There was nothing wrong with the F-104. The GAF lost quite a few, in a short period, because they rushed a complex aircraft into service into an air force still reconstituting itself after being reborn. Losses were due to poor maintenance and errors.
Proportionally, the RAF lost a higher percentage of Lightnings in the same era, many due to rear-end engine fires due to a badly designed (braised) bend in a fuel pipe near the reheat section. In later years it had an excellent service record.
If you want bad design read up on the F4D Skyray. Large wing, small(ish) tail. Apparently flying a carrier circuit was like trying to balance a marble on a greased tray. A couple of pilots shut the throttles at high speed low level and the trim change wrinkled the wings and tore the engine from its mountings.
"On one test flight, deceleration caused the trim setting to become "super-effective, flipping the nose suddenly skyward." Not wearing his G-suit, Rahn blacked out. The plane was designed to withstand 7 Gs, and the sudden change registered much more, 9.1 Gs. When he regained his vision, Rahn was looking straight down at the Pacific Ocean, heading straight down from a partial loop. He recovered at 3,000 feet. Looking out at the wings, he said, "They were wrinkled from wing tip to wing tip, resembling dried prunes."... Back on the ground, the Skyray's skin was found to be permanently distorted,, the wings bent, and some of the vertical tail's members were sticking out like multiple fractures. The engine had also broken loose from its mount."
Last edited by ORAC; 6th Oct 2006 at 14:07.