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Lockheed F-104A Starfighter: Scale model & its history linked to PAF

16th April 2025, 15:45 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

After the 1971 war, due to continuous arms embargo and limited numbers due to accumulative attrition, it became virtually impossible for the Pakistan Air Force to maintain a reasonable in-commission rate on the F-104s.

BHPian skanchan95 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

1:72 Lockheed F-104A Starfighter 56-804, No.9 Sqdn Pakistan Air Force "Griffins", 1971

This particular F-104A Tail no. 56-804 ended up in India as flaming wreckage in the 1971 war.

The F-104 Starfighter was the only cold-war fighter with such trapezoid, symmetrical wings. That's why they called it the 'Zipper' or the 'missile with a man in it'. It was meant to be a high-speed, high-altitude interceptor but was later adopted in the A2G role by many Air Forces - a role it was completely unsuited for.

Designed by Lockheed’s ace engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson to surpass the MiG-15 fighters that had stunned the aeronautical world in Korea, the F-104 Starfighter was something completely different: an inexpensive lightweight fighter with thin seven-foot wings, sharp as the blade of a dagger.

It was the first US jet fighter to fly at twice the speed of sound.

The PAF & the Zipper F-104A

In the 1950s, Pakistan aligned itself with the United States of America under the newly formed SEATO (South East Asian Treaty Organization) and the later British-sponsored CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) security pacts formed to contain the former Soviet Union. As part of these pacts, Pakistan was the recipient of a Mutual Assistance Program (MAP) which formed the basis of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) being re-organized on modern lines based on the model of the United States Air Force (USAF).

Over the late 1950s and till the middle of the 1960s, PAF was equipped with American aircraft like the F-86F Sabre, T-33, T-37s, C-130s and B-57s. Under this arrangement Pakistan also allowed United States basing rights for U-2 reconnaissance aircraft missions. In May 1960 it was during one of these missions that a U-2 aircraft piloted by Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union. It was after this incident and subsequent Soviet threats to Pakistan that the US agreed to provide Pakistan with higher-performance fighter aircraft. The choice ultimately settled on F-104As after PAF‟s refusal to accept an American offer for F-100 Super Sabre aircraft.

A total of 12 F-104 Starfighter aircraft were transferred to Pakistan, including 10 single seat A and 2 twin seat B models. The model numbers and USAF tail numbers (retained by PAF) are given below.

F-104A : 56-802/803/804/805/807/868/874/875/877/879/773/798( 773 & 798 were attrition replacements delivered ibn 1964 & 1965 respectively)
F-104B : 57-1309/1312

All the aircraft were ex-USAF Air Defence Command and were equipped with the 20 mm M61 Vulcan Gatling gun besides being able to carry AIM-9B Sidewinder air-to-air missiles on wingtips. All aircraft delivered were also equipped with the C2 upward-firing ejection seat and higher thrust General Electric J-79-GE-11A engines.

The F-104s clearly surpassed the F-86F Sabres in PAF inventory in terms of performance and represented cutting-edge aviation technology at that time. Although the Sabre was loved for its beautiful handling and maneuverability, Starfighter's performance remained unmatched till the induction of F-6 and Mirage III aircraft later in the decade.

During the period 1961-65, PAF F-104s training mostly included GCI controlled High and Low level interceptions during day and night, Low Level Navigation/Strikes, ACM/Tail Chase, Zoom Climbs for very high level interceptions and Dissimilar Air Combat Training missions against F-86 aircraft. However PAF‟s night Low Level interception Capability was very limited due to non availability of low level radar coverage.

The PAF lost two F-104As from induction to the start of the September 1965 war(56-802 & 56-803). Both these F-104As were replaced (56-773 &56-798)

That the IAF had nicknamed the Starfighters as “Badmash” (meaning scoundrel)

Sqdn Ldr Devayya's last stand

Full scale hostilities broke out between India and Pakistan on September 06, 1965, with PAF's F-104s tasked for air defence duties.

The first IAF air strikes on PAF bases took place on the morning of September 7, 1965. It was at 05:30 hrs that the first IAF Mystere IVA strike on PAF's Sargodha airbase by No.1 Sqdn IAF "Tigers" was detected when the formation of 6 IAF Mysteres was already pulling-up to attack the airfield. An F-104A flown by Flt Lt Amjad Hussain Khan was vectored by ground control to intercept the raid. Flt Lt Amjad got behind two Mysteres which were exiting at about 100 ft AGL after completing their attack run. He fired an AIM-9B at one of the Mysteres which hit the ground after leaving the launcher. Closing in he fired at the Mystere with his gun and saw hits on the aircraft.

The second Mystere meanwhile broke into the Starfighter forcing Amjad to make a high speed yo-yo and attack again. The Mystere turned into him again forcing another yo-yo with afterburners engaged. The Starfighter climbed to 13-15,000 feet and then dived to make another attack on the Mystere that was being flown by Sqdn Ldr A B Devayya. This time the Mystere pilot did not see the F-104, with the Starfighter diving and closing in at 540 knots and opening canon fire at a range of 3000 ft. What happened next is disputed.

As per the IAF, the F-104 overshot the Mystere and was gunned down by the badly damaged Mystere IVA. The Mystere lost control and crashed shortly after.

As per the PAF, Sqdn Ldr Amjad's cannon fire scored many hits on the Mystere and the Mystere exploded when the range was around 1000-1500 ft. Before the Starfighter could pull up to clear the explosion, it flew through the resulting debris. The F-104's controls froze and the aircraft stopped responding, going into a left bank. At this point, about 75-100 ft AGL (Above Ground Level) Flt Lt Amjad Hussain ejected from the aircraft and landed near a village. The tail no. of this F-104A was 56-877.

One F-104 tail no. 56-868 was lost on September 17, 1965 due to the disorientation of the pilot while landing in low visibility (sandstorm) undershooting the runway at Peshawar, aircraft exploded, the pilot was thrown clear and slightly hurt.

PAF F-104s shot down 2 Mysteres and 1 Canberra in 1965 war. The 1965 war ended with PAF F-104s flying 254 sorties of which 246 were day and night air defence, 4 escort and 4 counter air.

The PAF lost two Starfighters during the 17-day conflict with India. Unlike the past, these two losses were not replaced by the US given the arms embargo imposed on Pakistan. Therefore No. 9 Squadron was left with only 8 F-104s and 2 F-104Bs after the 1965 War. In addition PAF faced the problem of dwindling spare parts stocks for the aircraft which were also embargoed and had to be sourced from third party sources and black market.

During this period, one F-104A aircraft (tail number 56-805) was written-off in 1967 in a ground accident. Yet another F-104A (56-807) was lost in 1968 in a fatal crash.

The arms embargo on Pakistan started effecting F-104 flying, with the result that the aircraft were practically cocooned starting December 1969. While some flying was managed on a regular basis, squadron pilots did the bulk of their day flying on F-6 aircraft with other squadrons and No.9 Sqdn became a composite squadron with F-104s and Shenyang F-6s. The Starfighter were pulled out of the storage in July 1971 as hostilities with India built-up.

Another important modification was the installation of a radar homing device on a single F-104A aircraft. This device called SLARD (Short range Low Altitude Radar Detection) and alternately Radar Locator (RALOR) was sourced through an American source and initial trials were carried on a twin engine communication plane. Based on the results of such trials it was decided to fit an F-104A aircraft with this equipment. Aircraft tail number 56-875 was modified with this equipment (near the war perhaps due to maintenance related issues the equipment was removed from 56-875 and installed on 56-804).

Initial trial fitting on the aircraft made the cockpit very uncomfortable for the pilot and was also considered a safety hazard in case of an ejection. Such issues were resolved during the testing phase which included extensive missions against various PAF radars. The SLARD had two sensors on the right and left of the nose cone. The device had a pick up range of about 7-10 miles at low level. The display in the cockpit would indicate the location of radar about 30 degrees on either side of the nose of the aircraft. A vertical line/mark would appear every 2 to 3 seconds to guide the pilot about the exact location of the target radar with reference to the aircraft.

The F-104s also had an infrared (IR) sight however its pick up range was too short to be of any operational use. After the 1965 war, a serious effort was made by PAF engineers to improve its performance. These efforts did succeed in increasing the pick up range from less than half a mile to seven-eight miles against a single jet engine source by cooling the IR cell with liquid Nitrogen. The modified system did give the pilots good pick up ranges but because of ice formation, the system would clog and shut down. It required a good 15 minutes for the ice to clear and the system to start functioning again. Unable to find a satisfactory solution to the problem, the effort was finally abandoned.

Yet another major modification was to make the under wing fuel tank station a weapon station capable of carrying Sidewinder missiles. Both the F-104 A and B versions that Pakistan had acquired had four external stores positions, one on each wingtip capable of carrying either an external jettisonable fuel tank or a Sidewinder missile, and one under each wing capable of carrying a jettisonable fuel tank only. Of these external store stations, the wingtip station was much cleaner and far less drag producing than the under wing station. For all operational missions, when Sidewinder missiles were carried, the pilots had either to fly with no external fuel tanks at all or carry them on the under wing station.

Operationally the ability to carry both wingtip tanks and Sidewinder missiles was considered very desirable. It was thought that the underwing stations could be modified to carry Sidewinder missiles. After the 1965 war, efforts were made locally for this modification. PAF‟s technical staff was able to fabricate a set of Sidewinder launcher racks for the under wing station and also completed other necessary modifications like wiring, sighting and emergency jettisoning etc.

Assistance to Royal Jordanian Air Force

In 1968 Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) had inducted F-104 A&B Starfighter Aircraft and a request was made to Pakistan Air Force to convert RJAF pilots on the aircraft along with leading some pilots to Instructor Pilot status. This started PAF‟s association with Jordanian F-104s. As the RJAF Starfighters started arriving at Prince Hassan Air Base (H-5) in USAF cargo airplanes and were being assembled and test flown by test pilots from Lockheed Martin, the PAF pilots deputed to RJAF started the pilot conversion program. Standard Operating Procedures, Flight Orders, Check Lists, Flying Syllabus, Boards and Charts, and all other operational aspects that were required for the establishment of a fighter squadron were created and initially, 15 pilots were converted.

King Hussain of Jordan, himself a keen aviator was a regular visitor to the F-104 squadron. This association with RJAF turned out to be very useful in later testing times for PAF.

PAF Starfighter Operations during the 1971 War

As India-Pakistan tensions mounted around mid-1971, a number of pilots with previous F-104 experience were sent to Jordan to regain currency on the aircraft, while pilots returning recently from Jordan were reposted to PAF‟s No. 9 squadron. In Jordan PAF pilots could also undertake Dissimilar Air Combat Training with Jordanian Hunters (given the significant presence of the type with IAF). When war broke out on 3rd December some of the pilots were still in Jordan and had to rush home.

For the initial pre-emptive strikes the Starfighter pilots were tasked to attack IAF radar stations. The aim was to degrade their performance by damaging or destroying the antennas using the Starfighter's Vulcan cannon, affecting IAF's capability to interdict PAF raids on the forward airfields. The initial strikes were planned to be carried on 3rd December close to dusk on Amritsar and Faridkot Radar Stations, using guns only.

The Loss of Amjad Hussain (PAF F-104A 56-804)

Three F-104 missions were mounted to attack and destroy the radar station at Amritsar. Fourth mission was planned for with Sqn Ldr Amjad Hussain as leader and young Flt Lt Samad Ali Changezi as his No. 2. Intel had reported the position of this radar at a road going towards Amritsar Airfield. The pilots approached the target from the south and Amjad made a strafing pass. In the first pass, Amjad hit an antenna and realized it was a wooden decoy when he saw it splinter. Right at that moment he saw the actual antenna rotating on the right. Wingman Changezi also confirmed the contact on the right.

The formation did a turnaround and attacked again, hitting the antenna. This time the radar station was struck successfully and it went off the air for some time. During exit, Amjad‟s F-104A (56-804) was hit by anti-aircraft guns deployed around the radar station. He turned towards Pakistan, hoping to recover when his wingman gave an ejection call, confirming that fire is spreading. Amjad successfully ejected and was taken POW. F-104A 56-804 was specially equipped F-104 with SLARD equipment as mentioned earlier. Amjad Hussain thus became the only pilot in the sub-continent to be shot down twice (in the 65 & 71 wars) losing two F-104As (56-877 & 56-804). Loss of 56-804 was painful for the PAF because it was the only F-104 equipped with special radar equipment. He was shot down by Hav Ramaswamy, of the Indian Army’s 27 AD Regiment.

Sqdn Ldr Amjad Hussain & his F-104A 56-804

On December 10, 1971 PAF F-104A flown by Wg Cdr Arif Iqbal shot down an Indian Navy Alize near Okha.

Jordanian Starfighters in PAF service

On 6th of December the squadron was ordered to move to PAF Base Masroor, Karachi. For the rest of the war, the squadron performed day and night Air Defence and Counter Air Operations from this base. It was at PAF Base Masroor that the squadron received nine F-104s provided by the Kingdom of Jordan in support of Pakistan during the 1971 war. These Starfighters were ferried by RJAF pilots (along with some PAF pilots) to Masroor on 13th December from where they operated for the remaining period of the war. The serial numbers of these RJAF Starfighters were as follows: 56-774. 56-775, 56-767, 56-777, 56-799, 56-839, 56-843, 56-845, 56-1789.

The Loss of Wg Cdr Middlecoat (PAF F-104A 56-773)

A formation of two F-104s was tasked on 13th December,1971 to strike IAF‟s airfield at Jamnagar. Wg Cdr Mervin L Middlecoat was to lead this mission with Sqn Ldr Tariq Habib as his No.2. The formation ingressed for the strike at a low level, with the Starfighters configured with wingtip tanks and two Sidewinders under the wings. Close to the target the formation pulled-up to 2-3000 feet with the target offset to their right by 2-3 miles in order to line up for their strafing runs. For some reason, Middlecoat who was leading the strike banked to the left while Target was on the right. Habib gave him a call to correct this.

Repositioning for the strafing run resulted in formation spending another minute or two near the target area. After repositioning when formation was again going in for a strafing run, Middlecoat gave Habib a call saying that a missile had been fired at him. Habib cleared his six but did not see anything. Moments later while exiting and over the Gulf of Kutch, Habib got a call from Middlecoat saying that he has been hit and is ejecting.

Habib inquired if he could make it to Overland but he replied in the negative. Habib saw Middlecoat ejecting and the Starfighter going into the water while inverted. At that moment Habib noticed a MiG-21 to his right. As he pulled up to convert behind the MiG-21 his auto-pitch control malfunctioned and the aircraft nose started oscillating. After disengaging the APC Habib safely exited from the area.

Later from various published Indian accounts it transpired that two IAF MiG-21s had intercepted the Starfighters while they were lining up for the strafing run. The lead MiG-21 flown by Flt Lt Bharat Bhushan Soni of No. 47 Sqdn "Black Archers" had fired an Atoll missile at Middlecoat's F-104 which missed but he was able to close-in for a gun kill with his GP-9 gunpod. Wg Cdr M L Middlecoat was declared MIA and though rescue was mounted by the IAF, his body was never found.

The Loss of Flt Lt Samad Ali Changezi (RJAF F-104A 56-767)

On 17th December, 1971 Sqn Ldr Rashid Bhatti, along with Flt Lt Samad Changezi were instructed to fly a CAP around Mirpur Khas and Chor area.

Both pilots started a CAP in the designated area. Samad was flying the RJAF Starfighter with tail number 56-767 and Bhatti 56-839. After an hour, while both pilots were planning to return to Masroor for landing, they heard a call from Badin Radar Station, informing them of two bandits, flying at 10,000 ft and heading in their direction. The radar controller asked if they would like to engage them, Bhatti replied affirmative. Radar controller started passing on the instructions to establish contact with the bandits.

As Starfighter was approaching the targets in battle formation, Samad who was on Bhatti’s left established contact with one of the IAF MiG-21s coming from the opposite direction. Samad broke off from his lead and tried to manoeuvre behind this MiG-21. Meanwhile, Bhatti (lead) also picked up both the MiG-21s and tried to position behind them. Now the situation was such that Samad was behind one MiG-21 trying to close in within gun firing range (about 3500 ft) with the second MiG-21 trying to close in on Samad.

At this time Bhatti saw the second MiG-21, while still diving and turning, fire one missile at a very high angle-off at Samad. This missile missed Samad's aircraft. At this moment Bhatti called Samad that one MiG-21 is behind him and has fired a missile which was a miss. Bhatti told Samad to jettison his fuel tanks and go full afterburner (full throttle) and disengage. Since Samad was very excited trying to get within the gun firing range of the MiG-21 he ignored Bhatti or was not very attentive in the heat of the situation. The second MiG-21 fired another missile which was a direct hit and Samad’s Starfighter exploded in the air. The pilot had no time to eject and was killed instantly.

The victorious IAF pilot was Flt Lt Niraj Kukhreja of No.29 Sqdn “Scorpions”

This was the third and final Starfighter loss for the PAF in the 1971 war.

End of the F-104 in PAF service

Despite limited numbers (the Jordanian F-104s were available only in the last part of the war); the Starfighters flew a total of 104 sorties during the war.

The remaining eight Jordanian F-104s supported by a PAF C-130 were flown back to Jordan about twenty days after the war ended. PAF offered Jordan one F-104 in lieu of the single Jordanian Starfighter lost, an offer which was declined by Jordan.

After the 1971 war due to continuous arms embargo and limited numbers due to accumulative attrition, it became virtually impossible for Pakistan Air Force to maintain a reasonable in-commission rate on the F-104s. Subsequently, it was decided by the PAF to phase it out of service in late 1972. This ended the memorable story of PAF and its love with an engineering marvel, remembered by many as a “missile with a man in it”.

After the phase out, the remaining airframes were preserved at PAF Museum and various air bases as gate guardians. Out of the total 14 F-104s received, six survived 11 years of service and two wars. These six include four A models and two B models.