Lockheed F-104A/B Starfighter
The original 'missile with a man in it' — a Mach 2 day interceptor pressed into Air Defense Command service · First flight 1956 · In service 1958
The F-104A was the first production Starfighter. It followed the J65-powered XF-104 prototypes of 1954 and the 17 YF-104A development aircraft, which were 1.68 m longer to take the new General Electric J79 and introduced a ventral fin and blown flaps. The first YF-104A flew on 17 February 1956 and reached Mach 2 that April; the 83rd Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton AFB, California, became operational with the F-104A on 26 February 1958.
The Air Force had designed the jet as a light air-superiority fighter but used it as an interim interceptor, a role for which its range and two-Sidewinder armament were marginal. Orders were cut from 722 to 170, and the F-104As and two-seat F-104Bs passed to the Air National Guard after less than a year with Air Defense Command, before some were recalled to the 319th and 331st FIS. The two-seater had an enlarged rudder and ventral fin, no cannon and less fuel, but stayed combat-capable.
In May 1958 YF-104As set a world altitude record of 27,811 m and a world speed record of 2,259.5 km/h, making the Starfighter the first aircraft to hold both at once. Surplus F-104As and Bs went to Pakistan, Taiwan and Jordan, while others became QF-104A target drones and three NF-104A rocket-boosted trainers for astronaut training.
