In my day, "Lawndart" applied to the F-16. I believe two early airplanes dived at the dirt on short-final (due to flight control computer malfunction), and I believe both pilots died. I haven't heard of this happening since about 1984.

The F-104G, when introduced to Germany, had a bad spate of accidents. This did NOT happen to other air forces that flew it. The airplane got a bad rep, including being called the "Flying Coffin" in Germany, but the real reason was guys were transitioning to it from lightly wing-loaded airplanes like F-84Fs and F-86s...a different type of flying technique is required.

Lockheed was guilty of bribing many countries in NATO. It was an impressive airplane, but not the right jet for the job.

I saw Italian -104s one day at my base in Germany, and Turkish F-104s in Incirlik. (Both in the 1993 time-frame). Said I was going to try and get a ride in the Turkish two-seater, and my Squadron Commander said "If you do, I'll have you grounded and sent to the psychiatrist!"