F-104 Starfighter Units in Combat (Combat Aircraft, 101)

The F-104 Starfighter may well have been the most beautiful supersonic jet fighter ever flown, yet it's easy to lose sight of this aircraft's combat story in the U.S. Air Force; particularly in Vietnam where it was always overshadowed by the much more heavily covered Phantoms and Thunderchiefs. Author Davies has done a great job of covering the "Zipper" in USAF service; particularly without getting trapped in the questionable "we were effective because we didn't kill MiGs" argument some of the aircraft's fans use.The work starts with a good description of the technical and developmental history of the design. It then covers the early years in Air Defense Command with the Air National Guard and through crises in Taiwan, Berlin and Cuba, where the F-104A was deployed as a deterrent against Communist actions. The book then follows with the most detailed documentation this reviewer has ever seen of the F-104's work in Vietnam, where it was never deployed in any more than squadron size and in many ways never quite fit into operations the way the USAF was fighting. The Air Force story takes up almost 80% of the book. The balance of the effort covers combat use in the Sub Continent with the Pakistani Air Force (15 pages) and five pages on Taiwan and limited combat use by Turkey, Jordan and Italy. Space limitations inherent in the Osprey format limit coverage of other operators; personally, I'd love to see another cover on NATO use of the F-104G and S versions during the Cold War down the road. Profiles are dominated, reasonably, by USAF aircraft; including ADC, ANG and TAC birds. There are also samples of Pakistani, Taiwanese, Jordanian and Turkish aircraft.

As with all Osprey issues, this is a well-written, well-illustrated, and very informative monograph about one of the Cold War's high performance champs. It is also one of the "forgotten" aircraft of the Vietnam War because it did not rack up any kills and the only combat loss was to a Chinese MIG during a classified incident near Hainan Island. The premise that opponents were afraid to tangle with the F-104 seems to be speculative at best. The speedy F-104, aka a "manned rocket," was used in all theaters and major Cold War events of the 1960s including the Berlin Crisis, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Formosa Straits incidents in addition to the Vietnam Conflict. Development details and color profiles add to the text. Over all, an excellent resource.

This is a well written book which fills a lot of gaps about Starfighter history. As the son of a career Air Force fighter pilot (AT-33, F-84F, F-100, and F-105) I grew up watching, mostly at Luke A.F.B., aircraft such as the F-100 and F-104. The F-104 was an amazing looking airplane. It's unfortunate that its looks, and high speed, didn't translate well to combat perfomance. This book explains a lot about the reasons for its few air-to-air kills and limited use by the U.S. Air Force.

This book gives a very unique perspective on the Starfighter. Peter E. Davis dethrones the usual widow-maker stereotype that has been exaggerated to a preposterous extent. He then provides a comprehensive description on why the pilot’s loved the F-104. And why it served its respective air forces for as long as it did.

Great reference book for those that need more detailed information regarding a classic new world fighter. The history of this aircraft from beginning to end is covered with various stories of its strengths and weaknesses as well as specific battles and their outcomes. Very easy to read. I was always looking forward to the next chapter. Difficult to put down. Highly recommended !

Great book on the F-104 operational use, which covers more than just its time in SEA. Was particularly happy to see the good discussion of it during the 1958 Taiwan/Formosa Crisis, 1961 Berlin Crisis, 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and the two India-Pakistan wars. I'm glad this book has been written, and was not disappointed. Learned many new facts which shed new light on its often overlooked contributions in various conflicts/crises. Highly recommend it to any fan of this great airplane, and Century Series fighters in general.

Excellent book on this suubject, the pictures and color drawing of this aircraft make this book worth reading. The aircraft development and its final operaters is covered. The most interesting part for me was the many deployments this aircraft did during the cold war. The reader gets to see the deployment of this aircraft during the Vietnam conflict. Little know part this aircraft did during this conflict is covered in detail. The units it served with in the USAF is also covered if only briefly

This is a very good read on F-104 Starfighter combat operations. If you are a fan of the Starfighter, or a modeler this is a superb reference. I did not know that the Starfighter played a large role in many aerial operations during the Vietnam war. The profiles in the book are very, very good.

If it climbs like a rocket, accerates like a bullet and has got very very small wings, it must be an F-104 Starfighter. Developed in the very early 1950s, when designers were still exploring the new envelope opened up by the new almighty powerful jet engines, the Starfighter was a bit of a one-trick pony: although able to fly insanely fast and stratospherically high, it lacked the range to be a good interceptor, the maneuverability to be a truly good fighter, and the payload to be a really good ground attack plane.Somehow this plane has gotten a slightly dodgy reputation due to its high accident rate and due to the notion that its massive foreign sales (most NATO countries ended up using it as their main fighter) were owing more to corruption and bribery than to the F-104's qualities. Even if true, this does not change the fact that the Starfighter is a sensational plane. As said, and as its looks (a missile with a cockpit in front) suggest, it was ultra-fast and could reach unbelievable altitudes (up to 30 km on its own propulsion - on a side note, Chuck Yeager even took it into space orbit with a bit of rocket-assist, almost killing himself upon re-entry into atmosphere). Esthetically it was certainly the most pleasing of the 'Century' jets series. A worthy subject indeed.This booklet is full of detailed and useful information. It highlights the F-104s role in succesfully scaring off evil communists on various occasions: the 1958 attempted Chinese intimidation of Taiwan, the Berlin crisis and the Cuba crisis. The Starfighter's service in European NATO countries is left out altogether, aside from an interesting incident in 1974 when shrewd Greeks on Cyprus managed to fool the Turks into thinking that some Turkish destroyers near the island where in fact Greek, resulting in Turkish F-104s bombing their own destroyers and actually sinking one - inadvertently proving the Starfighter was actually able to deliver somewhat of a punch in a ground-attack role (despite its comparatively small payload). Of course Vietnam is discussed (with Starfighters mostly escorting radar planes), and, as a very nice bonus, the two Indo-Pak wars (1965/1971) in wich the Starfighter fought on the Pakistani side, receive decent coverage. What surprised me about the latter wars was the the F-104 seemed to perform rather poorly against Indian MiG-21s.All in all, a pretty interesting read, although the writing is not as spectacular as the plane deserves.

The F-104 was more or less a temporary addition to the ranks of USAF and ANG but one of the most prolific US designed export fighters of the post WW2 period, serving in many NATO air forces, as well as with other export clients. In most instances it more or less performed a deterrence role only - with success - however it did see occasional combat use, which is the topic of this book.As common for the series, a brief introduction on the design and gestation period, as well as on the entry into service is provided up front. While certainly far from extensive, it will give an adequate first overview - more is not really possible in the format selected. The book then goes into the use in both USAF colours, as well as in foreign service, about which more later.After the early deterrence deployments to Europe, the main operational theatre where the Starfighter was used in anger by the USAF consisted of South East Asia. It saw limited service in joint operations against mainland China (again deterrence only) and subsequently for a short period of time in Vietnam, where it proved more than capable of fulfilling its role - on occasion better than the aircraft replacing it. Mostly it was only used in protective screens (MIGCAP and BARCAP) for the AWACS precursors or strike packages and it seldom had the opportunity to engage in aerial combat. Again one can justifiably claim that it successfully fulfilled its deterrence role, as not a single one of its 'AWACS' charges was shot down during the conflict.There were - sadly - some losses, however. One was lost to Chinese J-6s after straying off course with faulty instruments, some more were lost to ground based air defences and more still in accidents.After the USAF use the book continues with the use in foreign air forces, with the lion share being accorded to the combat use by Pakistan against India (in both the 1965 and 1971 wars), and some paragraphs also covering the use by Republic of China Air Force, the Royal Jordanian Air Force and Italian Air Force (also the last operator of the type).As is common for the series, there are many period photographs and a selection of colour plates to complement the text and the combat accounts are well written.If you are a general aviation enthusiast, the book will certainly provide valuable additional information on the combat record and performance of one of the most prolific Western postwar fighters. It does not necessarily form the definitive account of the fighter (the part on its development, on performance data and on sales to and use of various foreign operators, who never engaged in hostilities with it not being sufficiently covered for that) but it does an excellent job in explaining its combat record and the potential it had, had the Cold War turned hot.

Well written & easy to read.Informatively illustrated too.

Nettes Nachschlagewerk über den Starfighter im Dienste der US Air Force. Viele zumeist unbekannte Einsätze dieses Flugmusters werden hier ausführlich dargestellt. Die vielen farb bzw. s/w Bilder sind auch für den Modellbauer gut geeignet.Wiedereinmal ein gelunger Band aus der Reihe -Osprey Combat Aircraft- .

A book that's been long needed to be written.It is clear there has been a lot of effort getting all combat information for this fabulous aircraft.Also some facts about the jet ,some not read before by me.It's absolutely a must have,for any zipper aficionados.