9B with the AIM-9L (with the exception of cases of using AIM-9B missiles on ASA vehicles in 20°gruppo). The variant with four Sidewinder missiles did not seem to be used. The gun was not returned, as a result, the Starfighters were noticeably outperformed by other aircraft in the NATO bloc, which is why the pilots changed the ASA abbreviation to Another Aeronautical Shit (literally, Another Aviation Shit).

The CB version remains unchanged.

At this stage, Italian OZs became significantly smaller, and huge white letters and numbers were replaced with small gray ones. The squadron emblems on the airbox and the air wing on the fin became monochrome. The camouflage itself on production vehicles remained gray-green.

F-104S ASA CI cockpit

F-104S ASA CB cockpit

And two more pictures of individual panels

F-104 as “flying laboratories”[ | ]

NASA F-104A Starfighter, one of 11 used at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center.
National Aerospace Museum, Washington F-104 explosion after collision with XB-70 Valkyrie Due to its speed and altitude characteristics, F-104s were intensively used in various NASA programs. Beginning in August 1956, NASA began flying the F-104 at the Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base. Over the next 38 years, 11 F-104s flew as part of various NASA programs, the last flight taking place in February 1994, totaling more than 18,000 flights.

The F-104, with its “rocket-like” aerodynamics, which earned the Starfighter the informal name “the missile with a man in it” shortly after its adoption, required specific piloting skills: this explains its other nickname, “ Widowmaker. However, it was precisely this specificity that turned out to be very useful both for testing new technical solutions and for training astronauts. For example, astronauts of the US Apollo lunar program, including Neil Armstrong, made training flights on various modifications of the F-104.

NF-104 gaining altitude with liquid rocket engine on

F-104, equipped with an additional rocket engine and maneuvering engines powered by hydrogen peroxide (modification JF-104), were used to test technical solutions for gas-dynamic (reaction control systems) spacecraft: during this JF program -104 climbed to an altitude of ~24,000, where due to the low density of the atmosphere at relatively low speeds, aerodynamic controls become ineffective, and used maneuvering engines to practice the orientation of the aircraft. This data was then used in NASA's X-15 programs and work on the X-20 DynaSoar, the "ancestor" of the Space Shuttle. During the entire period of operation of the F-104, NASA performed escort and observation flights during the flights of most experimental X-series vehicles.

Another modification, the NF-104, which is an F-104 equipped with an AR2-3 rocket engine, was used in the US Air Force Aero Space Trainer (AST) program both for training pilots in the upper atmosphere (altitudes above 30 km) and weightlessness, and for testing high-altitude suits and spacesuits during decompression.

As part of the Space Shuttle program, NASA used F-104s to test the shuttle's thermal barrier materials for mechanical resistance to rain at high speeds.

Currently (2017) F-104s are used by the private company Starfighters Aerospace (formerly Starfighters Inc), which carries out orders both for high-altitude (up to 30,000 meters) launches of small suborbital and orbital rockets, and for conducting experiments in the field of microgravity and other research tasks in the field of high-altitude flights. Starfighters Aerospace operates single- and two-seat (pilot and engineer) versions of the F-104[47].

F-104S/ASA-M

In the mid-90s, the Eurofighters still had not arrived and the Italian Air Force was forced to order another upgrade to extend the life of the ASA vehicles due to the slowdown in the program for replacing Starfighters with other vehicles. 64 vehicles were selected for it: 49 F-104S-ASA /CI and 15 TF-104G. Almost all modifications were made internally.

After the upgrade, the vehicles received the designation F-104S ASA-M.

Please note that ASA-M were only interceptors (F-104S ASA-M CI)! There were no F-104S ASA-M CB bombers!

Features of the F-104S ASA-M CI: no gun, ECM antennas removed, GPS installed.

F-104S ASA-M CI suspension options:

• 2 AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles on the wingtips and 2 Aspide missiles on the underwing pylons,
• 2 AIM-9L Sidewinder missiles on underwing pylons and two fuel tanks on the wingtips,
• Fuel tanks on the wingtips and one AIM-9L Sidewinder and Aspide missile each on the underwing pylons.

ASA-M vehicles did not fly with AIM-9B missiles. Only AIM-9L!

There have been changes to the ASA-M cockpit.

The gray Italian sparkies are TF-104 G -M had no cannon, no underwing pylon, no ECM antennas and were not able to carry missiles.

In the final years of ASA-M flights, the use of wingtip missile launchers was prohibited due to the difficulty of flying without wingtip tanks. So the armament was reduced to two missiles under the wing.

An interesting point emerged. Not all gray cars are ASA M. There were gray ASAs too. They can be distinguished by the presence/absence of conical antennas of the ALQ system, located on the back behind the canopy and below closer to the nose cone. (see photo above). ASA - ALQ antennas are available. ASA M - no ALQ antennas.

For example, this is the F-104 ASA.

History of development and use[ | ]

The first copy of the XF-104 (English) (Russian
F-104 was developed by Lockheed taking into account the experience of the Korean War. High flight performance was a priority during the development of this aircraft, which was later often called “a rocket with a man inside” [2] Work on the aircraft project began in 1951. The contract for the production of the first two prototypes was signed in 1953 and the first of them took off on February 7, 1954, just 11 months later. The first combat vehicles began to arrive in the US Air Force in January 1958 and were designated F-104A. This modification was not truly all-weather and therefore was not widely used. In the US Air Force, only two squadrons were equipped with the F-104A. In addition, these aircraft were supplied to the air forces of Germany, Taiwan and Pakistan, and accepted participation in the Indo-Pakistani conflicts of 1965 and 1971.

Notes[ | ]

1. "Lockheed" // Aviation: Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. G. P. Svishchev. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia, 1994. - P. 316. - ISBN 5-85270-086-X.
2. Record-Breaking Aircraft Known as "Missile With a Man in It" Lands at Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor Archived November 4, 2013.
3. Encyclopedia of a young scientist. Space. 2000 ISBN 5-8451-0212-X
4. ↑ 1 2
   STARFIGHTER IN GERMAN, DUTCH, & BELGIAN SERVICE (inaccessible link since 08/12/2013 [3083 days] -
   history
   ,
   copy
   )
5. 50 Jahre Starfighter-Kauf
6. Deutschlandfunk. Geschichte aktuell. Die Starfighter-Affäre - ein Kampfjet und seine Opfer
7. German Starfighter crashes
8. ↑ 12
   Starfighter with Germany Archived February 21, 2009.
9. German Wings Starfighter losses
10. Igor Prikhodchenko. Su-7 fighter-bomber Archived January 3, 2014.
11. STARFIGHTER IN CANADIAN SERVICE / CF-104 (unavailable link since 08/12/2013 [3083 days] - history
    ,
    copy
    )
12. Starfighters for Spain Archived March 27, 2008.
13. Bowman, Martin W. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press Ltd., 2000. - P. 164
14. Greg Goebel. F-104 In Foreign Service
15. The F-104 Starfighter's impeccable flying coffin reputation in the Spanish Air Force
16. Paloque, Gerard.
    F-104 Lockheed Starfighter, 1958-2000. — Paris. — 82 pages p. — ISBN 978-2-35250-229-6, 2-35250-229-2.
17. Republic of China Air Force F-104 serial numbers
18. USAF Stat Digest 1957-1976 (unspecified)
    . Archived from the original on May 1, 2015.
19. Burning Island./From the history of air wars./AviaMaster, No. 6 2004
20. Hobson, Chris. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961—1973. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2001. pp. 32,269
21. “The Molten Sky of Vietnam” / “The Beginning of a Great War” - Dmitry Kondratkov - IA No. 4/2001.
22. History of Aviation 2001-05 / D. Kondratkov - Molten sky of Vietnam / Aviation in local wars /
23. ↑ 1234567
    Starfighters "in action" in Vietnam 1965-1967. International F-104 Society
24. ↑ 12
    F-104C vs MiG-19: The story of the only air-to-air shoot-down of a Starfighter during the Vietnam War. Dario Leone. The Aviation Geek Club. May 10, 2019
25. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973. Chris Hobson. Specialty Press. 2001. P.85
26. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973. Chris Hobson. Specialty Press. 2001. P.86
27. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973. Chris Hobson. Specialty Press. 2001. P.87
28. Vietnam Air Losses, USAF, USN, USMC, Fixed-Wing Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia 1961–1973. Chris Hobson. Specialty Press. 2001. P.100
29. China Border Incidents (unspecified)
    . Access date: February 14, 2014. Archived December 21, 2013.
30. Davies, Peter E.,.
    F-104 Starfighter units in combat. - Oxford. — 96 pages p. — ISBN 978-1-78096-313-6, 1-78096-313-0.
31. F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat. Peter E. Davies. Bloomsbury Publishing, 20 Nov. 2014. P.80
32. Pakistani Air-to-Air Victories (unspecified)
    (unavailable link). Access date: October 10, 2013. Archived December 21, 2012.
33. IAF Combat Kills - 1971 Indo-Pak Air War. B.Harry. 2006
34. AIRCRAFT LOSSES IN PAKISTAN −1971 WAR Archived May 1, 2009.
35. PAF F-104 Starfighter. Hubert Peitzmeier
36. “In addition, the Jordanians, who sent a squadron of fighters to the war, were missing three F-104s.”/Burning Hindustan. Part IV A year of bloody changes. A&V No. 6 2004
37. “At least sixteen of the Pakistani losses fell in air combat (although only ten air combat losses were admitted, not including any F-6s, Mirage IIIs, or the six Jordanian F-104s which failed to return to their donors).”/ Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972. Martin Bowman. Pen and Sword. 2016. P.109
38. F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat. Peter E. Davies. Bloomsbury Publishing, 20 Nov. 2014. P.87
39. Cold War Jet Combat: Air-to-Air Jet Fighter Operations 1950–1972. Martin Bowman. Pen and Sword. 2016. P.110
40. The PAF has admitted that the maneuverability of the F-104 was poor during close-in combat and that the F-6 and F-86 were much better in a dogfight./F-104A/B in Combat with Pakistan AF. Joe Baugher. 1999 (unspecified)
    . Retrieved March 31, 2022. Archived March 31, 2019.
41. Incidents on the Jordanian border
42. Cyprus, 1974: Turkish Point of View
43. USS NORRIS/TCG KOCATEPE
44. Sabotage to A-7 Aircraft at Muniz ANGB, PR
45. Kurdish resistance
46. Alexander Kotlobovsky, Rostislav Maraev. Justified the destiny // AiV, No. 6, 2007.
47. Starfighters Aerospace Web Site
48. Bowman, Martin W.
    Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. — Marlborough: Crowood, 2000. — 192 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates p. — ISBN 1-86126-314-7, 978-1-86126-314-8.