The F-104 was one of the most successful and prolific jet fighters of the late 1950s and early 1960s- and one of the most beautiful. It was the first production Mach 2 aircraft, and it rewrote the performance books for speed, altitude, and time-to-climb-in fact, aircraft enthusiasts called it “The missile with a man in it.� After its initial flight in 1954, more than 2500 F-104s were produced, making it one of the largest military aircraft programs ever. Starfighters were eventually produced under license in Canada, Japan, and several European countries. In fact, Italy is still flying updated F-104s in 2003.