Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter was a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor prototype for a United States Air Force (USAF) series of lightweight and simple fighters. Only two aircraft were built; one aircraft was used primarily for aerodynamic research and the other served as an armament testbed, both aircraft being destroyed in accidents during testing. The XF-104s were forerunners of over 2,500 production Lockheed F-104 Starfighters.
Lockheed XF-104 Starfighter
An original Johnson sketch
Wooden mock-up
Tony LeVier poses on an XF-104. Note the wingtip tanks
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the United States.
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
The first of the two XF-104 Starfighter prototypes
Lockheed F-104A
Detail of F-104G's GE J79 turbojet exhaust (red coloring added by Technik Museum Sinsheim, Germany)