F-104 Starfighter: Great Fighting Jets (1989)

[@anttitheinternetguy3213]

Why are 1980's documentaries so much more appealing to me than modern ones?

[@krzysztofseremak2201]

Because they didn't try to shock you and fight for your attention constantly. Thus they can focus on informative and interesting narrative. People nowadays are addicted to constant stimuli.

[@FredPilcher]

Because they didn't use narrators who sound as if they're reading stories to 5 year olds.

[@captaintoyota3171]

Its great i miss when tv had these lvl of docu series

[@dagsabot5589]

This channel has been solid gold this past week.

[@steveham2622]

I was TDY at Erding AB Germany back in 1976, and they had a bunch of these there with the German Air Force. Man those guys buzzed those little towns over there.

[@johnryanmuldoon3631]

This is the BIG one. The one we’ve all been waiting for!

[@SliceofLife7777]

This is an excellent documentary about my favorite 1950's hot rod fighters.

[@rubenpascual1142]

Its my favorite fighterjets of all time. The F104 can outmaneuver and dance arpund the fifth generation of all time. They could have modernized its weapons electronics and other capabilities just like other modern fighters today.

[@cactuscultist_2307]

10 documentaries in 12 days, keep up the great work Mike!

[@captaintoyota3171]

Can u imagine? 1954 not even 50yrs after Kitty Hawk this thing with tiny wings and huge engine flys. Man 1900s what a time to live

[@rowds]

flies not flys lol

[@daveblevins3322]

I remember these from my USAF days at Luke AFB back in '76. German guys and they were fun to hang around. Very sharp edges on this little plane. A guy could hurt himself if he didn't pay attention 👍

[@金書培]

對 曾有不辛案例發生 停機坪 夜晚騎摩托車 翼前緣 似刀劃過頸部 血血血

[@IronFist.]

Thanks Mike, you're on a roll these past couple weeks! I love watching these classic documentaries!

[@MikeG42]

Excellent thanks Mike , beautiful aircraft the F-104 especially the Luftwaffe version.

[@patsuttonottawa]

There is no luftwaffe version

[@schore69]

thanks for uploading these gems!

[@truepatriotlove5724]

Thank you so much for posting these great videos!!!! I thought they had been lost forever

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

Most wonderful documentary coverage video about F-104 Star fighter...designed & manufactured by USA 🇺🇸...after Korean 🇰🇷 war ..allot thanks. Mike Guardia channel always selecting & introducing excellent subjects 👌

[@James-wi1oy]

Love the music and the documentary

[@drstevenrey]

Brilliant documentary on a brilliant aircraft. Well done mate.

[@MayheM_72]

Such a strange jet fighter! The short, stubby wings just seem so out of place compared to swept and/or Delta wings of it's contemporaries. It looks nothing like the other "Century Series" fighters. When I was a kid (mid 70s) if I thought about jet fighters, I either imagined the F4 Phantom, the Mirage III, or the F104 Starfighter.

[@karlsnow5281]

Russia made quantum aero-engineering leaps only after the end of WW2. And, after they had their own share of German engineers and technology to take them on that leap.

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

It depends on what timeframe you consider, there was a point in the 30's in which the Soviets had the first operational monoplane fighter with an enclosed cockpit and retractable landing gear (I-16) and the fastest twin engine bomber in the World (Tupolev SB), but advancements in aviation were so rapid at the time that those designs were obsolete within 2 years. Another factor that remained an issue throught much of the Soviet Union was the somewhat lower manufacturing standards, though given the doctrine of having relatively cheap equippment with a very high attrition rate, that was considered in the Soviet Doctrine.

[@spacetrucker2196]

some day someone will connect the album Capt. Lockheed and The Starfighters to one of these documentaries.

[@Strong_UP_Calvins_zombie]

Awsome

[@apis_aculei]

No other air force had similar problems with the F104 like the Luftwaffe? Really ? The statistics tell us another story. The loss rates per flight hour were very similar between air forces, which used the F104 as all weather low altitude fighter bomber as the Canadians and the central Europeans. In fact the loss rate of Belgian Air Force was higher than the Luftwaffe's. But in numbers the much more numerous Luftwaffe F104 fleet had the most destroyed aircraft and killed pilots until 1970.

[@dukeford]

The Canadian, Dutch, and Belgian F-104 accident rates were 9-11 per 100,000 flight hours. The German rate was 15/100k. The Italians, 14.6/100k.

[@skittlesbutwithchocolatein2274]

do you guys know what cars people drove when it entered production

[@danielnordeen8410]

I saw F-104 German in Hohenzollern Castle in Black Forest in 1984

[@1et5p1ay9]

Anyone else imagining a vtol version of the starfighter...

[@PaulMathews-p4o]

LOLZ you want everyone of the pilots to die ????

[@Idahoguy10157]

The F-104G was an interceptor repackaged by Lockheed as a multirole fighter. It was never was a good strike fighter. In that era the only big success in a multi-role fighter was the F-4 Phantom II. Even though the Phantom was designed solely as a naval air defense aircraft.

[@Idahoguy10157]

@@dukeford8893 … A beautiful aircraft. Used to see them fly out of Luke AFB. The Luftwaffe and the RCAF should have split their buys. Kept the Starfighter in the original role. Perhaps bought A-4 Skyhawks for air too ground.

[@JackNiles-hc8yz]

Lockheed "repackaged" the air-superiority F-104A into the multi-role F-104C, which then got modified to the "G" model. By all accounts the airplane functioned just fine as a strike fighter.

[@Tordogor]

Exceptionally good video - especially from the technical perspective on the F-104. I am not a big fan of Kelly Johnson as a designer of 'practical', utilitarian combat aircraft (my full admiration is on Ed Heinemann!), but he was an exceptional designer for 'one-of-a-kind', very specialized airplanes as the U-2 and tge SR-71. Unfortunately, the despicable policies of Lockheed bribery of corrupt European politicians tarnish the memories of such as much as the infamous 'Widowmaker' label of such gorgeous, hot fighter as the F-104 Starfighter.

[@GhenAurwin]

Were the wings really mounted that way ? By arm , like some sort of shed ? ( 10:00) Cant be . Really ?

[@envitech02]

This thing looks like it's going Mach 2 just sitting still. Great looks, but it has proven to be the most prolific widowmaker of any aircraft. It is indeed quite a handful to fly and to control. Still the Starfighter is an unforgettable iconic symbol of Cold War.

[@guaporeturns9472]

It was being pressed into a role it wasn’t designed for. It was an excellent interceptor… close air support not so much.

[@dukeford8893]

Lots of jets have killed more pilots than the Starfighter, and there wasn't anything wrong with using it to drop bombs.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@dukeford8893 😂 yeah ok 👌🏻

[@AlanRoehrich9651]

Not true at all. Several planes had a much worse record than the F-104. Further, several nations flew them for decades and had great safety records. Only the Germans and Canadians had bad records in it.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@AlanRoehrich9651 exactly

[@SpideyBuster27]

Please have the Sea Wings A-5 episode

[@MikeGuardiaAuthor]

Drops today at 3pm

[@craig4867]

@@MikeGuardiaAuthor Mike, have you done one on the F9F Panther Jet which was used in the Korean War?

[@MikeGuardiaAuthor]

@@craig4867 Funny you should ask. That episode drops tomorrow at 9:00 AM CST!

[@craig4867]

@@MikeGuardiaAuthor thanks Mike, did you get my other request and that was on the F-23 Black Widow 2?

[@MikeGuardiaAuthor]

@@craig4867 Yea, I've got a few vids on the YF-23

[@dkoz8321]

Downward ejection is a munument to idiocy of human engineers. Tupolev TU-22 designers are you listening.

[@2IDSGT]

Bribes or not… nothing else was gonna meet speed requirements for what the Germans were willing to pay. 🙄

[@paulgush]

Withdrawn from service in the US after only 10 years. Bought by the Germans because Lockheed bribed them, whereupon 1/3 of the fleet crashed, earning the nickname widowmaker. The mythology around this plane is huge. It was the opposite of great

[@russellhamer8690]

Agreed 👍 take off n landing at 200 knots,crosswinds literally made them drop onto the airstrip n landing gear after gear had to be replaced to..more like a ground effect water monster similar to that Russian monster..dreadful aircraft the 104

[@dukeford8893]

It most certainly WAS a great airplane, and it isn't worth getting your knickers in a twist over Lockheed's bribes. In the big scheme of things those bribes were pretty small potatoes.

[@paulgush]

@dukeford8893 in financial terms, maybe, I don't know. In terms of defense and human lives, it was far from small potatoes. It led to the deaths of scores of German pilots

[@AlanRoehrich9651]

​@@paulgush Only the Germans and Canadians had problems. The Italians flew them for decades, and so did other nations. Sounds like the Germans and Canadians were doing something wrong.....

[@paulgush]

@@AlanRoehrich9651 how about the USAF? Retired them after o ly 10 years. The rest of the Century series saw 30 years service

[@Garyganeu]

Lot of video in this episode could be cut and narrated down. Also do not agree with many designs on the sr71 where similar used on the SR-71. SR - 71 was a design and development of its own and nothing since has been built like it but the Aurora is slated to come out.

[@andreinarangel6227]

This video is about the development of the 104. Nothing about its deployment, versions, and operations (specially the "G/S" version). Very disappointed.

[@ianmangham4570]

Go cry in a corner you fat miserable jerk

[@pizzatopia]

i wish the f 104 would shoot down the music

[@jimholloman4457]

Why ruin an excellent video with music that is much too loud? See 12:00

[@GhenAurwin]

I see what you mean. was taken there for a moment ..

[@yzdatabase4175]

ah yeah the widow maker