45044a HARVEY ALUMINUM SHORT TEMPORARY RUNWAY TESTS EL TORO, CALIFORNIA F-104 STARFIGHTER “AIRSTRIKE FROM ANYWHERE”

Airstrike From Anywhere is a short film about the new portable, temporary airstrip capabilities of the U.S. Navy. The film opens with a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter taxing for take-off. The F-104 flies through the air. The film shows the plane’s tail hook. The F-104 lands (00:51) on a temporary runway constructed of interlocking mats manufactured by Harvey Aluminum, Inc. At the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, CA (01:26), F-104s are tested on the short 2,000-foot runway. An aerial view shows the construction of the runway at the test site (02:00). Mats for the runway are laid in a brick-like pattern (02:40). Men adapt an F-104, giving it a tail hook. The F-104 flies through several touch-and-go passes on the newly built runway, then lands (03:50). Men film the test landings (04:08) with high speed cameras. A closeup view of the mats show the minimal damage caused by the landing of an aircraft even heavier than the F-104 (04:45). Men lay the mats down on a muddy surface. The film concludes with more footage of an F-104 landing on the portable airstrip.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft which later became widely used as an attack aircraft. It was originally developed by Lockheed for the United States Air Force (USAF), but was later produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States. One of the Century Series of fighter aircraft, it was operated by the air forces of more than a dozen nations from 1958 to 2004. Its design team was led by Kelly Johnson, who contributed to the development of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, Lockheed U-2, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, and other Lockheed aircraft.

The F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. Its success was marred by the Lockheed bribery scandals, in which Lockheed had given bribes to a considerable number of political and military figures in various nations to influence their judgment and secure several purchase contracts; this caused considerable political controversy in Europe and Japan. The poor safety record of the Starfighter also brought the aircraft into the public eye, especially in German Air Force service. Fighter ace Erich Hartmann was forced to retire from the Luftwaffe due to his outspoken opposition to selection of the F-104.

The final production version of the fighter model was the F-104S, an all-weather interceptor designed by Aeritalia for the Italian Air Force, and equipped with radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles. An advanced F-104 with a high-mounted wing, known as the CL-1200 Lancer, was considered, but did not proceed past the mock-up stage.

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