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

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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: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo. More ?

9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.