CHUCK YEAGER
Name: Charles Yeager
Born: 13 February 1923 Lincoln County, West Virginia
Nickname Chuck
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13, 1923) is a retired Brigadier
General in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot. In 1947, he
became the first pilot (at age 24) to travel faster than sound in level flight
and ascent.
His career began in World War II as a private in the U.S. Army Air Force. After
serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September, 1942 he entered enlisted pilot
training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of Flight Officer (WW 2 U.S.
Army Air Force rank equivalent to Warrant Officer) and became a P-51 fighter
pilot. After the war he became a test pilot of many kinds of aircraft and rocket
planes. Although Scott Crossfield was the first man to fly faster than Mach 2 in
1953, Yeager shortly thereafter exceeded Mach 2.4. He later commanded fighter
squadrons and wings in Germany and in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and
in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he then was
promoted to Brigadier General. Yeager's flying career spans more than sixty
years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, even into the Soviet Union
during the height of the Cold War.
Name: Charles Yeager
Born: 13 February 1923 Lincoln County, West Virginia
Nickname Chuck
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager (born February 13, 1923) is a retired Brigadier
General in the United States Air Force and a noted test pilot. In 1947, he
became the first pilot (at age 24) to travel faster than sound in level flight
and ascent.
His career began in World War II as a private in the U.S. Army Air Force. After
serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September, 1942 he entered enlisted pilot
training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of Flight Officer (WW 2 U.S.
Army Air Force rank equivalent to Warrant Officer) and became a P-51 fighter
pilot. After the war he became a test pilot of many kinds of aircraft and rocket
planes. Although Scott Crossfield was the first man to fly faster than Mach 2 in
1953, Yeager shortly thereafter exceeded Mach 2.4. He later commanded fighter
squadrons and wings in Germany and in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, and
in recognition of the outstanding performance ratings of those units he then was
promoted to Brigadier General. Yeager's flying career spans more than sixty
years and has taken him to every corner of the globe, even into the Soviet Union
during the height of the Cold War.