The Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor prototype for a United States Air Force (USAF) series of lightweight and simple fighters.

Production Starfighters proved popular, both with the USAF and internationally, serving with a number of countries, including Jordan, Turkey, and Japan.

Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, chief engineer at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited Korea in December 1951 and talked to fighter pilots about what sort of aircraft they wanted.

[2] One pilot in particular, Colonel Gabby Gabreski was quoted as saying; "I'd rather sight with a piece of chewing gum stuck on the windscreen" and told Johnson that radar "was a waste of time".

[3] The design was presented to the Air Force in November 1952, who were interested enough to create a new proposal, inviting several companies to participate.

[3] Test data from the earlier Lockheed X-7 unmanned ramjet/rocket program proved invaluable for aerodynamic research since the XF-104 would share the general design of the X-7's wing and tail.

[6] Over 400 surplus instrumented artillery rockets were launched to test various airfoils and tail designs; from which the camera film and telemetry were recovered by parachute.

Inlet shock cones and a fuselage spine fairing between the canopy and fin that housed fuel piping were further added features.

[13] The air intakes, designed by Ben Rich, were of fixed geometry without inlet cones, since the J65-powered aircraft was incapable of Mach 2 performance.

Tony LeVier immediately shut down the engine and glided back to make a successful deadstick landing at Rogers Dry Lake.

An investigation later showed that one of the 20 mm cannon rounds had exploded in the breech, blowing the bolt out the rear of the gun and through the structure into the forward fuselage fuel cell.

Jet fuel had run into the gun bay, and leaked out of the compartment door seals and into the left engine air intake.

The entire tail group was ripped from the airframe, and Lockheed test pilot Bill Park was forced to eject.

Tony LeVier had attempted to have the aircraft removed from flight status and placed in a museum, arguing that its performance was not suitable for chase duties.

[9][12][19] XF-104 53-7787 was lost on 14 April 1955 after accumulating over 1,000 flying hours[9][20] when test pilot Herman Salmon was forced to eject during gun firing trials at 50,000 ft (15,000 m).

The gun malfunctioned during a test firing, and severe vibrations began to build up which knocked loose the ejection hatch below the cockpit.

Recalling LeVier's harrowing experience with the exploding cannon shell the previous December, Salmon believed that the same thing had happened to him and that he had no option but to eject.

[8] Flight testing proved that performance estimates were accurate and that even when fitted with the low powered J65 engine, the XF-104 flew faster than the other Century Series fighters being developed at the time.

[21] The unpowered rudder did not provide adequate directional control at high air speeds, with the problem being fixed by using hydraulic power on all subsequent versions of the F-104; and some concern was expressed over poor subsonic maneuverability at higher altitudes.

"[23] For his part in designing the F-104 airframe, Johnson was jointly awarded the Collier Trophy in 1958, sharing the honor with General Electric (engine) and the U.S. Air Force (Flight Records).