Quote:
Originally Posted by HunterICX
A legend with a poor safety record, hence the German Luftwaffe called it the ''Witwenmacher'' the Widowmaker.
Also the aircraft that was the center piece of the lockheed scandals here in Europe with high officials like Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands taking bribes to make sure the F104 is favoured over the Mirage 5 for a purchase contract.
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There have been rumors of bribery here in Germany too but nothing could be proven beyond doubt.
Regarding the safety record here in Germany I have to say that a lot of the problems were domestic. Pilots were converted without enough training, there were not enough mechanics for the maintenance so corners were cut and there weren't enough hangars to store the planes in overnight so a lot were parked outside. Once general Steinhoff took over the Luftwaffe he completely reorganized everything regarding the F104 and accident rates dropped sharply but at that time it already had the reputation it still has today.
BTW a former Luftwaffe member told me that the accident rate of the F104 as a fighter bomber was actually lower than that of the F84 which it replaced in that role. Strangely enough almost no one is still talking about the Thunderstreak while the Starfighter is infamous.