The Kaiser's men’s medals

[Chopperman]

IMO the F104 was one one of the best looking jets ever made but as we
all know, -- looks aren't everything.

[TabsTabs1964]

Thanks for following and for your comments Vince and Greg

Vince, regarding the German government and the future of the memorials to the Schutztruppe, I upload two images from the 1977 film "A bridge too far"

You will all remember when von Rundstedt takes command and is greeted with enthusiasm by the demolished German general staff....





His response as a wise and skeptical man is to say: give me time.... It's just a matter of time....

Greg, in a quick internet search for: "flying coffin". You will see that the F 104 it's not the only plane, but it is one of the search results (In fact the first and most repeated result is the MIG-21) Although we have to admit that its design was incredible....

It was a revolutionary airplane. It looked too futuristic for its time. It was certainly an elegant and fast marvel of engineering. His name went down in the history of military aviation. But its high accident rate won out for the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter his nicknames of “Widow maker” and “Flying Coffin” ... Of course the F 104 was a "Beauty.... deadly"

The F-104 aircraft was part of the Century Series, alongside the F-101, F-102, and F-105, to amplify the US Air Force requirement for strategic nuclear warfare. Tactical Air Command attempted to adapt to this strategic mindset by emphasizing interceptors and fighters capable of delivering nuclear weapons. However, this approach led to problem after problem (a common theme that emerged throughout this aircraft series) as the jet fighter class faced challenges in their intended missions....



The Century Series aircraft (clockwise from bottom): Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, North American F-100 Super Sabre, Convair F-102 Delta Dagger, McDonnell F-101 Voodoo, and Republic F-105 Thunderchief, circa 1950.

Regards, friends
Santi

By the way, many German children, today around 60 years old, remember the terrible sound that the F 104 made on low-level flights through the skies of the FRG.

[VtwinVince]

Interesting stuff about the 104 and the controversy, which I'm old enough to remember. My favourite fighter of that period was the Northrop CF5, as it was known here, or Freedom Fighter. And Santi, regarding von Rundstedt, say what you will about him, but he was no idiot, something which even AH recognised. Too bad there weren't more like him in the upper echelons of the Wehrmacht.