Another mystery for Hill Museum

  • Published
  • By Lee Anne Hensley
  • Hilltop Times staff
An F-104A Starfighter achieved its lowest and slowest fly-by Feb. 18 as it cruised down Wardleigh Road at less than 10 mph. 

The aircraft was pulled by an aircraft tug vehicle and flanked by 75th Security Forces Squadron cruisers while an escort, Shawn McIntyre, walked next to the F-104's wing. The escorts ensured a clear path throughout Wardleigh Road, which connects the Hill Aerospace Museum to the 573rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron where the aircraft would be bead blasted and then handed over to the 388th Equipment Maintenance Squadron to be repaired. 

"Fifty-years' worth of paint had to come off, and now we get to work on making long overdue repairs," Scott Wirz, Hill Aerospace Museum director, explains about the renovation efforts. "Repairs include welding wing attachment points, replacing bad sheet metal patches with good ones, acquiring missing components and then applying lots and lots of elbow grease towards polishing the fuselage back to its original natural metal finish." 

This particular Starfighter was delivered to Hill Aerospace Museum from the Arkansas National Guard Museum at Camp Robinson, Ark. Yet the aircraft's true history still remains a mystery, according to Wirz. 

"We have a couple of different stories as to what aircraft this actually is," Wirz said. "Air Force Museum records refer to it as (serial number) '56-753' which was used for weapons development testing at Eglin Air Force Base in 1958 for a grand total of 14 days before suffering some sort of accident that caused the Air Force to write it off. We have found markings to support this history. According to an F-104A aficionado, however, our aircraft is actually (serial number) '56-752,' a Starfighter that was supplied to Jordan in 1969 and then later placed on display at the Travis Air Force Base museum." 

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft that the United States Air Force used from 1958 until it was finally phased out in 1975. 

The design element that distinguished the F-104 from other jets of its period was its efficient wing design. During its design phase, Lockheed determined that a small, thin, straight, mid-mounted, trapezoidal wing was the most efficient shape for high-speed, supersonic flight. It was the first combat aircraft capable of sustained Mach 2 flight, and its speed and climb performance remain impressive even by modern standards. 

Starfighters were used in the Vietnam War from 1965 until 1967 to provide both air superiority and air support. Although it saw little aerial combat and scored no air-to-air kills, Starfighters were successful in deterring MiG interceptors, according to an article, 
"Starfighter in Vietnam," published by International Air Power Review. 

However, the USAF was less than satisfied with the Starfighter because military historians say the USAF doctrine placed little importance on air superiority. The Starfighter was deemed inadequate for either the interceptor or tactical fighter-bomber role, lacking both payload capability and endurance compared to other USAF aircraft.
Despite its short role in air power employment, the Starfighter is still worthy of donated time and effort by today's Air Force team. 

"While our staff is involved to some extent, more than ninety percent of the total effort will be volunteer," Wirz reports. 

Although the museum staff is still in need of more volunteers to complete this restoration project, Wirz says the museum is still fortunate to have "such an outstanding level of support from the many different base units."