|
QF-104A target drones The United States Air Force (USAF)
converted 24 Starfighter to QF-104A target drones 55-2957
| YF-104A
| QFG-957, mentioned is a “dog
fight” mission against a F-4D on July 19, 1967, shot down as a drone August
8, 1967, no further details known; 4 drone flights |
55-2963
| YF-104A
| QFG-963, painted orange overall,
shot down February 1, 1962 by Bomarc surface-to-air missile on 1st drone
flight |
55-2965
| YF-104A | JF-104A QFG-965, QF-104A modification
November 1964, JQF-104A modification November 8, 1965, shot down March
1, 1967 by AIM-4D; 5 drone flights |
55-2966
| YF-104A
| QFG-966, written off June
14, 1967, lost pitch control, destruction failed, guided over the golf
of Mexico until it flamed out; 3 drone flights |
55-2968
| YF-104A
| QFG-968, lost in the Golf of Mexico
on September 14, 1962 being out of control on 2nd unmanned drone flight; 2 drone
flights |
55-2969
| YF-104A
| QFG-969, September 28, 1968
hit by AIM-9, recovered, flown again, shot down January 26, 1971 with
AIM-4H, fired from F-4E; 25 drone flights |
55-2971
| YF-104A
| QFG-971, on December 8, 1965
the QF-104A was hit in its nozzle area by an AIM-4 during an unmanned
mission. The "damaged" aircraft could be landed, but blew a tire during
the landing with no further damage to the QF-104. It was repaired and
flew again soon; during “weather penetration” mission on June 21, 1966
struck 3 times by lightning strikes; shot down October 27, 1966 by AIM-7;
11 drone flights |
 56-0730
| JF-104A
| XQF-104A QFG-730 in
June 1960, lost canopy during take-off on June 6, 1963, written off October
26, 1967, lost pitch control, destruction successful; 14 drone flights |
56-0733
| JF-104A
| QFG-733, on November 29, 1961,
designated JQF-104A, On May 31, 1968 it suffered a severe class
A landing accident at Eglin AFB, re-modified to F-104A in May 1970, used
by Darryl Greenamyer between 1974 till 1977 for spare parts (N104RB race-jet),
used for Japanese movie purposes as "36-5019" at Mojave AP in
1987, display at Science Fiction Air Park at Arlington, Texas coded with
fake serial56-763/FG-763, preserved at Historic Aviation Memorial Museum
(HAMM) in Tyler near Arlington, Texas in April 2005, restauration in 2005,
markings with code 56-733, August 6, 2006 last noted |
56-0734
| F-104A
| QFG-734 on May 14, 1962,
August 10, 1962 barrier engagement, September 7, 1962 barrier engagement,
third barrier engagement in 1962 took place on September 12, but then
the aircraft sustained major damage while it collapsed on February 6,
1963 barrier engagement, shot down August 1, 1963 by Bomarc surface-to-air
missile; 114 drone flights |
56-0735
| JF-104A
| QFG-735 converted to JQF-104A
on September 18, 1961, barrier engagement on May 9, 1963 with broken nose
gear, repaired barrier engagement on September 2, 1964, shot down June
17, 1965 by AIM-7 from F-4 of US Navy; 11 drone flights |
56-0736 |
F-104A |
QFG-736 on March 31, 1962,
shot down by missile on October 4, 1962 on the 5th drone flight |
56-0737 |
JF-104A |
QFG-737 on October 31, 1961,
May 4, 1971 porpoise on landing, June 25, 1971 hit by AIM-9, but recovered,
shot down on July 3, 1972 by AIM-9, 21 drone flights |
56-0739 |
F-104A |
XQF-104A QFG-739 in
April 1960, shot down October 8, 1963 by GAR-2B (Sidewinder) missile;
1 drone flight |
56-0741 |
JF-104A |
QFG-741 on November 30, 1961,
April 24, 1971 barrier engagement, lost on landing on May 16, 1972 after
loosing control of the drone; 22 drone flights |
56-0743 |
JF-104A |
QFG-743 on November 17, 1961,
written off September 25, 1968, lost pitch control, crashed into the golf
of Mexico; 2 drone flights |
56-0744 |
JF-104A |
QFG-744, QF-104A conversion Palmdale
(April 1961-November 1961), stored SMAMA at McClellan AFB (14. November 1961-31. July 1962),
QFG-744 3205th DS (October 1967-23.January 1968), January 23, 1968 dropped
from inventory due to flying accident, possibly no live drone flights
as QF-104A |
56-0745 |
JF-104A |
QFG-745 on October 10, 1961,
crashed January 17, 1962 due to elevator malfunction on takeoff, 1st QF-104
loss, 2 drone flights before; total 3 drone flights |
56-0746 |
F-104A |
QFG-746, shot down March
17, 1964 by Bomarc surface-to-air missile; 1 drone flight |
56-0747 |
F-104A |
QFG-747, March 22, 1967 hit
by AIM-4D, destruction failed, recovered, flown again, shot down July
13, 1971 with AIM-4H, 11 drone flights |
56-0796 |
F-104A |
QFG-796 crashed on landing,
sheared nose gear, left runway, rolled over and burned on December 13,
1962, written off; 1st unmanned drone flight |
56-0836 |
F-104A |
QFG-836 on September 28,
1962, shot down October 3, 1963 by GAR-2B (Sidewinder) missile; total
of 2 drone flights |
2 F-104D were used
for chase flights, operated by the ADTC base-flight: 57-1331, 57-1332 |
After their withdrawal,
about 24 early Starfighter were converted by Lockheed from 1960 onward as
remotely-controlled QF-104A. Painted pillar-box red overall, the QF-104As,
including some with 4 under wing drop tanks for extended endurance, were
operated by the USAF 3205th Drone Squadron from Eglin AFB, Florida on both
manned and pilotless test missions. In view of the F-104's demanding flight
characteristics, and the relatively primitive remote radio control at that
time, the latter must have proved particularly interesting. |
Modifications to the airframes included the installation of radio gear to allow the jet to be flown in NULLO (Not Under Live Local Operation, or unmanned) form, however pilots were often included to ensure the jet made it back if the Remote Control gear failed. A source of pride for the pilots was when they were able to nurse a damaged jet back to base. When the Starfighters were flown remotely, the joke that "Capt Nolo" was flying was often used. Nolo translating loosely from Latin, nothing or empty. Additional modifications were passive sensors placed around the nose and tail, used to record data on missile "hits" or near misses. Each jet was subsequently repainted in an all-over day-glow orange scheme; however, a few QF-104s received a white paint job in place of the orange. In the hot and humid Florida sun, this paint weathered quickly and many of the jets looked like they were derelict, even thought they were very much active! These unique looking Starfighters retained all of their weapons delivery capabilities, with the exception of the M61 20 mm machine gun, which was removed and faired over in a similar fashion as the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI or Italian AF) F-104S. The 170 gallon tip tanks and 195 gallon under-wing fuel tanks were a staple of QF-104 operations due to its poor range, but the wing tip mounted tanks were occasionally substituted with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles when the mission dictated. At the time of QF-104 operations, the US Military was just getting into the thick of the Vietnam War. Targets included roads on the Ho Chi Min Trail, or to destroy bridges in the hopes of stopping the supply of arms into the country. Although not directly in the fight, the 3025th was doing there part to aid their brothers in arms. One of the missions tested by the drones was a remotely controlled "attack" on the Destin Bridge, just south of Eglin AFB. The idea was to pack an aircraft full of explosives and fly it into a hardened target, such as a bridge or cave enclosure where weapons or personnel were being hidden. That mission profile is reminiscent of the drone Hellcats from Korea and the Mistal combination of a FW-190 and an explosive laden Ju-88 used by the German Luftwaffe in WWII. Along with flying bright orange aircraft, the pilots of the 3025th wore Air Defense Command (ADC) issue high-visible orange flight suits when the rest of the Air Force was wearing the standard green. Adding to their special status above normal F-104 drivers, some of the young and cocky newcomers to the program, would continue to wear their heal spurs as they swaggered across the ramp. Apparently this practice was considered taboo within the rest of the F-104 community, but a blind eye was cast for this group, due to the nature of their trade. While many of the 3025th Drone Squadron pilots, maintainers and support personnel remain anonymous, the name of BGen (ret) Steve Ritchie stands out for his exploits as an F-4 Phantom II pilot in Vietnam. Following his graduation from the Air Force Academy, he went on to graduate first in his Undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin AFB in Laredo, Texas. Conversion training into the F-104 was carried out at George AFB in southern California and upon completion, then Lt Ritchie received an assignment to Eglin AFB, flying the QF-104A. The 3205th DS (Drone Squadron) Eglin AFB, Florida flew a total of 162 unmanned missions.  55-2957
QF-104A 52957 AFSC Eglin AFB, Florida 1961
QF-104A control vehicle at Eglin AFB, Florida 1961 |
copyright: IFS Zipper magazines |
compiled by: Hubert Peitzmeier |
updated: July 13, 2010 |
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