I don’t think that the engine was the only factor in its gaining that name,
Chris. Although it was designed as a high-speed interceptor, the Germans and
Italians (and perhaps other nations) used it for ground attack, nuclear strike
in the case of the the latter, with the F104S (I think). But the machine had
tiny wings, as you have pointed out, and wasn’t great on the recovery from dive
attacks; so if you pulled too hard or were slow, I understand that the
anti-stall measures would ensure that you didn’t pull out of the dive. We in
the RAF heard that there were several aircraft that hit the ground 12 o’clock
from the centre of the dive target.
Chris
> On 31 May 15, at 18:53, Chris Trask <christrask@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> ChrisB just brought up the F-104 "Widow Maker", which also had the
> variable inlet half-cones. The West Germans used those out here at Luke AFB
> when I moved here in 1979. They called it the "Widow Maker" as the engine
> would go into a compressor stall at high angles of attack on final approach.
> It would spin on it's axis due to the short wings, and if you tried to bail
> out you had a 50% chance of becoming a spelunker.
>
> It would be interesting to know how the F-16 inlet overcomes the
> high-speed low intake pressure.
--
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