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The F-104 Starfighter was a revolutionary design with short razor-sharp wings. It was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. The Starfighter shattered speed and rate of climb records that still are impressive today. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname “The Missile With A Man In It”. Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004.

Lockheed was going to show off their F-104 at the Paris Air Show in 1963 so as a promotion they set up a speed record demonstration. On June 6, 1963 F-104 9028 piloted by SABCA-Fairey chief test pilot Bernard Neefs flew the aircraft 260.6 km (128.3 miles) in 9 minutes and 55 seconds at an average speed of 1,576.4 km/h (979.55 mph). The aircraft had the flags of all 104 user countries displayed on both sides of its fuselage. This F-104 would later join the Belgium AF as FX-11.

Info: F-104G Starfighter "World Speed Record Holder" c/n 9028, Belgium Air Force, June 6, 1963