View source for F-104A

{{Specs-Card|code=f-104a}}

== Description ==
<!-- ''In the description, the first part should be about the history of and the creation and combat usage of the aircraft, as well as its key features. In the second part, tell the reader about the aircraft in the game. Insert a screenshot of the vehicle, so that if the novice player does not remember the vehicle by name, he will immediately understand what kind of vehicle the article is talking about.'' -->
[[File:GarageImage_{{PAGENAME}}.jpg|420px|thumb|left]]
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The '''{{Specs|name}}''' is a rank {{Specs|rank}} American jet fighter {{Battle-rating}}. It was introduced in [[Update "Starfighters"]].

== General info ==
=== Flight performance ===
<!-- ''Describe how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, manoeuvrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.'' -->
[[File:F-104A in the sunset.jpg|alt=F-104 Starfighter breaks the soundbarrier at sunset with its afterburner roaring|thumb|A F-104A Starfighter breaks the sound barrier at sunset]]
''Describes how the aircraft behaves in the air. Speed, maneuvrrability, acceleration and allowable loads - these are the most important characteristics of the vehicle.''

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="70%"
! rowspan="2" | Characteristics
! colspan="2" | Max Speed<br>(km/h at 10,668 m)
! rowspan="2" | Max altitude<br>(metres)
! colspan="2" | Turn time<br>(seconds)
! colspan="2" | Rate of climb<br>(metres/second)
! rowspan="2" | Take-off run<br>(metres)
|-
! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB !! AB !! RB
|-
! Stock
| 2,104 || 2,079 || rowspan="2" | {{Specs|ceiling}} || 32.4 || 33.0 || 190.9 || 182.9 || rowspan="2" | 1,180
|-
! Upgraded
| ___ || ___ || __._ || __._ || __._ || __._
|-
|}

==== Details ====
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="6" | Features
|-
! Combat flaps !! Take-off flaps !! Landing flaps !! Air brakes !! Arrestor gear !! Drogue chute
|-
| ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓ || ✓     <!-- ✓ -->
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width="50%"
|-
! colspan="7" | Limits
|-
! rowspan="2" | Wings (km/h)
! rowspan="2" | Gear (km/h)
! colspan="3" | Flaps (km/h)
! colspan="2" | Max Static G
|-
! Combat !! Take-off !! Landing !! + !! -
|-
| {{Specs|destruction|body}} || {{Specs|destruction|gear}} || 2,350 || 833 || 444 || ~12 || ~5
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="4" | Optimal velocities (km/h)
|-
! Ailerons !! Rudder !! Elevators !! Radiator
|-
| < 720 || < 950 || < 800 || N/A
|-
|}

=== Survivability and armour ===
<!-- ''Examine the survivability of the aircraft. Note how vulnerable the structure is and how secure the pilot is, whether the fuel tanks are armoured, etc. Describe the armour, if there is any, and also mention the vulnerability of other critical aircraft systems.'' -->
''In terms of armour, there are no armour. Since the F-104 relies on high speed, it wouldn't need armour, and armour would lessen the speed and maneuverability of the plane.'' 

== Armaments ==
=== Offensive armament ===
<!-- ''Describe the offensive armament of the aircraft, if any. Describe how effective the cannons and machine guns are in a battle, and also what belts or drums are better to use. If there is no offensive weaponry, delete this subsection.'' -->
{{main|M61 (20 mm)}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' is armed with:

* 1 x 20 mm M61 cannon, chin-mounted (750 rpg)

=== Suspended armament ===
<!-- ''Describe the aircraft's suspended armament: additional cannons under the wings, bombs, rockets and torpedoes. This section is especially important for bombers and attackers. If there is no suspended weaponry remove this subsection.'' -->
{{main|AIM-9B Sidewinder}}

The '''''{{PAGENAME}}''''' can be outfitted with the following ordnance:

* Without load
* 2 x AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles

== Usage in battles ==
<!-- ''Describe the tactics of playing in the aircraft, the features of using aircraft in a team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but instead, give the reader food for thought. Examine the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).'' -->
The F-104A is a high speed, high altitude fighter-bomber / interceptor. It performs well on high altitude flights meant to intercept fighters and mainly bombers at high altitudes. When the F-104A is fighting at low altitudes with a slower plane, the pilot should consider a hit and run technique to out-speed and return to the target to avoid getting shot back.

The F-104A has a decent stock turn time of 33 seconds which is the average or decent turn time of most supersonic jets on rank VI for Russian jets. The F-104A will have difficulties when trying to hit an enemy less than 1 or 2 kilometers away using the 20mm M61 cannon since this cannon will take some time to warm-up before shooting and turn fights will also be difficult due to high speed maneuvers causing an average 8 or more Gs rendering the pilot unconscious for most of the time.

Using the F-104A's M61 cannon against helicopters would be very easy since they're slow and most of the time are in constant direction and speed, while you are attacking from the side or back with speeds almost or higher than mach 1, the helicopter won't notice until you strafe at them.

Sitting at BR 9.7, it would only take a few time to be up-tiered to jets that carry both flares and more AAMs than you, since the F-104A isn't carrying any flares, you would have to rely on the planes decent maneuverability, and high speed, and maybe turn off the afterburner and maybe even the engine to reduce the incoming AAMs chance to hit the plane, always remember the insane climb rate for the plane, this means you can also face the incoming AAM at the sun even when the sun is at a steep angle, this in turn would spend more fuel since you would need to use afterburners to efficiently climb at steep angles, out-running short-range anti-air missiles are tricky since some go mach 1.7, while others go mach 2.5, do not expect all missiles to be out-runned.

=== Modules ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Tier
! colspan="2" | Flight performance
! Survivability
! colspan="2" | Weaponry
|-
| I
| Fuselage repair
|
|
| Offensive 20 mm
|
|-
| II
|
| Compressor
| Airframe
|
| AIM-9B
|-
| III
| Wings repair
| Engine
|
| New 20 mm cannons
|
|-
| IV
| G-suit
|
| Cover
|
|
|-
|}

=== Pros and cons ===
<!-- ''Summarise and briefly evaluate the vehicle in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark its pros and cons in the bulleted list. Try not to use more than 6 points for each of the characteristics. Avoid using categorical definitions such as "bad", "good" and the like - use substitutions with softer forms such as "inadequate" and "effective".'' -->

'''Pros:'''

* Good top speed for its BR
* Great rate of climb; even the F-4 Phantom may struggle to match it
* Decent high-speed maneuverability, in spite of its tiny wings
* 20 mm Vulcan gun can really do some serious damage
* Has access to AIM-9B Sidewinder missiles
* Good roll rate for a jet

'''Cons:'''

* Lousy low-speed maneuverability
* Only one secondary weapon load
* Can't carry bombs
* Relatively low ammo count for the Vulcan; trigger discipline is necessary
* M61 Vulcan doesn't shoot instantly, takes less than a second to rotate
* no flares to counter AAMs
* As with most jets, it tends to bleed off speed quickly in sustained turns

== History ==
<!-- ''Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under <code><nowiki>=== In-game description ===</nowiki></code>, also if applicable).'' -->
The F-104A Starfighter was the first in-service United States Air Force (USAF) fighter to fly at twice the speed of sound, and made its first flight on February 7th, 1954<ref>https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/lockheed-f-104a-starfighter/nasm_A19761017000</ref>. In [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DV7q-ptOyQ&feature=youtu.be this video] from Lockheeed Martin's archives, the Starfighter's maiden flight can be viewed. The F-104 began being designed in November 1952, when the USAF requested a superiority day fighter<ref name=":0">https://www.airplanesofthepast.com/f104-starfighter.htm</ref>.  The USAF chose Lockheed Martin's protype, with its unusually stubby straight wings, in a time when fighters had large, swept back, wings<ref name=":0" />. The first F-104A's were delivered to the 83rd Fighter-Interceptor squadron stationed at Hamilton Air Force Base on January 26, 1958, where they would break speed and altitude records<ref name=":0" />. One major record that was set by an F-104A was when Major Howard C. Johnson set a new altitude record by flying at 91,243 ft on May 7th, 1958<ref>https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=113</ref>.

== Media ==
<!-- ''Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.'' -->

[[File:F-104A Starfighter Among the Stars.jpg|alt=F104A Starfighter flying with a full afterburner on a clear starry night (in-game screenshot)|left|thumb|F-104A Starfighter Among the Stars]]
{{Clear}}

== See also ==
<!-- ''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''
* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.'' -->
''Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:''

* ''reference to the series of the aircraft;''
* ''links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.''

== External links ==
<!-- ''Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:''
* ''topic on the official game forum;''
* ''encyclopedia page on the aircraft;''
* ''other literature.'' -->
=== References ===
<references />

{{USA jet aircraft}}