Vikings

History

The West German Navy demonstration duo, the "Vikings", were officially formed in 1983. Four years earlier, a previous Navy F-104 aerobatic duo had been formed with no name but, after a crash during a non-aerobatic flight, that team had been disbanded.
The "Vikings" performed their first public display on 14 August at Eggebeck Airshow with two F-104 Starfighter aircraft painted in the standard German Navy camouflage paint scheme - grey and light grey. The pilots were the same ones who had flown in the 1979 team. Both the pilots and planes were drawn from the Marinefliegergeschwader 2 (MFG 2 - Marine Flight Squadron), based in Eggebeck. Originally the team's display lasted just 8 minutes in duration, but this was later increased to a 12 minute display.
The following year, the Navy HQ formed a second F-104 duo also carrying the "Viking" name so that displays could be performed in two places at the same time.
A highlight of the team's history was a North American tour in August 1986, when they performed in both the USA and Canada.
After the "Vikings" returning from their North American tour, the team aircraft were given a special white, blue and red color scheme, but after just five demonstrations with this new paint scheme, they performed for the last time on 27 September 1986 due to the retirement of the F-104 from West German Navy service.