F-104C "56-0925" of 479th Tactical Fighter Wing in a "32 ship" F-104 formation 1960

Specification of the F-104C:
The F-104C (Lockheed model 483-04-05) was the tactical strike version of the Starfighter.
It was designed to meet the needs of the Tactical Air Command (TAC), which had earlier found the F-104A to be unacceptable
because of its low endurance and its inability to carry significant offensive payloads.
The choice of the F-104C by the TAC after it had found the F-104A to be unsuitable seems sort of odd,
but the TAC felt that it needed a supersonic tactical strike fighter to fill the void between the forthcoming F-100C and the Mach 2-capable Republic F-105 Thunderchief.
On March 2, 1956, a contract was approved for the initial procurement of 56 F-104Cs.
The order was later increased to 77 when a second order for 21 more F-104Cs was approved on December 26, 1956.
Planned orders for another 363 F-104Cs were later cancelled when the USAF terminated all of its Starfighter production plans.
The first F-104C, unofficially designated YF-104C, took off on its maiden flight on July 24, 1958.
The F-104C was powered by a General Electric J79-GE-7 engine rated at 10,000 lb.s.t. dry and 15,800 lb.s.t. with afterburner.
This thrust was almost a thousand pounds greater than the -3A/3B of the F-104A/B. This increase in power was made possible by increasing the diameter of the turbine by 3 inches.
The F-104C could also be equipped with a fixed but removable in-flight refuelling probe attached to the port side of the fuselage.

copyright © Dick Moore