Anbody have any idea where these F-104's went?

[Adventurer104]

Quoted from C-141 Heaven web site. Subject matter was interesting cargo during Dick Reichelt's time in the bird.

"THE BEST load was two StarFighters, in the belly of the Starlifter. How's that for poetry by Lockheed! Four 8 foot wings crated along the side walls, and that's it. Except for -the guards. THEY claimed the Gatling guns were loaded. I always wondered…..

On this trip we were 'THE Crew'. Go to Europe, sleep over, and we'll call you and tell you where we want you to go. Remote parking and LOTS of guards until we got back the next day. We filed our 175 for CENSORED. Out over the Mediterranean, then over the desert'. Descend to 10,000 ft 'said our controller. 'Thirty four miles ahead you will see a runway. Land there'. H'mmmm. Nice smooth runway, taxi off and follow the "follow-me" truck. Shut down, throw open the door and the heat of Hades blasts us like a blast furnace. It was HOT. The 141's nose wheel gets jacked up; special ramps are installed in the rear. There go the StarFighters into steel sheds for immediate reconstruction. We were told to beat it. Fly runway heading to 10,000 contact departure. I don't know nothin'…"

Makes you wonder....

 

[Abraham Gubler]

Well a date would help. In the 1970s a few countries in the region were having troubles with MiG-25 recce overflights. Israel and Iran to be specific.

 

[Adventurer104]

No dates given. Kind of hints the "Lifter was an "A" model.

 

[aim9xray]

A guess would be F-104A/B to Jordan.

 

[Abraham Gubler]

The US transferred 3 F-5As (built for Libya) to Iran to forward to Pakistan in 1971. Jordan transferred a 17-20 F-104s to Pakistan at this time. The F-104s may have been for Jordan to pass onto Pakistan hence the covert nature of the delivery.

 

[Adventurer104]

Thanks my friend. I knew somebody here could shine a light into the dark

 

[Adventurer104]

Located on the "net. Couldn't locate a source to name, so my apologies in advance.
"A total of 36 early-model Starfighters were promised by the US government to the Al Quwwat Aljawwiya Almalakiya Alurduniya, or Royal Jordanian Air Force in April of 1966.

In the spring of 1967, two F-104As and three F-104Bs were transferred to Jordan. The Jordanian Starfighters were quickly withdrawn to Turkey two days before the outbreak of the June 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and the Arab states of Syria, Jordan, and Egypt. Consequently, the Jordanian Starfighters sat out the conflict.

The Six-Day War resulted in a momentary interruption in the supply of Starfighters to Jordan. However, in late 1968, the RJAF resumed Starfighter training in the USA, and in mid-1969, the USA resumed the supply of Starfighters to Jordan. Eighteen refurbished F-104As and four two-seat F-104Bs were delivered. In 1969, President Nixon approved the delivery of 18 additional F-104As to Jordan from Nationalist Chinese surplus stocks following their replacement by F-104Gs.

The F-104s served with No. 9 Squadron at Prince Hassan Air Base and with No 25 Squadron at Mwaffaq Salti. No 9 Squadron was transferred to Pakistan to help out in the 1971 war with India, and is believed to have suffered several combat losses, although the number of aircraft lost is uncertain.

The F-104A/B remained in service in Jordan for nearly fifteen years, being finally replaced by Dassault Mirage F1CJs in 1982-83.



Sources:

1. The Lockheed F-104G/CF-104, Gerhard Joos, Aircraft in Profile No. 131, Doubleday, 1969.


2. The World's Great Interceptor Aircraft, Gallery Books, 1989.


3. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, Steve Pace, Motorbooks International, 1992.


4. Lockheed Aircraft Since 1913, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1987.


5. The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.


6. The World's Fighting Planes, William Green, Doubleday 1968.


7. American Combat Planes, Ray Wagner, Third Enlarged Edition, Doubleday, 1982.


8. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, John Fricker, Wings of Fame, Vol 2, Aerospace Publishing Ltd, 1996. "

Perhaps these I marked in bold were the ones discussed.

 

[aim9xray]

Details of Chinese Nationalist F-104 serial numbers can be found at: http://www.916-starfighter.de/F-104_RoCAF_serials.htm
Details of Jordanian AF F-104 serial numbers can be found at: http://www.916-starfighter.de/F-104_RJAF_serials.htm
Details of Pakistani F-104 serial numbers and use can be found at: http://www.916-starfighter.de/F-104_PAF_web.htm
(This listing also details the Jordanian F-104s used in the 1971 Pakistan/India war.)

An intensive correlation of the three lists will yield many interesting data points.