Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and produced by several other nations, seeing widespread service outside the …

1 day ago · This airplane, one of the original seventeen pre-production YF-104As, incorporated many improvements over the XF-104 prototype, the most visible being a longer fuselage. Once the configuration was finalized, 55-2956 was the first YF-104A converted to …

A Lockheed YF-104A, AF ser. no. 55-2961, NASA aircraft number 818. First NASA flight on 27 August 1956, last operational flight on 26 August 1975 – 1,439 flights over this period. 17 pre-production aircraft used for engine, equipment, and flight testing. Most were later converted to F-104A standard. [citation needed]

Feb 17, 2023 · On 28 February 1956, YF-104A 55-2955 became the first aircraft to reach Mach 2 in level flight. The YF-104A was later converted to the production standard and redesignated F-104A. Lockheed test pilots Anthony W. (“Tony”) LeVier, on the left, and Herman R. (“Fish”) Salmon, circa 1957.

On May 16, 1958, Captain Walter W. Irwin flying a YF-104A set a new world's air speed record of 1404.19 mph flying over a 15/25 kilometer course at Edwards AFB. For the first time in history, the same aircraft type held both the world speed and altitude records at the same time.

Feb 17, 2021 · The Lockheed YF-104A made its first flight, piloted by Tony LeVier. This was a service test F-104 redesign with a new GE79 axial-flow engine, lengthened fuselage, relocated vertical stabilizer, a ventral stabilizing fin, and redesigned air intake ducts.

Known as "the missile with a man in it," the stubby-winged Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was the first U.S. jet fighter in service to fly Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. Designed as a high-performance day fighter, the F-104 had excellent acceleration and top speed. It …

Feb 17, 2025 · On 28 February 1956, YF-104A 55-2955 became the first aircraft to reach Mach 2 in level flight. The YF-104A was later converted to the production standard and redesignated F-104A. Lockheed XF-104 53-7786.

The F-104A (company designation Model 183-92-02) was the initial production version of the Starfighter. In a contract approved on March 2, 1956, the USAF ordered 146 production F-104As. This brought the total F-104A procurement to 170 aircraft, including the service test YF-104As.

YF-104A 55-2956 hiding its technical secret during the first press-photos. Large cones have been added over the inlets and gives the aircraft a very strange look. Photo was taken in April 1956. Here the aircraft with fake cones towed out of the big Lockheed hangar on 17 April 1956.