F-104 Starfighter
Known as "the missile with a man in it," or "the Widowmaker," the stubby-winged Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was the first US jet fighter in service to fly Mach 2. Designed as a high-performance day fighter, the F-104 had excellent acceleration and top speed. It first flew on 4 March 1954.
While built for the US Air Force, most Starfighters were flown by other countries, particularly Canada, Italy, Germany, and Japan. In-service attrition rates amongst some of the foreign fleets were high. Of the 2,578 built, only 741 were constructed by the original manufacturer, Lockheed, the rest by Canadian, European and Japanese companies under license.
NASA flew this F-104A for 19 years as a flying test-bed and a chase plane. It was used to test the reaction controls later used on the North American X-15. This was the seventh F-104 built and was transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington DC., after its last flight, to Andrews AFB, MD., on 26 August 1975.
This image was taken in 2012. According to the museum website the aircraft is not currently on display.
F-104 Starfighter
Known as "the missile with a man in it," or "the Widowmaker," the stubby-winged Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was the first US jet fighter in service to fly Mach 2. Designed as a high-performance day fighter, the F-104 had excellent acceleration and top speed. It first flew on 4 March 1954.
While built for the US Air Force, most Starfighters were flown by other countries, particularly Canada, Italy, Germany, and Japan. In-service attrition rates amongst some of the foreign fleets were high. Of the 2,578 built, only 741 were constructed by the original manufacturer, Lockheed, the rest by Canadian, European and Japanese companies under license.
NASA flew this F-104A for 19 years as a flying test-bed and a chase plane. It was used to test the reaction controls later used on the North American X-15. This was the seventh F-104 built and was transferred to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall in Washington DC., after its last flight, to Andrews AFB, MD., on 26 August 1975.
This image was taken in 2012. According to the museum website the aircraft is not currently on display.