Hobby Master HA1074 | Lockheed F-104G Starfighter D-8091, Royal Netherlands Air Force, 65th anniversary, 1978
Lockheed F-104G Starfighter
D-8091, Royal Netherlands Air Force,
65th anniversary, 1978
Scale 1:72 / Diecast model
General Background:
Designed to meet a need for an aircraft that could successfully compete against the MiG-15 in Korea, the F-104 Starfighter was first flown on February 20, 1958. American pilots believed that the F-86 Sabre was too large and complex to outmaneuver the lighter MiG, and they wanted a smaller, simpler, high-performance aircraft to replace it. The resulting design was a light, aerodynamic airframe wrapped around a powerful J79 turbojet engine. The F-104C was used by the USAF from 1958 until 1967, but most of the 2,578 production Starfighters were built and flown by members of NATO, including the Italian Air Force, which didn't retire it until 2004.
The Aircraft:
The Netherlands was another major European Starfighter user, with the type going into service to replace the F-84 / RF-84, as well as Lockheed RT-33s. The Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) acquired 95 F-104Gs, 25 RF-104Gs, and 18 TF-104Gs from Fokker, Fiat, and Lockheed production. This gave a total of 120 single-seaters and 18 two-seaters. When the the RNLAF celebrated its 65th anniversary in 1978, F-104G #D-8091 was given this colorful paint scheme to mark the occasion