Hobby Master HA1050 1:72 Lockheed TF-104G Starfighter USAF, 58th TTW, 418th TFTS, Luke AFB, 1976.

The extreme shape of the Starfighter earned it the first nickname of "The Missile With a Man in it" and some USAF pilots also called it “Zipper” or “Zipper 104” because of it’s tremendous speed. After it proved to be challenging to fly, with high fatal accident rates, particularly in German service the plane was given many more nicknames because of its high speed and ability to occassionally fly itself into the ground. In Germany they referred to it as Witwenmacher ("widowmaker"), fliegender Sarg ("flying coffin") or Erdnagel ("ground nail", the official military term for a tent peg). Others were, Pakistan Badmash “Hooligan”, Italy because of it’s spiked nose Spillone “Hatpin” and bara volante “Flying Coffin”, Canada “Lawn Dart”. Primarily powered by a single 15 800 lb thrust General Electric J79-GE11A turbojet engine, equipped with afterburner, it was capable of high speeds (just under 1300 mph) and high rates of climb. On December 14, 1959, an F-104C set a world altitude record of 103,395 ft (31.5 km). The Starfighter was the first aircraft to hold simultaneous official world records for speed, altitude, and time-to-climb.

From 1964 until 1983 the West German Air Force trained their F-104 pilots at Luke AFB
in Arizona. Originally the USAF 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing was assigned the
task before being re-designated the 58th TTW. The German pilots trained using German F-104s with U.S. serials and markings. The 418th TFTS operated as part of the 58th TTW from October 1969 until 15 August 1976 when it was disbanded. Early in 1976 one F-104 was given a special paint scheme to commemorate the USA Bicentennial.