Lockheed F104 Starfighter Cold War Jet

The Lockheed F104 Starfighter is an American-built, single seat, single engine supersonic jet fighter that first flew just 9 years after the end of the Second World War, in 1954. The aircraft entered service in 1958 and over the years over 2,500 Starfighters would be built and operated by several militaries throughout the world.

Following feedback from Korean War veterans with regards to aircraft size and the ever increasing complexities of contemporary aircraft, the aircraft’s designer aimed to create a simpler, smaller aircraft that had an excellent climb performance and could operate at high altitudes.

The Starfighter only remained in service with the US Air Force until 1969, however the Italian Air Force continued to operate the type until as late as 2004. The West Germans selected the Starfighter as their primary fighter and the type would soon be flying under the Dutch, Belgian and Japanese flags.

The Starfighter had a very short anhedral wing which, while offering the pilot several advantages relating to speed and manoeuvrability, it did make the aircraft quite difficult to control at slow speeds and it had a rather high landing speed. The Germans are reported to have lost almost 300 out of their 916 Starfighters, leading to the aircraft being nicknamed the Witwenmacher or Widow Maker.
The Starfighter famously held the world speed and altitude records in 1958 and could reach speeds of Mach 2 and an altitude of 100,000 feet.
The Starfighter was involved in the 1961 Berlin Crisis however, owing to the aircraft’s short range, they had to be airlifted over to Europe.