Elaina's broomstick~

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, often referred to as the "Missile with a Man in It," is one of the most distinctive and controversial fighters of the Cold War era. Designed by the legendary aircraft engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson and his team at Lockheed's Skunk Works division, the F-104 was introduced in the late 1950s as a supersonic interceptor and tactical fighter. Its sleek, needle-like fuselage, stubby wings, and blistering speed made it a technological marvel of its time, though its reputation remains a topic of debate among aviation enthusiasts.

The F-104 was designed for one purpose: speed. Its airframe was optimized for supersonic flight, with a razor-thin fuselage and short, thin trapezoidal wings that gave it an incredibly low drag profile. Powered by a General Electric J79 turbojet engine, the Starfighter could reach a top speed of Mach 2.2 (1,450 mph) and climb to altitudes exceeding 90,000 feet. These capabilities made it one of the fastest and highest-flying jets of its era.

The aircraft utilized advanced avionics for its time, including a radar fire-control system and a M61 Vulcan rotary cannon for close-range combat. Additionally, it could carry a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, making it versatile despite its primary role as an interceptor.

The F-104 was first adopted by the United States Air Force (USAF) but became much more widely known due to its use by NATO allies, including Germany, Italy, Canada, and others. It served as a frontline aircraft in many air forces throughout the 1960s and 1970s, with Italy continuing to operate the jet until the early 2000s.

Despite its impressive performance, the F-104 earned a mixed reputation due to its unforgiving handling characteristics and high accident rate. Pilots often referred to it as a "hot rod" in the sky—exciting to fly but requiring significant skill and experience. In European service, particularly in Germany, the aircraft was involved in numerous accidents, leading to its nickname, the "Widowmaker."

Possible Aircraft Nicknames:

• "Missile with a Man in It": A nod to its sleek, missile-like appearance and single-seat cockpit.

• "Widowmaker": Reflecting its high accident rate, particularly in German service. (Nicknamed locally as "Witwenmacher")

• "Flying Coffin": A more morbid take on its reputation for being dangerous to fly.

• "Zipper": Referring to its speed and thin profile, as well as how quickly it could get in and out of combat situations.

• "Silver Sliver": Highlighting its shiny metallic finish and razor-thin fuselage.

• "Ground Dart": A darkly humorous reference to its tendency to crash during its early years of service.

• "Starfighter": Its official name, which emphasizes its futuristic design and space-age capabilities.

• "Manned Missile": Another nickname inspired by its aerodynamic profile and focus on speed.

• Just add yours in the comments, let's discuss :)

- About the variant

F-104G
The F-104G was the most-produced version of the F-104 family, a multi-role fighter-bomber with a total of 1,127 aircraft built. They were manufactured by Lockheed, as well as under license by Canadair and a consortium of European companies that included Messerschmitt/MBB, Fiat, Fokker, and SABCA. The type featured a strengthened fuselage, wing, and empennage structures; the larger vertical fin with fully powered rudder as used on the two-seat versions; fully powered brakes, a new anti-skid system, and larger tires; revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering; and a larger braking chute. Upgraded avionics included the Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B radar with air-to-air, ground-mapping, contour-mapping, and terrain-avoidance modes, as well as the Litton LN-3 inertial navigation system (the first on a production fighter).

There are also a derivative variants to the F-104G: F-104J was a specialized interceptor version of the F-104G for the Japanese JASDF, built under license by Mitsubishi for the air-superiority role; it was armed with same M61 cannon and four Sidewinders, but had lack of strike capability. Then there is CF-104, was the designation applied to 200 Canadian-built versions, built under license by Canadair. Optimized for nuclear strike, the CF-104 NASARR R-24A radar with air-to-air modes was removed and the cannon deleted (both were restored after 1972), it had an additional internal fuel cell, and a license-built Orenda Engines J79-OEL-7 turbojet with 10,000 lbf (44 kN)/15,800 lbf (70 kN) thrust. And the "final form" of the Starfighter, FIAT built 246 of the final production version, the F-104S. The F-104S was upgraded for the interception role, adding the NASARR R-21G/H radar with moving-target indicator and continuous-wave illuminator for semi-active radar homing missiles (initially the AIM-7 Sparrow), two additional wing and two underbelly hardpoints (increasing the total to nine), the more powerful J79-GE-19 engine, and two additional ventral fins to increase stability. The M61 cannon was sacrificed to make room for the missile avionics in the interceptor version, but was retained for the fighter-bomber variant.

So, because of F-104S, could we even choke the AIM-120D AMRAAM to it's smol wing?

C O N T R O L S
Trim : Flaps, cruising 'rotate' adjuster
VTOL : Further flaps
AG.6 : YEETtison fuel tank
AG.7 : Jettison missiles