ART PRINT: F-104 Starfighter - Print by Shepherd

Description

F-104C Starfighter
The F-104 was the quinessential high speed interceptor. Conceived in the early 1950s when the dark shadow of the immense Soviet Nuclear Bomber fleet hung over the consciousness of the free world, the Starfighter was designed to get airborne quickly, to zip to the intercept point immediately if not sooner (with a maximum speed of 1,450 MPH), then to dispatch with great prejudice any bomber attempting to penetrate the skies over the North American continent. It did its job well, as those bombers thankfully never did cross its path in anger. Dubbed "The missile with a man in it," the Lockheed F-104 had a long sleek fuselage and short razor thin wings. It was designed for speed and not manuevreablity. It was also a tricky platform to fly, with a large attrition rate from accidents due to its edge-of-the-envelope flight characteristics. Yet it was affordable, and efficient, as witnessed by the fact that dozens of countries bought export versions of the fighter as their main aerial defender - countries such as Canada, Turkey, Pakistan, Taiwan, Japan, Germany, Italy... some continued to operate the Starfighter into the new millenium.
This picture depicts a brace of F-104C's of the 476th TFS, 479th TFW, based at George AFB, Victorville CA circa 1960. This squadron was deployed to Germany during the Berlin Crisis of 1960 and rotated with the other squadrons in the Wing on operational deployment in Spain and Germany during the next few years.
Print size 12" x 16",  Unmatted, paper size 13" x 19"
(Also available pre-matted to fit 16" x 20" frames- see below to order matting separately)
Offered are limited edition prints from a 200-print run created and
signed
by the artist himself (feel free to email the artist as to which is the lowest number in the series available). The image is in brilliant color on highest quality photographic paper which produces the sharpest and brightest image possible, with guaranteed print life equivalent to litho prints. This un-matted print is sealed for transport in a self-sealing archival plastic envelope and shipped in a shipping tube for the safest shipping possible
(Note that the text  in the image above is for Web display purposes only - there is no text other than the artist copyright and signature on the Print!)
Enhance your print purchase by adding Double matting to the order. These mattes make these prints easily frameable in standard 16" x 20" frames. Follow this link or click the image below to add matting to your order through Ebay:
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