Chuck Yeager with the Bell X-1, First Flight Beyond Speed of Sound Photo

On 14 October 1947, Captain Charles E. 'Chuck' Yeager became the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound. The youthful Air Force test pilot streaked above Rogers Dry Lake at Muroc Army Air Field (now Edwards AFB, CA), flying at a speed of Mach 1.06 (700 mph), making the first sonic boom ever heard. Facing unknown forces, the Bell X-1 rocket research plane was stressed for 18g airloads, making it probably the strongest airframe in the world at that time.

"Glamorous Glennis", the Bell X-1, can be seen today at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washinton, DC.

Today in WW II: 17 Sep 1939 Soviet troops invade Poland from the east. More ↓

17 Sep 1944 Thousands of Allied planes begin airborne assault on Holland, Operation Market Garden.
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