A Canadian government requirement for an aircraft that could be manufactured in Canada under licence also favoured the Lockheed proposal, due to a collaboration with Canadair based inMontreal. On 14 August 1959, Canadair was selected to manufacture 200 aircraft for the RCAF under licence from Lockheed. In addition, Canadair was contracted to manufacture wingsets, tail assemblies and rear fuselage sections for 66 Lockheed-built F-104Gs destined for the WestGerman Air Force.[6][N 2]
Canadair's internal designation was CL-90 while the RCAF's version was initially designated CF-111, then changed to CF-104. Although basically similar to the F-104G, the CF-104 was optimized for the nuclear strike/reconnaissance role, fitted with R-24A NASARR equipment dedicated to the air-to-ground mode only, as well as having provision for a ventral reconnaissance pod equipped with fourVinten cameras. Other differences included retaining the removable refuelling probe, initial deletion of the fuselage-mounted 20 mm (.79 in) M61A1 cannon (replaced by an additional fuel cell), and the main undercarriage members being fitted with longer-stroke liquid springs and larger tires. The first flight of a Canadian-built CF-104 (s/n 12701) occurred on 26 May 1961.[8] The Canadair CF-104 production was 200 aircraft with an additional 140 F-104Gs produced for Lockheed.[7]
The CF-104 entered Canadian service in March 1962. Originally designed as a supersonicinterceptor aircraft, it was used primarily for low-level strike andreconnaissance by the RCAF. Eight CF-104 squadrons were originally stationed in Europe as part of Canada's NATO commitment. This was reduced to six in 1967, with a further reduction to three squadrons in 1970.[9] Up to 1971, this included a nuclear strike role that would see Canadian aircraftarmed with US-supplied nuclear weapons in the event of a conflict withWarsaw Pact forces. During its service life the CF-104 carried theB28,B43 andB57 nuclear weapons.[10]
When the CAF later discontinued the strike/reconnaissance role for conventional attack, the M61A1 was refitted, along with U.S.Mk. 82 Snakeye "iron" bombs, BritishBL755 cluster bombs and Canadian-designedCRV7 rocket pods. Although Canadian pilots practisedair combat tactics, theAIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were never carried operationally by Canadian Starfighters (however, examples provided to other air forces, such as Norway and Denmark, did carry Sidewinders on a twin-rail centreline station and the wingtip rails). The CF-104D two-seater did not normally carry any armament except for a centreline practice-bomb dispenser.
There were 110 class A accidents in the 25 years that Canada operated the CF-104, resulting in 37 pilot fatalities. Most of these were in the early part of the program, centring on teething problems. Of the 110 class A accidents, 21 were attributed to foreign object damage (14 of which werebird strikes), 14 were due to in-flight engine failures, six were as a result of faulty maintenance, and nine involved mid-air collisions. Thirty-two aircraft struck the ground while flying low in poor weather conditions. Of the 37 fatalities, four were clearly attributable to system failures; all of the others were attributable to some form of pilot inattention.[11]
The accident rate of the CF-104 compares favourably to its predecessor, the F-86 Sabre. In only 12 years of operation, the F-86 had 282 class A accidents, losing 112 pilots. The Sabre was also a simpler aircraft, normally flown at higher altitudes.[12]
A CF-104 wins the Silver Tiger Trophy at the 1977 Greenham Tiger meet. This exact aircraft crashed a year later due to a compressor stall.
The CF-104 was nicknamed the "Widowmaker" by the press, but not by the pilots and crews of the aircraft.David Bashow states on page 92 of his book, "I never heard a pilot call it the Widowmaker". Sam Firth is quoted on page 93 in Bashow's book, "I have never heard a single person who flew, maintained, controlled, or guarded that aircraft of any force (and that includes the Luftwaffe) call it the Widowmaker". The pilots did refer to it, in jest, as the "Aluminium Death Tube", "The Lawn Dart" and "The Flying Phallus" but generally called it the 104 (one oh four) or the Starfighter.[11]
Low-level attack runs in the CF-104 were done visually at 100 feet AGL and at speeds up to 600 km. Low level evasive maneuvers could increase speeds tosupersonic.[13]
The aircraft was very difficult to attack owing to its small size, speed, and low altitude capability. Dave Jurkowski, former CF-104 and CF-18 pilot, is quoted "Because of our speed, size and lower level operations, no Canadian Zipper driver was ever 'shot down' by either air or ground threats in the threeRed Flag Exercises in which we participated."[14]
The CF-104 was very successful in operational exercises held by NATO. The Canadians first took part in the AFCENT Tactical Weapons meet in 1964 and did so every year after that. This meet was a competition between squadrons from Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, Britain, and the Netherlands. Scores were based on several factors. Bomb accuracy, time on target, navigation, mission planning and aircraft serviceability. Pilots were chosen at random from the various squadrons to accurately represent operational capabilities.[15]
In the late 1970s, theNew Fighter Aircraft program was launched to find a suitable replacement for the CF-104, as well as theMcDonnell CF-101 Voodoo and theCanadair CF-5. The winner of the competition was the CF-18 Hornet, which began to replace the CF-104 in 1982. All of the CF-104s were retired from service by the Canadian Forces by 1987, with most of the remaining aircraft given to Turkey.
On 22 May 1983, during an airshow at theRhein-Main Air Base, a Canadian CF-104 Starfightercrashed onto a nearby road, hitting a car and killing all passengers, avicar's family of five. The pilot was able to eject.[26]
Bashow, David L.Starfighter: A Loving Retrospective of the CF-104 Era in Canadian Fighter Aviation, 1961-1986. Stoney Creek, Ontario: Fortress Publications Inc., 1990.ISBN0-919195-12-1.
Francillon, R. J.Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913. London: Putnam, 1987.ISBN0-370-30329-6.
Greenhous, Brereton and Hugh A. Halliday.Canada's Air Forces, 1914–1999. Montreal: Editions Art Global and the Department of National Defence, 1999.ISBN978-2-92071-872-2.
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