The Starfighter was originally designed for the US Air Force as a pure high speed fighter interceptor. First flight was on 4th march 1954 at Edwards AFB. By that time most European NATO Countries were looking for a new standard fighter/fighterbomber to form the backbone of their Air Forces. Early designs of the Lockheed model could not really satisfy the European requirements, which resulted in the modified F-104G version. The "G" was concepted as low-level capable, high-speed fighterbomber with in- and egress speeds of up to MACH 2.5. In 1958 Germany chose the Starfighter to replace the already outdated F-84 and F-86 versions in use by then. For political reasons the Marineflieger had to join this decision, though their demands were quite different. The German Navy was looking for a two-seat, twin-engined aircraft to replace the old Seahawks, with the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer being their favorite aircraft.