F-104 Red Baron N104RB at Mojave AP (MHV), California June 1976

F-104G, construction number 2051, built from parts by Lockheed
Lockheed "Red Baron" was taken out of the 1st batch
was not test flown, not delivered to Germany and used by Lockheed as fatigue failure test aircraft and mock-up
reportedly used for the F-104RB by Lockheed test pilot Darryl Greenameyer in 1976. But this is not confirmed!
Darryl Greenameyer assembled a Starfighter from non-serviceable ex-military components.
F-104RB (Red Baron) he set a low-level world speed record over a 3 kilometer course at 1,590 km/h (988.26 mph) on October 24, 1977
Averaged from four passes, each at a height above ground level of less than a hundred meters.
Without landing or exceeding an altitude of 300 meters between passes.
On one set of passes the plane averaged just over 1000 mph, but due to a fault in the time measuring equipment this is not official.
The Red Baron crashed on February 26, 1978
crashed during practice for absolute altitude record,
He had to ditch it and "punch out" after a speed record run when the landing gear failed to fully extend.
"You can't belly-in an F-104" he said.

copyright © Peitzmeier archive

see N104RB in special scheme for the 25th
anniversary of JaboG 31 on April 30, 1983