Air Power Series>1:72 die-cast display model>F-104>HA1012

General Background

The F-104 Starfighter was an military aircraft with revolutionary designs. It had short razor-sharp wings and was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname “The Missile With A Man In It”. Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

The Aircraft

Germany received 916 F-104s, comprising 749 F/RF-104Gs, 137 TF-104Gs and 30 F-104Fs, forming the major combat equipment of both the Luftwaffe and Marineflieger. At its peak in the mid-1970s, the Marineflieger operated a further two wings of F-104s in the maritime strike and reconnaissance roles. The Marineflieger initially used AS.30 command guidance missiles as anti-ship weapons, but these were replaced with the more sophisticated and longer-ranged radar-guided AS.34 Kormoran missile, allowing stand-off attacks to be carried out against enemy ships.

Specifications :

First Flight:	(XF-104) February 7, 1954
Crew:	1 pilot
Dimensions
Height:	13.50 ft (4.11 m)
Wingspan:	21.92 ft (6.68 m)
Wing Area:	196.1 ft2 (18.22 m2)
Length:	54.75 ft (16.69 m)
Weight
These aircraft were stripped of any military equipment in an effort to reduce weight
Empty:	14,082 lb (6,387 kg)
Max Takeoff:	28,779 lb (13,054 kg)
Fuel Capacity:	Internal: 5,822 lb (2,641 kg)  /  External: 5,538 lb (2,512 kg)
Max Payload:	4,310 lb (1,995 kg)
Propulsion
Power plant:	1 X General Electric J79-19 turbojet
Thrust:	10,000 lb (44.5 kN) / 15,800 lb (70.28 kN) with afterburner
Performance
Max Level Speed:	at altitude - 1,450 mph (2,335 km/h) at 36,000 ft (10,975 m), Mach 2.2  /  at sea level - Mach 1.2
Initial Climb Rate:	50,000 ft (15,239 m)/min
Service Ceiling:	58,000 ft (17,680 m)  /  90,000 ft (27,430 m) zoom ceiling
Range:	typical - 260 nm (480 km) with max payload  /  ferry - 1,576 nm (2,920 km)