MAVERICK’S BACK YARDHidden behind a company shed, these two fighter jets are slowly rusting aw

MAVERICK’S BACK YARDHidden behind a company shed, these two fighter jets are slowly rusting away. It concerns two Lockheeds F-104G Starfighters, one of the series FX-100 and one of the series FX-76. The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter was one of the most famous supersonic single-engine American fighter aircraft of the 20th century. The aircraft was mainly used as a fighter-bomber, but there were also versions that were adapted for a fighter role. The Starfighter was NATO’s standard fighter-bomber from 1961 to 1985 after which it was replaced, mostly by the F-16. The aircraft has also served in the Belgian Air Force for many years. The F-104 had the dubious honor of setting the worst safety record. The bribery scandals that came to light later – in which the Dutch Prince Bernhard was involved – did not do justice to the name and fame of the device. It was therefore coined with a number of imaginative nicknames, such as ‘manned rocket’, 'flying coffin’, 'Witwenmacher’, 'widowmaker’, and 'Erdnagel’ (tent peg), nicknames that reflect the high accident rate. Only 14 of the aircraft have survived in Belgium, most of them in government possession and kept on military grounds. These two devices are privately owned. It was the intention of the owner to restore them in the company behind which they are stored, but so far nothing has come of this. One of them, however, stood for years completely intact in a private garden. Hopefully these beautiful devices will still get the restoration they deserve.  -- source link
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