A Starfighter returns to Italian skies

For months the news was circulating that a special guest was invited to join the 100th Anniversary of the Aeronautica Militare (AMI, Italian Air Force). This memorable fact will be celebrated with an airshow at Pratica di Mare Air Base on 17 and 18 June 2023.

Guest of honour, Lockheed TF-104G-M Starfighter N991SF (c/n 583H-5209) ‘Black Beauty’ arrived at Grosseto Air Base on 3 June 2023. It was the homebase of the 20° Gruppo (Squadron), the Italian F-104 OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) that flew this, once Italian, Starfighter Trainer.

The two-seater is one from a fleet of these planes owned by Starfighter Aerospace based at the Kennedy Space Center. As one can imagine the One-O-Four did not fly from Cape Canaveral (FL) under its own power but comfortably crossed the Atlantic inside the belly of an AMI C-130J Hercules.

N991F has an Italian background as it was flown by the Aeronautica Militare as MM54258 (code 4-40) for many years. It was sold to the USA in January 2012. The final Italian F-104 was witdrawn from service in 2004.

After the arrival of N991F at the base, the engineers immediately started to prepare the Starfighter for test flying. And on 12 June 2023 the magic happened: for the first time in almost twenty years the characteristic howl of a Starfighter in takeoff was heard in Grosseto. It is cleared for the Aeronautica Militare Centennial Airshow at Pratica di Mare!

Photo: Aeronautica Militare