- Yes
- No
Rimini Miramare June 1993.
Perhaps it was 1993, or maybe ’92, when some specialists from the 23rd Squadron of the 5th Wing CIO, then based at Rimini Miramare, took an F-104S and changed its color scheme.
Of course, there were reasons behind that repainting. The first was that the aircraft was the 100th Starfighter upgraded to the new technical standards under which it would be designated the F-104S ASA. The second was that Lieutenant Colonel P. Poggi had reached 2,000 flight hours on the F-104.
However, the “Spillone” was repainted without the knowledge of the Commander of the 5th Wing who, when he discovered the not exactly regulation-compliant “cover,” threw the full weight of his rank behind his words and dryly declared: “All right, nice job — but by tomorrow everything must be back the way it was!”
That recoloring effort would last only a single day, but it was crowned by a flight that would remain unique in the very long history of the Starfighter.
When the technicians prepared to strip the paint from the Starfighter, they encountered great difficulty with the red paint, which—unknown to them—was acrylic. Unlike the other colors, which were simple wall paints, it could not be removed with water alone, and they had to resort to specific paint removers.
Well! The work lasted the entire night of that fantastic day, which remains the only one belonging to a very, very special Starfighter.
Sources
23º Gruppo - Wikipedia
Stefano Majerna-Sezione F-104 Special Colours
Re per un giorno
Italian Special Colours 1994