Lockheed aircraft designer Kelly
Johnson went to Korea to speak
to the USAF pilots to hear rst-
hand what they felt was needed
in a ghter aircraft, and then set
out to develop a small, very fast,
lightweight ghter jet.
The maiden ight of the YF-104A
took place on February 17, 1956.
It was built for speed and was the
rst aircraft able to sustain Mach 2
in level ight. The leading edges
of its small wings were so sharp
they required protective guards
to prevent ground personnel from
cutting themselves. Normal take-off
speed was more than 200mph (322km/h).
Although the F-104 was originally
developed for the USAF, it did not see
widespread use by the Americans due to
its relatively limited capabilities – it being
primarily designed as an interceptor whereas
they required a ghter-bomber. However,
it was exactly what was needed
among many NATO air forces and
became the mainstay of several
Western European air arms,
including Norway’s. Altogether,
2,578 Star ghters of all models
were built in the US, Canada,
West Germany, and Italy.
The RNoAF received the
rst of 18 F-104Gs and two-seat
TF-104Gs in 1963. They were
based at Bodø Air Base with
331 Skvadron. In 1973, a second unit at
the base, 334 Skvadron, took on 18 former
Royal Canadian Air Force CF-104s and four
two-seat CF-104Ds. One TF-104G was lost
in 1970, so two extra TF-104Gs were bought
from West Germany in June 1975.
Having own the Star ghter, Andreassen
felt it was an important aircraft in the country’s
history, which motivated him to acquire,
restore and y one – and research revealedthere was a potentially airworthy CF-104D,
MSN 583A-5307, at the Norwegian Aviation
Museum at Bodø, where it had been based.
The museum was willing to part
with its Star ghter provided it could be
replaced with another, which need not
be airworthy. Andreassen found one at
Gardermoen Airport in Oslo that could
be used as a replacement and his plan
began to take shape.The jet chosen to y again was
built under licence by Canadair in
Montreal as a two-seat trainer, one
of 200 CF-104s built in Canada. It
had been delivered to the Royal
Canadian Air Force and given
the serial 104637, but was known
merely as 637 in Norway.
Andreassen said: “It was
originally delivered to the No.6
Operational Training Unit at Cold
Lake, Alberta, where it served for
around ten years before being
transferred to 334 Skvadron at
Bodø.” In fact, 637 was the rst
Star ghter delivered to 334, in
June 1973, and one of the last two to be
withdrawn from RNoAF use in March 1983.GETTING SUPPORT
“Once I decided to commit my resources
to breathing life into this project, I realised
I was going to need some serious
‘horsepower’ backing me
up. I contacted my former
commanding officer, now a major
general,” explained Andreassen.
“I also caught the interest of
Bjørn Kjos, the CEO of Norwegian
Air Shuttle. Altogether, we put
together a group of ve in uential
and dedicated individuals to form
Friends of Star ghter Norway in
January 2003.”
Aircraft 637 was transferred
from the Norwegian Aviation Museum
to the Friends of Star ghter Norway on
September 13, 2002 and towed back to
its old home at Bodø Air Base. Several
concrete shelters had been built speci cally
to accommodate the F-104s on alert status
at the air eld, and the base commander
allocated one to the Friends of Star ghter
Norway to use as a home and workshop
area for the project.http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 43Star ghter 637 zooms past the crowd at the Sola Air Show during its rst public appearance on June 9, 2018. Jay SelmanAbove: Helge Andreassen accepts the End
User Certi cate signifying ownership of the
Star ghter in 2010 having navigated nearly
two years of red tape. Photo courtesy Friends
of Starfi ghter Norway
Below: Maintenance personnel prepare to run
up the J79 engine for the rst time, in 2008.
Photo courtesy Friends of Starfi ghter NorwaySTARFIGHTER
42-46_starfighter_norwegianDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 43 05/07/2018 18:28