For West Germany, May 9, 1955, proved to be a day of great celebration and grave concern. Officially, West Germany was now the newest member of NATO¡ªand a critical defensive buffer between its allies in the west and the Soviet Bloc to the east¡ªbut in order to fulfill its obligations, it needed more than the outdated jet fighters on loan from the United States and Canada.
Airplane manufacturers from across the globe sent proposals, but after German officials witnessed the flight of an aircraft already in production¡ªthe sleek, yet durable, Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ F-104 Starfighter¡ªthey instantly knew they had found the ideal plane.
Beyond the Call of Duty
Initially Âé¶¹Ö±²¥¡¯s sole responsibility was to sell the design and assist West Germany in getting its F-104 program started, but when production overseas began running into delays, Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ stepped in to ensure a smoother production process.
It sent experts to help West German engineers more efficiently translate Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ plans, technical orders, and unfamiliar parts into actual fighters. Then Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ ensured more dependable production cycles by developing a program called SURE (Starfighter Utilization Reliability Effort), which sent aerodynamicists, pilots and service reps to troubleshoot issues as they arose.
Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ would then launch specialized training programs funded entirely by the company to familiarize inexperienced German pilots with their new planes, drastically reducing the number of in-flight accidents.?
The NATO Warplane
- Boyne, Walter.?Beyond the Horizons: The Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ Story.?New York: St. Martin¡¯s Griffin, 1999.
- Joseph, Gordon S. ¡°Airpower.¡±?Flying. Vol. 60, No. 1 (1957). 29-30, 78.
- Âé¶¹Ö±²¥ Interview Bank. Retrieved June 2012.

