Hobby Master 1/72 HA1049 F-104G Starfighter 26+69, MFG 2, Marineflieger, 1985

The F-104 Starfighter was a revolutionary design with short razor-sharp wings. It was the first aircraft to be able to maintain Mach 2 not just in short bursts. The Starfighter shattered speed and rate of climb records that still are impressive today. This extremely high speed earned the plane the nickname “The Missile With A Man In It”. Because of financial considerations 15 or more countries purchased the F-104. The Starfighter flew with the USAF in 1958 and the last airplane was decommissioned in Italy in 2004

There were 1,127 F-104Gs manufactured with Germany receiving 749 F/RF-104Gs, 137 TF-104Gs and 30 F-104Fs totaling 916 aircraft. About 151 F-104Gs were assigned to the Marineflieger’s two naval attack squadrons, Marinefliegergeschwader MFG 1 and 2 for maritime strike and reconnaissance roles. The F-104 was a replacement for the older Hawker Sea Hawk. Both squadrons were based at Naval Air Station Eggebeck. Deliveries of the F-104 took place from 1960 until 1973. F-104G 26+69 was manufactured as 7415 and at the end of its German service it went to Greece.