The Starfighter had its origin in a November 1952 unsolicited proposal by Lockheed for a lightweight and unsophisticated air-superiority fighter. Johnson had visited Korea in December of 1951, and while there he had talked to fighter pilots then flying in combat over North Korea. He asked them what kind of fighter plane would be ideal. Their general consensus was that the trend toward ever-increasing weight and complexity had gotten completely out of hand, and they would gladly trade in their existing fighters for a lighter, less costly fighter with clearly superior speed, ceiling, climb rate, and maneuverability.
Even though the Air Force had no official requirement for such a fighter, Johnson was nevertheless authorized by Lockheed management to proceed with an initial private venture design.
In late 1952, Lockheed presented an unsolicited proposal to the Air Force. Even though the USAF did not have a standing requirement for such a fighter, they thought sufficiently highly of the general idea that they issued a General Operational Requirement in December 1952 for a lightweight air-superiority fighter to replace the North American F-100 in TAC beginning in 1956 followed by a contract.
By the time that the F-104A was finally ready for delivery, requirements had changed and TAC lost interest. However, there were delays in the delivery of the F-106 to Air Defense Command, and the USAF decided to accept the F-104A and assign them to ADC as a stopgap measure. The high climb rate made it attractive and it was hoped that they could fill in until the F-106 became available. The aircraft were fitted with the interim AN/ASG-14T-1 radar fire control system until it could be replaced by the more capable AN/ASG-14T-2.
However, Its short range was a problem for North American air defense, and its lack of all-weather capability made it incapable of operating in conjunction with the SAGE. Service with the ADC was consequently brief, and they were replaced by the end of 1960.
They were transferred to three ANG squadrons, the 151st, 157th and 197th FIS. These three squadrons were called up for active duty during the Berlin crisis of 1961 and were deployed to Europe. Following the end of the Berlin crisis, thee squadrons returned to the USA in 1962. The F-104As, however, were retained by the USAF and were transferred to two ADC units, the 319th and 331st FIS at Homestead AFB.
The last USAF squadron to operate the F-104A, the 319th, was disbanded in December of 1969.
The F-104C was the tactical strike version of the Starfighter. It was designed to meet the needs of (TAC), which had earlier found the F-104A to be unacceptable because of its low endurance and its inability to carry significant offensive payloads. AC felt that it needed a supersonic tactical strike fighter to fill the void between the F-100C and the F-105 Thunderchief.
The F-104C carried a removable refuelling probe, thus allowing the range to be extended and was designed tactical nuclear weapons on a centerline pylon, which could alternatively carry a 225-US gallon droptank. Equipped from the start with the AN/ASG-14T-2 fire control system, the F-104C was capable of operating in clear night as well as day conditions, although it was not truly capable of all-weather operations. The internal 20-mm rotary cannon of the F-104A was retained, as was the ability to carry a Sidewinder on each wingtip.
The first F-104Cs entered service in 1958 with the 479th TFW in the nuclear strike and ground attack role.
In 1961, the F-104Cs were modernized with the addition of hardpoints which enabled an additional pair of Sidewinders to be mounted underneath the fuselage. They were also given the ability to carry and deliver a larger variety of air-to-ground weapons. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, they were deployed to Key West, Florida to protect against attack on the USA. They were also tasked to carry out air strikes against targets in Cuba in case an invasion proved to be necessary. Whether these would have been conventional or nuclear is not known.
In 1965, a squadron of the 479th deployed to Da Nang Air Base in South Vietnam. Their job was to fly MiGCAP to protect bombers from attack by North Vietnamese fighters. They flew these missions armed with their 20-mm cannon and four AIM-9 Sidewinders. Unfortunately, the range of the F-104C was too short to make it a useful escort fighter, a fact which the North soon discovered. They simply waited for the F-104s to turn back before launching their own fighters in safety.
On September 20, 1965, An aircraft was shot down over Hainan Island by a pair of Chinese MiG-19s. The navigation system had failed whilst on MiGCAP over the Gulf of Tonkin and the pilot had gotten lost. He ejected and was taken prisoner. While the rest of the squadron was out looking for him, two other F-104s had a midair collision while returning to their base and both their pilots were killed. A week later, another aircraft was shot down by enemy AAA, and its pilot was killed.
After these four losses, the remnants of the 479th were rotated back to the USA. A new contingent of F-104Cs returned to Vietnam in 1966. This time, all four squadrons of the 479th TFS were involved and were assigned to Udorn Thailand. These F-104Cs were mainly tasked against ground targets in the CAS role. The F-104C proved unsuited for the ground attack role, due to their low range and inadequate weapon load and were replaced by F-4Ds in July 1967. The 479th was then rotated back home.
Following their withdrawal from Vietnam, the surviving F-104Cs were transferred to the Puerto Rico ANG. They were replaced by A-7Ds in 1975.
The Joy of High Tech - Paean to the F-104