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.
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.
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AIR-TO-AIR COMBAT
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
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
54.8 ft (16.70 meters) Length
21.8 ft (6.63 meters) Width/Span
13.5 ft (4.10 meters) Height
13,889 lb (6,300 kilograms) Empty Weight
29,035 lb (13,170 kilograms) Maximum Take-Off Weight
+15,146 lb (+6,870 kg) Weight Difference
1 x Avro Canada Orenda J79-OEL-7 turbojet engine with afterburner developing 15,800lbf of thrust. Propulsion
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
5 Hardpoints
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
LON
PAR
PAR
BER
BER
MOS
MOS
TOK
TOK
SYD
SYD
LAX
LAX
NYC
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
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Image from the U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation image archives.
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