Starfighter II.

This is coolbert:

From a comment to the blog by Steiner:

"I've never understood how the USA got away with foisting off on its allies an aircraft [F-104] that the USAF itself didn't like."

Starfighter. Conclusion. Lockheed!

The answer in a nutshell as they say - - is the Lockheed Scandal. Or scandals as is more appropriate.

The Starfighter, the F-104 interceptor warplane that did not enjoy a very good image with the German Luftwaffe or the German public for that matter. Lots of crashes with disastrous consequences for all involved, catastrophic events even taking the lives of civilians on the ground as I recall, the more densely populated nation of Germany NOT having the wide-open airspace as does the USAF for training at the low-level high speed attack mission.

The Starfighter as originally envisaged an INTERCEPTOR ONLY not a multi-role-combat-aircraft.

Some contradictions are apparent with the high rate of accidents, fatal crashes, involving the F-104?

* The Luftwaffe and the Canadians did have a high rate of failure and casualties from crashes!

* The Norwegians, the Spanish, and the Italians DID NOT have such a high rate of failure!

So what gives? Why some not succeeding as desired, but others just going along famously, no problem?

With regard to the Luftwaffe, a whole host of reasons were offered for debacle in the air. As found in a Time magazine article from 1966:

"West Germany: Problems with the Flying Lab"

So many of those Starfighter crashes can be attributed to poor piloting exacerbated by the inclement weather of the northern European environment? Predominantly this was the cause? NOT more than that?

* "German Starfighter pilots were only flying 13-15 hours a month, compared with the NATO average of about 20 hours."

* "initial training of Luftwaffe aircrews took place in the USA rather than in Germany"

* "The new Luftwaffe pilots were either overage World War II veterans with almost no jet experience or untried youngsters."

* "the hazards of flying low-altitude missions at high speeds in the bad weather of Northern Europe"

* "Human error was probably the major cause of the majority of the accidents."

* "many of the Luftwaffe ground crew personnel were conscripts who were probably too hastily trained"

[an inadequate maintenance force means more down time for the warplane and LESS flying time for the pilots. Pilot proficiency compromised by so many planes grounded for as long as they are!]

NO mention that the F-104 WAS NOT designed as a low-level, high-speed tactical fighter-bomber, even having a capacity to deliver a nuclear weapon on target! NO mention of the strapping on of missiles, fuel tanks, etc., compromising the clean flowing aerodynamic design, increasing the difficulty to control in that nape of the earth flight profile!

And as to WHY the Starfighter was selected as the warplane of choice by those various NATO nations and Japan too for that matter, again, the answer is in the nutshell the Lockheed Scandal.

The American aircraft manufacturer using material and financial reward and incentive to influential persons to see that the agreement was made, the deal made, the contracts signed.

What are normally called BRIBES in the United States and recognized by law as such. Ethical behavior of a nature as normally frowned upon, but habitual on the part of Lockheed! Aircraft both used for civilian and military purposes sold under circumstances deemed as less that savory.

"Lockheed bribery scandals"

"The Lockheed bribery scandals encompassed a series of bribes and contributions made by officials of U.S. aerospace company Lockheed from the late 1950s to the  the 1970s in the process of negotiating the sale of aircraft."

"The scandal caused considerable political controversy in West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan. In the U.S. the scandal nearly led to the corporation's downfall"

Indeed not only "caused considerable political controversy in West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan" but in the United States as well. In the aftermath of the revelations, legislation was passed mandating ethical business practices and placing a taboo which in place to this day against U.S. firm offering incentives, financial, material and otherwise, when seeking contracts. NO MATTER what the product or service, American companies NOW must toe the line and act within the restrictions of U.S. law even when  conducting business outside of the national boundaries of the U.S.

I would also suggest that the F-104 WAS NOT an inferior warplane. Was within the parameters of the mission as originally designated - - AN INTERCEPTOR - - hardly inferior. As a MRCA was not a success as would have been desired, but not such a total failure as might be surmised by some. In the proper hands and under the right conditions, the Starfighter was capable!

coolbert.