Women’s world speed record in an F-104G Starfighter

On June 3, 1964, Jacqueline Cochran piloted an F-104G Starfighter at twice the speed of sound and established a women’s world speed record of 1,429 miles per hour. The flight demonstrated that she remained an elite pilot well into the jet age and continued to push the boundaries of what women aviators could accomplish.

The record was significant because it came after decades of achievement in racing, military ferrying, and supersonic flight. At a time when record-setting in aviation was increasingly tied to military jets and advanced aerodynamics, Cochran’s success showed that her career was not a relic of the barnstorming era but a sustained contribution to the modern history of flight. The flight also symbolized the endurance of a woman who had spent years confronting skepticism and exclusion in a male-dominated field.

By the mid-1960s, Cochran’s name had become synonymous with speed and altitude records. This world-speed record added to her legacy as the most record-laden pilot in aviation history and as a public figure whose career repeatedly widened the horizon for women in technical professions.