Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a American single-engined supersonic interceptor aircraft manufactured by Lockheed, and a member of the Century Series of fighter jets. It was formerly operated by the air forces of a variety of countries around the world, including Japan, where the F-104J interceptor and F-104DJ twin-seat trainer variants were used, being manufactured under license by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and receiving the nickname Glory (栄光 Eikō). As a result, it appears in a variety of kaiju films and other tokusatsu works, typically operated by the JASDF.
History
- The Mysterians (1957)
- Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)
- Gamera vs. Gyaos (1967)
- The X from Outer Space (1967)
- Gappa (1967)
- Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)
- Gamera vs. Jiger (1970)
- Gamera vs. Zigra (1971)
- Gamera Super Monster (1980) [stock footage]
- Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005)
- Death Kappa (2010)
Showa era
The Mysterians
Following the loss of two of the four Mitsubishi F-86F Sabres sent to join the battle against the Mysterian Dome and its complement of Mysterian UFOs, additional aircraft arrived, including two Starfighters; however, these too were shot down by the energy weaponry of the UFOs and the Dome.
Gamera vs. Barugon
Shortly after Barugon froze Osaka Castle solid with his Chilling Liquid, a squadron of Starfighters arrived to confront him, repeatedly striking the monster with their weapons. However, Barugon appeared to be unharmed by these attacks, and used his Chilling Liquid against the planes, causing one of the Starfighters to freeze solid in mid-air and break into pieces.
Gamera vs. Gyaos
A squadron of F-104J Starfighters were sent to bombard Gyaos's cave in the mountains of Shizuoka Prefecture, but the monster destroyed them by slicing them in half with his Ultrasonic Scalpel.
The X from Outer Space
As part of the plan to force Guilala to return to his spore form by bombarding him with Guilalanium, a squadron of F-104J Starfighters equipped with weapons containing the substance were sent to attack the space monster as he bore down on the Fuji Astro-Flying Center. Although Guilala downed several of the jets with his fireballs and by swiping them out of the sky, the chemical quickly took effect, and the mission was a success. Guilala's body was disintegrated by constant exposure to the Guilalanium, and he reverted into his spore form, allowing him to be contained.
Gappa
A squadron of F-104J Starfighters were sent to engage the adult Gappas as they moved through the city of Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture. As the two monsters neared Atami Castle, the jets arrived and attacked them with air-to-ground missiles. Though the ancient birds initially tried fending off the Starfighters by swiping at them, the aircraft were too fast for them to hit, so they began destroying them with their Radiant Heat Beams. After pausing to destroy Atami Castle, the Gappas resumed their fight against the Starfighters, and shot most of the remaining aircraft down before setting off for Lake Kawaguchi in Yamanashi Prefecture.
Yongary, Monster from the Deep
During the final battle against Yonggary, a squadron of four F-104 Starfighters of the Republic of Korea Air Force were sent to engage the giant monster after he destroyed a bridge. The four jets fired on Yonggary with air-to-ground missiles, but he downed all but one of them using a combination of his fire breath, swiping, and his Horn Beam, with the remaining jet being forced to retreat.
Gamera vs. Jiger
Following Jiger's arrival in Osaka, a squadron of six Starfighters were sent by the JASDF to fight it at Osaka Castle, backing up the JGSDF's tanks and missile launchers, which had amassed at the castle's grounds to mount their own attack. Although the aircraft attacked Jiger using their missiles, two of the Starfighters were shot down by Jiger's Solid Saliva Missiles, being pierced by the projectiles before exploding in mid-air. The attack then ended in failure, as Jiger used her Magnetum Ray to incinerate the ground vehicles, leaving only charred metal behind.
Gamera vs. Zigra
A large fleet of Starfighters were mobilized by the JASDF on behalf of the United Nations to attack the alien Zigra's UFO; however, as soon as the first missiles were fired, the UFO immediately responded by firing its laser beam at the jets, destroying several of them and sending them crashing into the sea.
Heisei era
Negadon: The Monster from Mars
After Negadon descended towards Tokyo, the JASDF deployed a squadron of Starfighters to counter the alien monster, using their guns and missiles to attack the creature. However, Negadon's defensive form allowed it to withstand the attack without any damage. When the giant robot MI-6 2 arrived to fight the monster, the Starfighters came to its aid, destroying one of Negadon's appendages with missiles before it could fire an electrical blast.
Death Kappa
After JSDF infantry failed miserably to stop Hangyolas from rampaging through Yokohama, a trio of Starfighters, led by a pilot in heavy makeup, and a large assortment of tanks assailed the monster. Though they were briefly successful in halting its advance, the kaiju soon retaliated, shooting down all three planes with a blast of fire.
Capabilities
- Flight
- Suiting its role as an interceptor aircraft, the F-104 Starfighter can reach a top speed of Mach 2 (1534.54 mph), powered by its General Electric J79 turbojet engine.
- Armaments
- The F-104 is equipped with one nose-mounted M61A1 Vulcan 20mm autocannon. It is typically not used in anti-kaiju combat, only seeing use against Negadon.
- The aircraft possesses seven hardpoints, with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), allowing it to carry combinations of AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles, bombs, and unguided rockets. Kaiju are seldom harmed by these weapons and only occasionally slowed down, but they did find success in destroying one of Negadon's appendages. In addition, munitions loaded with Guilalanium were employed to great effect against Guilala in The X from Outer Space, quickly disintegrating the alien's body and forcing it to return to its spore form.
Trivia
- The F-104's anti-kaiju operations have only found success against extraterrestrials.
- The F-104's appearance in The Mysterians (1957) features the aircraft in Japanese service several years ahead of its actual entry into service; while the prototype XF-104 Starfighter first flew on 4 March 1954, the F-104 itself didn't enter service until 1958, and the F-104J variant, produced specifically for use by the JSDF, didn't enter service until 1966.[2]
- The Mysterians stands as the only Toho science fiction film to feature the F-104, despite its many appearances in films by other Japanese studios that placed less focus on the genre.
- Although the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) is shown operating the F-104 in Yongary, Monster from the Deep, they didn't use the type in real life.
- Although the JASDF retired the F-104 in 1986,[3] it appears in two kaiju films produced and set in the 21st century: Negadon: The Monster from Mars (2005) and Death Kappa (2010). In Negadon, the F-104 is part of the film's retrofuturistic aesthetic, battling Negadon alongside other vintage JSDF weaponry in the imagined 100th year of the Showa era (2025).
References
This is a list of references for Lockheed F-104 Starfighter. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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