Episodes

10 episodes in this season

Douglas Skyraider

P-40 Warhawk

P51 Mustang

North American B-25 Mitchell

F-15 Eagle

F-16 Fighting Falcon

F/A 18 Hornet

PBY Catalina

Republic F84

E10

Now Playing

F-104 Starfighter

Great Planes

TV Series

2008

Documentary

Now playing

F-104 Starfighter

Season 1 · Episode 10 · Feb 19, 2009

Lockheed's F-104 Starfighter first appeared in the mid-50s. Its appearance is beguiling. It looks like an unusually long, shiny silver bullet to which someone has attached two small stubby wings and a delicate empennage. It looks fast -- and it was. It was intended to be a replacement for the fleet of aging F-86s and F-84s and in fact it was an improvement in many respects over the older airplanes, especially in speed. It was a relatively unsophisticated lightweight airplane and the USAF wasn't very enthusiastic about it. It had little range, its stubby wings couldn't carry any ordinance, and it lacked the radar that would have made it operable in poor weather. But NATO too was looking for a standard interceptor for Europe, an environment for which the Starfighter wasn't well suited.

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Great Planes

TV Series

2008

Documentary

Now playing

F-104 Starfighter

Season 1 · Episode 10 · Feb 19, 2009

More details