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What consequence did the crash of four German F-104Fs in 1962 have?

Short answer

On 19 June 1962 four Lockheed F-104Fs crashed, killing all four pilots. The Luftwaffe disbanded its two aerobatic display teams and permanently banned formation aerobatics, and it has not created its own aerobatic team since.

What consequence did the crash of four German F-104Fs in 1962 have?
F-104 right side view

Four aircraft lost in a demonstration flight

On 19 June 1962 four Lockheed F-104Fs crashed during a demonstration exercise in the Eifel mountains near Bonn, killing the pilots of all four aircraft. The aircraft involved carried the serial numbers BB+365, BB+370, BB+385 and BB+387. Flying in the formation were American captain Jon Speer, as leader, along with three German instructors: Wolfgang von Stürmer, Bernd Kuebart and Heinz Frye.

The maneuver over the cloud

Speer decided to execute a 180-degree turn cutting through a small cumulus cloud, with the formation flying in a steeply banked diamond. During that 180° turn inside the cloud he suffered spatial disorientation. He banked the aircraft to such an extent that none of the four aircraft found any chance of recovery. Two of the four Starfighters touched each other with their short 2.50-meter wings; these gave way and dragged the other two aircraft down with them. All four aircraft emerged from the cloud falling vertically toward the ground.

The end of formation aerobatics

The two aerobatic display teams that existed at the time were disbanded and formation aerobatics was permanently banned. Since that accident, the service has not formed its own aerobatic display team again. Today that accident remains the reason the Luftwaffe does not practice formation aerobatics.

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