The Lockheed F-104 Star fighter was born one of
the "Century" series fighters during the period
following WW2 when the US aviation industry
was making huge technological
leaps.
Developed in some secrecy the public were
unaware of the type for some 2 years after the
prototype first flew , the Star fighter was a
product of Lockheed's legendary "Skunk Works"
design group, lead by "Kelly" Johnson.
From the outset, the emphasis was on speed.
The result was a lightweight, pencil slim fuselage
with tiny, very thin wings. Dubbed by the media
as "the missile with a man in it", the Star fighter
was extremely fast and won a series of speed
and height records.
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