With hindsight, it appears as though the F-104 was simply not that great of a plane for what the Americans and their allies needed at that time. It should be noted, however, that Chuck Yeager ...

The F-104’s safety record was, frankly, atrocious. Lightweight. Simple. Fast. The F-104 Starfighter was designed, in a time of increasing aircraft complexity and size, to be a straightforward ...