The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is one of the most iconic aircraft of the Cold War. It was noted for being the first production aircraft to sustain Mach 2 speed, and it flew more than 5,000 sorties during the Vietnam War. 

Retired from U.S. Air Force service in 1969 and by the Air National Guard six years later, the aircraft remained in operation with foreign militaries until the early 2000s.

It is a lasting favorite among aviation buffs, and more than 1,700 were built. 300 were procured by the U.S. Air Force. Only a handful are currently on display at museums in the United States.

One of those sits in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. F-104C Starfighter serial number 56-914 logged a lot of miles during its active years, serving in California, West Germany, Spain, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand.

"It also was flown by the winning pilot of the 1962 USAF ‘William Tell’ Fighter Weapons Meet competition. It was flown to the museum in August 1975," the museum noted on its website.

Now another Starfighter could soon be on display. The aircraft is headed to MAPS Air Museum, which is maintained by the Military Aviation Preservation Society in Green, Ohio. Though smaller than the Air Force's official museum, the facility is still home to more than 50 aircraft, and that will soon include an F-104 that might have otherwise gone to the scrapheap.

"Last stationed at Dayton's National Museum of the United States Air Force (USAF) for parts, she was damaged further by a tornado that hit the nearby hangar on February 28, 2024," MAPS Air Museum announced this week.

Saved From the Scrapheap

After it was announced that the Air Force would scrap the Starfighter, MAPS asked that its "Area 51" crew be given a chance to restore the aircraft. It was able to acquire F-104 serial number 57-1322 from the General Services Administration as military surplus, with ownership transferred to the museum.

The aircraft, which is just one of 21 combat trainer versions produced, has since been moved from Dayton to Green and has been added to restoration projects.

"We’re not sure when she'll go into restoration because we're currently working on the F7U, FG-1, and J-3. We're excited to add this airplane to our inventory," Kim Kovesci, executive director of MAPS Air Museum, told Vintage Aviation News.

It will likely be a time-consuming effort, as the wings from the F-104D were used to restore another F-104A that is on display at the front of the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Time and the elements have also taken their toll on the airframe. In addition to the tornado damage, the aircraft had been displayed outside of Grissom AFB, Indiana, and later at the Wings of Freedom Museum at the Huntington, Indiana airport, before being returned to the Air Force.

It will truly be a labor of love to return this Starfighter to its former glory.

About the author

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].

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