I am thinking of building my Revell 1/72 scale, of course, F-104. The instructions call for the wings to be white? Does anyone know why the wings were painted white in the first place? Just curious. Thanks in advance. Russell

I am assuming you mean with the NMF fuselage.

I suspect it was because of laminar flow wings, which have to be puttied on the panel lines and made perfectly smooth

that's just a guess though.

note that many sources say white upper wings and gray or unpainted lower wings...

edit: after some research, i'm not at all sure about that laminar wing thing.

Maybe it was so that the Air Force would be able to tell which side was up (white) and which side was down (grey). Just a little humor from and old Marine. I couldn't resist the opportunity.However, in the reference,"Photo Gallery and Profiles Vol. 1: F-104 Starfighter," all early variants (USA) of the 104 had the white wings. Also used in early Starfighters of all overseas operators. Later users switched from NMF to light grey fuselages, but kept the white wings. There is a photo on page 4 of this volume that shows a 104 in flight, color photo, taken fairly close, with a polished NMF and the white wings. It is a little difficult to see the wings, so all that really appears (especially at a distance) would be a flying silver needle. I would suspect that the color of the wings had something to do with an early camouflage theory. Here is the photo to which I am referring:

I think you can see that this would've been difficult to see and target quickly. Remember that this was an attempt to design and build a gunfighter (high speed), so any advantage in terms of difficulty in making visual contact with it would have been a premium. Just my opinion. the reference that I took this from is an excellent source. It has great color plates (drawings) by Vincenzo Auleta: ejection seats of the variants; and fine color profiles by Richard Caruana and Mihalis Solankis. Get it if you have a chance: it's beautiful. I hope some of this helped.

Matt

As I am writing this, it is a beautiful Saturday morning, warm and bright, and a B-17 just flew overhead. What a beautiful sound.

Hi Matt; thanks for the response. Your comment about the Air Force needing to know which way is up got a laugh from me, even though that is the service I am partial to. My dad was a Marine and saw action on Kwajalein, wounded on Saipan and turned 21 on Iwo Jima! He used to laugh at the ZOOMIES as he called them. He said the Air Force tries to hit things, just dosen't seem to make it onto target all the time so to speak! Ha ha! Anyway, he loved the Corsair even though he was a ground pounder. One of the first aircraft I ever learned was that Marines favorite bent wing bird! Once again thanks for the laugh and the info on the wings. Russell

I think the Japanese called it "Whistling Death" because of the sound it made. I was on Saipan in 1989 and saw all the sites of that tragic battle. One of the most beautiful sights I've seen, though was from the top of Mt. Topachau...a Pacific island Sunset. The Island was surrounded by towering cumulus in all shades of red and orange reflected from the setting sun. Here's a photo for your dad:

It's the Marine Corps Silent Drill Team near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The City fathers banned them from taking pictures in the rest of the city, though. Only in California. Anyway, I know that the Air Force will guarantee you that 100% of the bombs dropped from their bombers will hit the ground.

Take care,
Matt

Thanks Matt, my dad passed away almost six years ago, and I have the flag that was draped on his casket. I treasure my memories of him, he was a good man. He told me once that everything after Iwo was gravy! How about that.

My sister lives in San Francisco so I know about the prohibition against the Marines, unbelievable. Our country is falling apart I'm afraid and the sacrafices that people like my dad made, and those that gave the ultimate sacrafice may be for nought. I just don't know. Well this isn't a political forum so I better stop ranting! Ha ha.

Thanks again for the photo. Russell.

Also Matt, that crack about the bombs hitting the ground dropped by the Air Force, hilarious! Russell

Hi guys. The F-104 wings were originally painted white for a very good technical reason. Because the aircraft could fly at unprecendented speed for a service aircraft there was serios concern that heat build up could cause problems with the airframe. Once a predermined temperature was reached the aircraft would automatically be throttled back. Unfortunately early 104's were based at George where it gets really hot and on occasion because of the heat build up aircraft would lose power at a critical time in takeoff with disastrous results for the pilot because the ejector seat went out downwards on early models. Painting the wings white was a temporary solution to the problem but when that problem was solved nobody changed the painting rules. Working from memory but the above is essentially correct. Cheers, KeithB

Good post. Interesting to hear about the early 'fixes' to aeronautical problems. Thanks,

Matt