The Century Fighters
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 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
Starfighter 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 Starfighter was extremely
fast and won a series of speed and height
records.
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