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Aviation / Aerospace

Canadair CF-104 Starfighter

Single-Seat Jet-Powered Interceptor / Fighter Aircraft [ 1962 ]

Following the introduction of the American Lockheed F-104 Starfighter came the Canadian equivalent as the CF-104.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 10/23/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Image from the U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation image archives.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]

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Canadair took to producing several American-originated aircraft during the Cold War decades that included the famous Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star" two-seat trainer (as the CT-133 "Silver Star") and the North American F-86 "Sabre" (as the CF-13 "Sabre"). To replace the latter in the frontline fighter role, it was, again, decided to adopt an American product through local licensed production - this being the Lockheed F-104 "Starfighter". The F-104 became the CF-104 Starfighter in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) with production out of Canadair of Montreal.

The original F-104 first flew in March of 1954 and was introduced into USAF service during 1958. The Canadair version followed with a first flight on May 26th, 1961 with service entry beginning in March of 1962. Some 200 of the type were built in all and these served until their replacement came during 1983 in the form of the all-modern McDonnell Douglas CF-18 "Hornet", the Canadian version of the American U.S. Navy's F-18 "Hornet" carrier-based fighter line.

Initially, the Canadian fighter replacement program involved a bevy of existing competitors originating from Britain, France, and the United States - the Lockheed F-104G model being one of them. With Lockheed's ongoing relationship with local Canadian aviation industry by way of Canadair and its CT-133 product, the Lockheed submission edged out the competing submissions. The RCAF then contracted Canadair for 200 of the type in August of 1959 with the initial designation being "CF-111" until becoming the more recognizable "CF-104" identifier.

By and large, the Canadian version of the Starfighter differed little from its American F-104G model counterpart. The aircraft first appeared sans the standard 20mm internal cannon to make for more internal fuel volume in the fuselage and, therefore, extend operational ranges of the aircraft. The undercarriage was slightly revised to suit certain RCAF requirements and an inherent reconnaissance and nuclear strike capability was added. The aircraft could carry air-to-air missiles, rocket pods, and conventional drop bombs as needed including nuclear-tipped ordnance options.

The CF-104 was ordered by the RCAF in two distinct production forms - the base CF-104 was the standard single-seat fighter/fighter-bomber variant while the CF-104D followed as a two-seat trainer. D-models retained the performance numbers of their single-seat cousins, seated two in tandem, and were only ever armed with practice munitions. Due to similarities in the Canadair and Lockheed assembly lines, Lockheed was to receive an additional stock of 140 F-104G model aircraft from Montreal beyond the 200 airframes reserved for the RCAF- such were the similarities between the two aircraft.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Externally, the aircraft retained the same design lines of the F-104G models including their tubular, sleek fuselages, short wing mainplanes, and T-style tail unit. The wings were always of considerable interest to onlookers for they were purposely designed as thin with small-an-area as possible so as to reduce drag at high speeds. While this helped the aircraft achieve its amazing performance for the time, it also forced fuel stores to reside within the body of the aircraft alongside avionics, systems, and the like. A single Avro Canada Orenda J79-OEL-7 afterburning turbojet engine powered the type - so a flameout meant that the pilot had no choice to eject and the aircraft was more or less a total loss beyond that. The engine outputted at 10,000lbf on dry thrust and up to 15,800lbf thrust using afterburner.

Once in practice, the aircraft was quickly arranged for the interception role. As a country, the RCAF had to manage a vast airspace locally as well as support ongoing commitments to NORAD and the United States in North America while also continuing its participation with NATO in Europe. The enemy of the day remained the Soviet Union and incursions into North American and European airspace were commonplace throughout the Cold War years. As such, the high, straight line speed and fast rate-of-climb of the CF-104 played well to the strengths of interception - the aircraft could manage speeds reaching 1,145 miles per hour with a 48,000 feet-per-second rate-of-climb. However, the CF-104 initially proved a handful to fly for Canadian airmen as accidents dotting the career of this memorable aircraft with some resulting in deaths during over a quarter century of use by the RCAF. The operating speeds of the aircraft were also a strongpoint along with its relatively contained profile at any approach angle. The 20mm cannon was eventually added back into the CF-104 design when its nuclear-strike role days were behind it.

Operators of CF-104s beyond Canada became Denmark and Norway. The Turkish Air Force received a stock of ex-RCAF aircraft before the end. All RCAF CF-104s were retired and replaced by the CF-18 Hornet line during the 1980s. Turkish use of the CF-104 ended as recently as 1995.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Service Year

1962

Origin

Canada

Status

RETIRED
Not in Service.

Crew

1

Production

200
UNITS

Canadair - Canada

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

Canada; Denmark; Norway; Turkey

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.

✓ Interception
Ability to intercept inbound aerial threats by way of high-performance, typically speed and rate-of-climb.

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

Length

54.8 ft
(16.70 m)

Width/Span

21.8 ft
(6.63 m)

Height

13.5 ft
(4.10 m)

Empty Wgt

13,889 lb
(6,300 kg)

MTOW

29,035 lb
(13,170 kg)

Wgt Diff

+15,146 lb
(+6,870 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Canadair CF-104 Starfighter production variant)

Installed: 1 x Avro Canada Orenda J79-OEL-7 turbojet engine with afterburner developing 15,800lbf of thrust.

Max Speed

1,146 mph
(1,845 kph | 996 kts)

Ceiling

39,370 ft
(12,000 m | 7 mi)

Range

1,634 mi
(2,630 km | 4,871 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

48,000 ft/min
(14,630 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Canadair CF-104 Starfighter production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
1 x 20mm M61A1 Vulcan internal Gatling-style cannon (omitted in early use).

OPTIONAL:
Up to 4,000lb of externally-mounted stores to include:

AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles
Rocket Pods
Conventional Drop Bombs

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

Graphical image of an aircraft Gatling-style rotating gun

Graphical image of an air-to-air missile weapon

Graphical image of a short-range air-to-air missile

Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets

Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 5

CF-104 - Base series designation; initial production RCAF single-seat fighter/interceptor/fighter-bomber form.

CF-104D - Two-seat trainer for RCAF

General Assessment

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.

Overall Rating

The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.

76

Rating is out of a possible 100 points.

Relative Maximum Speed

Hi: 1200mph

Lo: 600mph

This entry's maximum listed speed (1,146mph).

Graph average of 900 miles-per-hour.

City-to-City Ranges

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

Canadair CF-104 Starfighter operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

Max Altitude Visualization

Design Balance

The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.

Aviation Era Span

Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.

Unit Production (200)

200

36183

44000

Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).

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Images Gallery

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Image of the Canadair CF-104 Starfighter

Image from the U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation image archives.

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