USAF 4925 TG (A) Lockheed F-104 Starfighter

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The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was an American single-engine supersonic fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by the Lockheed Corporation for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into a versatile all-weather aircraft in the early 1960s.

After a series of interviews with Korean War fighter pilots in 1951, 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. On March 4, 1954, the Lockheed XF-104 took to the skies for the first time and on February 26, 1958 the fighter entered service with the USAF. Because of problems with the General Electric J79 engine and a mission requirement for fighters with longer ranges and heavier payloads capacities the F-104’s service with the USAF was short-lived. The F-104 did fly more than 5,000 combat sorties during the Vietnam War. In all, 2,578 F-104s were produced by Lockheed and under license by various foreign manufacturers.

The 4925th Test Group was a United States Air Force unit that was last assigned to the 4901st Support Wing (Atomic), at Kirtland Air Force Base, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Designated the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) on 1 July 1951, the unit was known as the “The Megaton Blasters”, and was responsible for the developmental flight testing of all USAF nuclear weapon delivery systems including conducting live test drops from 1951 through 1956. Following 1956 the 4925th focused on operational methods and equipment for delivering nuclear weapons. It was shut down on August 31, 1961 after it was inactivated by the Air Force Systems Command. The components of the 4925th’s mission were distributed among other units.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, FG-920, was attached to the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico for weapons suitability tests beginning in1956.

One F-104, 52955, crashed at the west end of runway 26 at Kirtland AFB.

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