The Lockheed F Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the " Century Series " of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force USAF , it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.
After a series of interviews with Korean War fighter pilots in , Kelly Johnson , then lead designer at Lockheed, opted to reverse the trend of ever-larger and more complex fighters to produce a simple, lightweight aircraft with maximum altitude and climb performance. Problems with the General Electric J79 engine and a preference for fighters with longer ranges and heavier payloads meant its service with the USAF was short-lived, though it was reactivated for service during the Berlin Crisis of and the Vietnam War , when it flew more than 5, combat sorties.
In October , West Germany selected the F as its primary fighter aircraft. Canada soon followed, along with the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, and Italy. The European nations formed a construction consortium that was the largest international manufacturing program in history to that point, though the Starfighter's export success was marred in by the discovery of bribe payments made by Lockheed to many foreign military and political figures for securing purchase contracts.
The Starfighter eventually flew with fifteen air forces, but its poor safety record, especially in Luftwaffe service, brought it substantial criticism. The Germans lost of aircraft and pilots from to , its high accident rate earning it the nickname Witwenmacher "widowmaker" from the German public. The final production version, the FS , was an all-weather interceptor built by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force.
It was retired from active service in , though several Fs remain in civilian operation with Florida-based Starfighter Inc. The Starfighter featured a radical design, with thin, stubby wings attached farther back on the fuselage than most contemporary aircraft.
