Watch Great Planes - Season 1 Episode 10 : F-104 Starfighter full episode online in HD qualities

Season - Episode

2 Season 2 Jul 10, 2009

2 - 1

F100 Super Sabre Jul 10, 2009
2 - 2

F4 Phantom Jul 17, 2009
2 - 3

SR71 Blackbird Jul 24, 2009
2 - 4

A7 Corsair Jul 31, 2009
2 - 5

A26 Invader Aug 07, 2009
2 - 6

P39 Aircobra Aug 14, 2009
2 - 7

Chinook Aug 28, 2009
2 - 8

Bell UH-1 Huey Aug 28, 2009
2 - 9

B52 Stratofortress Oct 29, 2009

1 Season 1 Oct 29, 2008

1 - 1

Douglas Skyraider Oct 29, 2008
1 - 2

P-40 Warhawk Nov 05, 2008
1 - 3

P51 Mustang Nov 12, 2008
1 - 4

North American B-25 Mitchell Nov 19, 2008
1 - 5

F-15 Eagle Nov 26, 2008
1 - 6

F-16 Fighting Falcon Jan 04, 2009
1 - 7

F/A 18 Hornet Jan 21, 2009
1 - 8

PBY Catalina Jan 29, 2009
1 - 9

Republic F84 Feb 05, 2009
1 - 10

F-104 Starfighter Feb 19, 2009

Overview

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.

Year 2009

Studio Discovery, Military Channel

Director

Crew David Haycox (Director), John Kavanaugh (Director), Len Miller (Music)

Popularity 0.6275

Language English