How many air-to-air kills did the USAF's F-104 achieve in Vietnam?

The Starfighter saw action in the Vietnam War in 1965, seven years after the F-104C entered service in 1958 with the USAF's Tactical Air Command as a multirole fighter and fighter-bomber. On April 19, 1965, the 476th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 479th TFW arrived at Da Nang Air Base to help protect American F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bombers against MiG-17s and, above all, against the MiG-21s that the Vietnamese air force was starting to operate. The F-104 was also used extensively as a barrier combat air patrol (BARCAP) escort for the EC-121D Warning Star early-warning aircraft patrolling off the North Vietnamese coast.

The F-104s were barely involved in aerial combat and recorded no air-to-air kills during the conflict. The North Vietnamese were well aware of the F-104's performance, and pilots of the 479th TFW had the impression that the MiGs deliberately avoided engaging them. The F-104s deterred MiG interceptors and performed well as close support aircraft.

From the first F-104 deployment in April 1965 through December, the Starfighters flew 2,937 combat sorties. Five aircraft were lost: one from the 476th TFS, deployed from April to July 1965, and four from the 436th Tactical Fighter Squadron, deployed from July to October 1965. Afterward, the F-104s flew another 2,269 combat sorties, bringing the war total to 5,206.