Lockheed F-104 Starfighter Supersonic Interceptor No. F 756. Dubbed "The missile wih a man in it" it made its maiden flight 7th February 1954. This aircraft was filmed by OFF TRACK PLACES in early 2020. Below is a link to this marvellous museums web address: http://www.midlandairmuseum.co.uk/ The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine Interceptor which became widely used as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. The F-104 set numerous world records, including both airspeed and altitude records. Starfighters squadrons made two deployments to vietnam, the first F-104 deployment from April to December 1965, Starfighters flew a total of 2,937 combat sorties. These sorties resulted in the loss of five aircraft, one from the 476th TFS deployed from April to July 1965, and four from the 436th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed from July to October 1965. Two Starfighters were shot down by ground fire, one was shot down by a Shenyang J-6 when Capt. Philip E. Smith strayed into Chinese airspace, and two were lost to a mid-air collision while searching for Smith's missing jet. No losses were reported from the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron's first deployment from October to December 1965. Starfighters returned to Vietnam when the 435th Tactical Fighter Squadron re-deployed from June 1966 until August 1967. During this time F-104s flew a further 2,269 combat sorties, for a total of 5,206. F-104s operating in Vietnam were upgraded in service with AN/APR-25/26 radar warning receiver equipment, with one example on display in the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. During the second deployment, an additional nine aircraft were lost for a total of 14 F-104s lost to all causes in Vietnam. In July 1967, the Starfighter units transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II