Chuck Yeager | |
|---|---|
 Brigadier General Chuck Yeager | |
| Birth name | Charles Elwood Yeager |
| Born | (1923-02-13)February 13, 1923 Myra, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | December 7, 2020(2020-12-07) (aged 97) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch | |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank |  Brigadier general |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Relations | Steve Yeager (cousin) |
| Other work | |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
Brigadier GeneralCharles Elwood Yeager (/ˈjeɪɡər/YAY-gər, February 13, 1923 – December 7, 2020) was aUnited States Air Force officer,flying ace, and record-settingtest pilot who in October 1947 became the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded thespeed of sound in level flight.
Yeager was raised inHamlin, West Virginia. His career began inWorld War II as aprivate in theUnited States Army, assigned to theArmy Air Forces in 1941.[a] After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942, he enteredenlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank offlight officer (the World War II Army Air Force version of the Army'swarrant officer), later achieving most of his aerial victories as aP-51 Mustangfighter pilot on theWestern Front, where he was credited with shooting down 11.5 enemy aircraft. The half credit is from a second pilot assisting him in a single shootdown. On October 12, 1944, he attained "ace in a day" status, shooting down five enemy aircraft in one mission.
After the war, Yeager became a test pilot and flew many types of aircraft, including experimental rocket-powered aircraft for theNational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Through the NACA program, he became the first human to officially break thesound barrier on October 14, 1947, when he flew the experimentalBell X-1 atMach 1.05 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m), for which he won both theCollier andMackay trophies in 1948. He broke several other speed and altitude records in the following years. In 1962, he became the first commandant of theUSAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, which trained and producedastronauts forNASA and the Air Force.
Yeager later commanded fighter squadrons and wings in Germany, as well as in Southeast Asia during theVietnam War. In recognition of his achievements and the outstanding performance ratings of those units, he was promoted tobrigadier general in 1969 and inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame in 1973, retiring on March 1, 1975, for its colloquial similarity to "Mach 1". His three-war active-duty flying career spanned more than 30 years and took him to many parts of the world, including theKorean War zone and theSoviet Union during the height of theCold War.
Yeager is referred to by many as one of the greatest pilots of all time, and was ranked fifth onFlying's list of the 51 Heroes of Aviation in 2013. He flew more than 360 different types of aircraft over a 70-year period, and continued to fly for two decades after retirement as a consultant pilot for the United States Air Force. In 2020 at the age of 97, Yeager died in a Los Angeles-area hospital.
Yeager was born February 13, 1923, inMyra, West Virginia,[2] to farming parents Albert Hal Yeager (1896–1963) and Susie Mae Yeager (née Sizemore; 1898–1987).[3] When he was five years old, his family moved toHamlin, West Virginia. Yeager had two brothers, Roy and Hal Jr., and two sisters, Doris Ann (accidentally killed at age two by four-year-old Roy playing with a firearm)[4][5][6] and Pansy Lee.
He attended Hamlin High School, where he playedbasketball andfootball, receiving his best grades ingeometry andtyping. He graduated from high school in June 1941.[7]
His first experience with the military was as a teen at theCitizens Military Training Camp atFort Benjamin Harrison,Indianapolis, Indiana, during the summers of 1939 and 1940. On February 26, 1945, Yeager married Glennis Dickhouse. The couple had four children. Glennis Yeager died in 1990, predeceasing her husband by 30 years.[8]
His cousin,Steve Yeager, was aprofessional baseballcatcher.[9][b]
On September 12, 1941, Yeager enlisted as a private in theU.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), and became an aircraft mechanic atGeorge Air Force Base,Victorville, California. At enlistment, Yeager was not eligible for flight training because of his age and educational background, but the entry of the U.S. into World War II less than three months later prompted the USAAF to alter its recruiting standards. Yeager had unusually sharp vision, avisual acuity rated 20/10, which once enabled him to shoot a deer at 600 yd (550 m).[11]
At the time of his flight training acceptance, he was a crew chief on anAT-11.[12] He received hispilot wings and a promotion toflight officer atLuke Field,Arizona, where he graduated from Class 43C on March 10, 1943. Assigned to the357th Fighter Group atTonopah, Nevada, he initially trained as a fighter pilot, flyingBell P-39 Airacobras (being grounded for seven days for clipping a farmer's tree during a training flight),[13] and shipped overseas with the group on November 23, 1943.[14]
Stationed in the United Kingdom atRAF Leiston, Yeager flewP-51 Mustangs in combat with the363d Fighter Squadron. He named his aircraftGlamorous Glen[15][16] after his girlfriend, Glennis Faye Dickhouse, who became his wife in February 1945. Yeager had gained one victory before he was shot down over France in his first aircraft (P-51B-5-NA s/n 43-6763) on March 5, 1944, on his eighth mission.[17] He escaped to Spain on March 30, 1944, with the help of theMaquis (French Resistance) and returned to England on May 15, 1944. During his stay with theMaquis, Yeager assisted the guerrillas in duties that did not involve direct combat; he helped construct bombs for the group, a skill that he had learned from his father.[18] He was awarded theBronze Star for helping a navigator, Omar M. "Pat" Patterson Jr., to cross thePyrenees.[19]
Despite a regulation prohibiting "evaders" (escaped pilots) from flying over enemy territory again, the purpose of which was to prevent resistance groups from being compromised by giving the enemy a second chance to possibly capture him, Yeager was reinstated to flying combat. He had joined another evader, fellow P-51 pilot 1st Lt Fred Glover,[20] in speaking directly to theSupreme Allied Commander, GeneralDwight D. Eisenhower, on June 12, 1944.[21] "I raised so much hell that General Eisenhower finally let me go back to my squadron" Yeager said. "He cleared me for combat afterD Day, because all the free Frenchmen – Maquis and people like that – had surfaced".[22] Eisenhower, after gaining permission from the War Department to decide the requests, concurred with Yeager and Glover.[23] In the meantime, Yeager shot down his second enemy aircraft, a GermanJunkers Ju 88 bomber, over theEnglish Channel.[23]
Yeager demonstrated outstanding flying skills and combat leadership. On October 12, 1944, he became the first pilot in his group to make "ace in a day," downing five enemy aircraft in a single mission. Two of these victories were scored without firing a single shot: when he flew into firing position against aMesserschmitt Bf 109, the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking to port and colliding with his wingman.[24] Yeager said both pilots bailed out. He finished the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter, a GermanMesserschmitt Me 262 that he shot down as it was on final approach for landing.[25][26]
Yeager's official statement of the 12 October mission states:
"I was leading the Group with Cement Squadron and was roving out to the right of the first box of bombers. I was over STEINHUDER LAKE when 22 Me. 109s crossed in front of my Squadron from 11:00 O’Clock to 1:00 O’Clock. I was coming out of the sun and they were about 1 ½ miles away at the same level of 28,000 feet. I fell in behind the enemy formation and followed them for about 3 minutes, climbing to 30,000 feet. I still had my wing tanks and had closed up to around 1,000 yards, coming within firing range and positioning the Squadron behind the entire enemy formation. Two of the Me. 109s were lagging over to the right. One slowed up and, before I could start firing, rolled over and bailed out. The other Me. 109, flying his wing, bailed out immediately after as I was ready to line him in my sights. I was the closest to the tail-end of the enemy formation and no one, but myself, was in shooting range and no one was firing. I dropped my tanks and then closed up to the last Jerry and opened fire from 600 yards, using the K-14 sight. I observed strikes all over the ship, particularly heavy in the cockpit. He skidded off to the left and was smoking and streaming coolant and went into a slow diving turn to the left. I was closing up on another Me. 109 so I did not follow him down. Lt. STERN, flying in Blue Flight, reports this E/A on fire as it passed him and went into a spin. I closed up on the next Me. 109 to 100 yards, skidded to the right and took a deflection shot of about 10o. I gave about a 3 second burst and the whole fuselage splitopen and blew up after we passed. Another Me. 109 to the right had cut his throttle and was trying to get behind. I broke to the right and quickly rolled to the left on his tail. He started pulling it in and I was pulling 6”G”. I got a lead from around 300 yards and gave him a short burst. There were hits on wings and tail section. He snapped to the right 3 times and bailed out when he quit snapping at around 18,000 feet.
I did not blackout during this engagement due to the efficiency of the “G” Suit. Even though I was skidding I hit the second Me. 109s by keeping the bead and range on the E/A. To my estimation the K-14 Sight is the biggest improvement to combat equipment for Fighters up to this date.
The Me. 109s appeared to have a type of bubble canopy and had purple noses and were a mousey brown all over.
I claim Five Me. 109s destroyed."[27]
In his 1986 memoirs, Yeager recalled with disgust that "atrocities were committed by both sides", and said he went on a mission with orders from theEighth Air Force to "strafe anything that moved".[28][29] During the mission briefing, he whispered to MajorDonald H. Bochkay, "If we are going to do things like this, we sure as hell better make sure we are on the winning side".[28][29] Yeager said, "I'm certainly not proud of that particular strafing mission against civilians. But it is there, on the record and in my memory".[30] He also expressed bitterness at his treatment in England during World War II, describing the British as "arrogant" and "nasty" on Twitter.[31]
Yeager was commissioned asecond lieutenant while atLeiston, and was promoted tocaptain before the end of his tour. He flew his 61st and final mission on January 15, 1945, and returned to the United States in early February 1945. As an evader, he received his choice of assignments and, because his new wife was pregnant, choseWright Field to be near his home inWest Virginia. His high number of flight hours and maintenance experience qualified him to become a functional test pilot of repaired aircraft, which brought him under the command of ColonelAlbert Boyd, head of the Aeronautical Systems Flight Test Division.[32]
After the war, Yeager remained in theU.S. Army Air Forces. Upon graduating fromAir Materiel Command Flight Performance School (Class 46C),[33] Yeager became a test pilot at Muroc Army Air Field (nowEdwards Air Force Base). AfterBell Aircraft test pilotChalmers "Slick" Goodlin demandedUS$150,000 (equivalent to $2,110,000 in 2024) to break the sound barrier, the USAAF selected the 24-year-old Yeager to fly the rocket-poweredBell XS-1 in aNACA program to research high-speed flight.[34][35] Under theNational Security Act of 1947, the USAAF became theUnited States Air Force (USAF) on September 18.
Yeager's flight was scheduled for October 14.[36] Two nights before his flight, Yeager went horseback riding with his wife and fell, breaking two ribs under his right arm. Worried the injury would remove him from the mission, Yeager had a civilian doctor in nearbyRosamond tape his ribs.[37][c]
To seal the hatch of the XS-1, the pilot needed to hold the hatch in position and use their right arm to slam down a heavy lever. Yeager would not be able to seal the hatch with his broken ribs, so Yeager secretly asked his friend and fellow project pilotJack Ridley for a solution. Ridley sawed off the end of a broom handle for Yeager to use as a lever to seal the hatch.[38]
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Yeager broke thesound barrier on October 14, 1947, in level flight while piloting the X-1Glamorous Glennis atMach 1.05 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m)[39][d] over theRogers Dry Lake of theMojave Desert in California.[43] The success of the mission was not announced to the public for nearly eight months, until June 10, 1948.[44][45] Yeager was awarded theMackay Trophy and theCollier Trophy in 1948 for his mach-transcending flight,[46][47] and theHarmon International Trophy in 1954.[48] The X-1 he flew that day was later put on permanent display at theSmithsonian Institution'sNational Air and Space Museum.[49] During 1952, he attended theAir Command and Staff College.[50]
Yeager continued to break many speed and altitude records. He was one of the first American pilots to fly aMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15, after its pilot,No Kum-sok, defected toSouth Korea.[51][52] Returning to Muroc, during the latter half of 1953, Yeager was involved with the USAF team that was working on theX-1A, an aircraft designed to surpass Mach 2 in level flight. That year, he flew achase aircraft for the civilian pilotJackie Cochran as she became the first woman to fly faster than sound.[53]
On November 20, 1953, theU.S. Navy program involving theDouglas D-558-II Skyrocket and its pilot,Scott Crossfield, became the first team to reach twice the speed of sound. After they were bested, Ridley and Yeager decided to beat rival Crossfield's speed record in a series of test flights that they dubbed "Operation NACA Weep". They not only beat Crossfield by setting a new record at Mach 2.44 on December 12, 1953, but also did so in time to spoil a celebration planned for the50th anniversary of flight, at which Crossfield was to be called "the fastest man alive".[53]
The new record flight, however, did not entirely go to plan, since shortly after reaching Mach 2.44, Yeager lost control of the X-1A at about 80,000 ft (24,000 m) due toinertia coupling, a phenomenon largely unknown at the time. With the aircraft simultaneously rolling, pitching, and yawing out of control, Yeager dropped 51,000 ft (16,000 m) in less than a minute before regaining control at around 29,000 ft (8,800 m). He then managed to land without further incident.[53] For this feat, Yeager was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal (DSM) in 1954.[54][e]
Yeager was foremost a fighter pilot and held several squadron and wing commands. From 1954 to 1957, he commanded theF-86H Sabre-equipped 417th Fighter-Bomber Squadron (50th Fighter-Bomber Wing) atHahn AB,West Germany, and Toul-Rosieres Air Base,France; and from 1957 to 1960 theF-100D Super Sabre-equipped1st Fighter Day Squadron atGeorge Air Force Base, California, andMorón Air Base,Spain.[55]
He was a full colonel in 1962,[56] after completion of a year's studies and final thesis onSTOL aircraft[57] at theAir War College. He became the first commandant of theUSAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, which producedastronauts forNASA and theUSAF, after its redesignation from the USAF Flight Test Pilot School. He had only a high school education, so he was not eligible to become an astronaut like those he trained. In April 1962, Yeager made his only flight withNeil Armstrong. Their job, flying aT-33, was to evaluate Smith Ranch Dry Lake inNevada for use as an emergency landing site for theNorth American X-15.[6]
In his autobiography, he wrote that he knew the lake bed was unsuitable for landings after recent rains, but Armstrong insisted on flying out anyway. As Armstrong suggested that they do atouch-and-go, Yeager advised against it, telling him "You may touch, but you ain't gonna go!" When Armstrong did touch down, the wheels became stuck in the mud, bringing the plane to a sudden stop and provoking Yeager to fits of laughter. They had to wait for rescue.[6]
Yeager's participation in the test pilot training program forNASA included controversial behavior. Yeager reportedly did not believe thatEd Dwight, the first African American pilot admitted into the program, should be a part of it. In the 2019 documentary seriesChasing the Moon, the filmmakers made the claim that Yeager instructed staff and participants at the school that "Washington is trying to cram the nigger down our throats. [President]Kennedy is using this to make 'racial equality,' so do not speak to him, do not socialize with him, do not drink with him, do not invite him over to your house, and in six months he'll be gone."[58][59] In his autobiography, Dwight details how Yeager's leadership led to discriminatory treatment throughout his training at Edwards Air Force Base.[60]
Between December 1963 and January 1964, Yeager completed five flights in theNASA M2-F1lifting body. An accident during aDecember 1963 test flight in one of the school'sNF-104s resulted in serious injuries. After climbing to a near-record altitude, the plane's controls became ineffective, and it entered aflat spin. After several turns, and an altitude loss of approximately 95,000 feet, Yeager ejected from the plane. During the ejection, the seat straps released normally, but the seat base slammed into Yeager, with the still-hot rocket motor breaking his helmet's plastic faceplate and causing his emergency oxygen supply to catch fire. The resulting burns to his face required extensive and agonizing medical care. This was Yeager's last attempt at setting test-flying records due to his apparent inability to fly the required flight profiles for optimum climb performance.[61][62][63][f]
In 1966, Yeager took command of the405th Tactical Fighter Wing atClark Air Base, thePhilippines, whose squadrons were deployed on rotational temporary duty (TDY) inSouth Vietnam and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. There he flew 127 missions. In February 1968, Yeager was assigned command of the4th Tactical Fighter Wing atSeymour Johnson Air Force Base,North Carolina, and led theMcDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II wing inSouth Korea during thePueblo crisis.[64]
Yeager was promoted tobrigadier general and was assigned in July 1969 as the vice-commander of theSeventeenth Air Force.[65]
From 1971 to 1973, at the behest of AmbassadorJoseph Farland, Yeager was assigned as theAir Attache inPakistan to advise thePakistan Air Force which was led byAbdur Rahim Khan (the first Pakistani to break the sound barrier).[66][67][68] He arrived in Pakistan at a time when tensions with India were at a high level. One of Yeager's jobs during this time was to assist Pakistani technicians in installingAIM-9 Sidewinders on PAF'sShenyang F-6 fighters. He also had a keen interest in interacting with PAF personnel fromvarious Pakistani Squadrons and helping them developcombat tactics.[68]
In one instance in 1972, while visiting theNo. 15 Squadron "Cobras" atPeshawar Airbase, the Squadron'sOCWing Commander Najeeb Khan escorted him toK2 in a pair ofF-86Fs after Yeager requested a visit to the second highest mountain on Earth.[69][70] Afterhostilities broke out in 1971, he decided to stay inWest Pakistan and continued overseeing the PAF's operations.[66][68] Yeager recalled "the Pakistanis whipped the Indians' asses in the sky... the Pakistanis scored a three-to-one kill ratio, knocking out 102 Russian-made Indian jets and losing 34 airplanes of their own".[71]
During the war, he flew around the western front in ahelicopter documenting wreckages ofIndian aircraft of Soviet origin, which includedSukhoi Su-7s andMiG-21s. These aircraft were transported to theUnited States after the war for analysis.[66][68][72] Yeager also flew around in hisBeechcraft Queen Air, a small passenger aircraft that was assigned to him by thePentagon, picking up shot-down Indian fighter pilots.[68][73] The Beechcraft was later destroyed during an air raid by the IAF at a Pakistani airbase when Yeager was not present.[74][75] Edward C. Ingraham, a U.S. diplomat who had served as political counselor to Ambassador Farland inIslamabad, recalled this incident in theWashington Monthly of October 1985: "After Yeager'sBeechcraft was destroyed during an Indian air raid, he raged to his cowering colleagues that the Indian pilot had been specifically instructed byIndira Gandhi to blast his plane. 'It was', he later wrote, 'the Indian way of givingUncle Sam the finger'".[76] Yeager was incensed over the incident and demanded U.S. retaliation.[66][77]
On March 1, 1975, Yeager retired from the Air Force atNorton Air Force Base, California.[64]
Yeager made acameo appearance in the movieThe Right Stuff (1983). He played "Fred", a bartender at"Pancho's Place", which was most appropriate, because he said, "if all the hours were ever totaled, I reckon I spent more time at her place than in a cockpit over those years".[78]Sam Shepard portrayed Yeager in the film, which chronicles in part his famous 1947 record-breaking flight.[79]
Yeager has been referenced several times in the sharedStar Trek universe, including having a namesake fictional type of starship, a dangerous starshipformation-maneuver named after him called the "Yeager Loop" (most notably mentioned in theStar Trek: The Next Generation episode "The First Duty"), and appearing in archival footage within the opening title sequence for the seriesStar Trek: Enterprise (2001–2005). ForEnterprise, executive producerRick Berman said that he envisaged the lead character, CaptainJonathan Archer, as being "halfway between Chuck Yeager andHan Solo".[80]
For several years in the 1980s, Yeager was connected toGeneral Motors, publicizingACDelco, the company'sautomotive parts division.[81] In 1986, he was invited to drive theChevrolet Corvettepace car for the70th running of the Indianapolis 500. In1988, Yeager was again invited to drive the pace car, this time at the wheel of anOldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. In 1986, President Reagan appointed Yeager to theRogers Commission that investigated the explosion of theSpace ShuttleChallenger.[82]
During this time, Yeager also served as a technical adviser for three Electronic Artsflight simulator video games. The games includeChuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer,Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer 2.0, andChuck Yeager's Air Combat. The game manuals feature quotes and anecdotes from Yeager and were well received by players. Missions feature several of Yeager's accomplishments and let players challenge his records.Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer was Electronic Art's top-selling game for 1987.[83]
In 2009, Yeager participated in the documentaryThe Legend of Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a profile of his friendPancho Barnes. The documentary was screened at film festivals, aired on public television in the United States, and won anEmmy Award.[84]
On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a newGlamorous Glennis III, anF-15D Eagle, past Mach 1.[85] The chase plane for the flight was anF-16 Fighting Falcon piloted byBob Hoover, a longtime test, fighter, andaerobatic pilot who had been Yeager's wingman for the first supersonic flight.[86] At the end of his speech to the crowd in 1997, Yeager concluded, "All that I am ... I owe to the Air Force".[87] Later that month, he was the recipient of theTony Jannus Award for his achievements.[88]
On October 14, 2012, on the 65th anniversary of breaking the sound barrier, Yeager did it again at the age of 89, flying as co-pilot in aMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle piloted by Captain David Vincent out ofNellis Air Force Base.[89]
In October 2016, Yeager reached international headlines when a Twitter argument he was having with an Irish teenager led to him lashing out at the British and Irish, namely calling Irish people British, and labeling all British people as "nasty" and "arrogant". No stranger to controversy in his life, this was one of Yeager's last major public faux-pas.[90][91]
In 1973, Yeager was inducted into theNational Aviation Hall of Fame, arguably aviation's highest honor. In 1974, Yeager received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[92] In December 1975, theU.S. Congress awarded Yeager a silver medal "equivalent to a noncombatMedal of Honor ... for contributing immeasurably to aerospace science by risking his life in piloting the X-1 research airplane faster than the speed of sound on October 14, 1947". PresidentGerald Ford presented the medal to Yeager in a ceremony at theWhite House on December 8, 1976.[93][g]
Yeager never attended college and was often modest about his background, but is considered by many, includingFlying Magazine, the California Hall of Fame, the State of West Virginia, National Aviation Hall of Fame, a few U.S. presidents, and the United States Army Air Force, to be one of the greatest pilots of all time.Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine ranked him the fifth greatest pilot of all time in 2003.[95] Regardless of his lack of higher education, West Virginia'sMarshall University named its highest academic scholarship theSociety of Yeager Scholars in his honor. He was the chairman ofExperimental Aircraft Association (EAA)'sYoung Eagle Program from 1994 to 2004, and was named the program's chairman emeritus.[96]
In 1966, Yeager was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame.[97] He was inducted into theInternational Space Hall of Fame in 1981.[98] He was inducted into theAerospace Walk of Honor 1990 inaugural class.[99]
Yeager Airport inCharleston, West Virginia, is named in his honor. TheInterstate 64/Interstate 77 bridge over theKanawha River in Charleston is named in his honor. He also flew directly under the Kanawha Bridge and West Virginia named it the Chuck E. Yeager Bridge. On October 19, 2006, the state ofWest Virginia also honored Yeager with a marker alongCorridor G (part ofU.S. Highway 119) in his homeLincoln County, and also renamed part of it theYeager Highway.[100]
Yeager was an honorary board member of the humanitarian organizationWings of Hope.[101] On August 25, 2009, GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger andMaria Shriver announced that Yeager would be one of 13California Hall of Fame inductees inThe California Museum's yearlong exhibit. The induction ceremony was on December 1, 2009, inSacramento, California.Flying Magazine ranked Yeager number 5 on its 2013 list of The 51 Heroes of Aviation; for many years, he was the highest-ranked living person on the list.[102]
TheCivil Air Patrol, the volunteer auxiliary of theUSAF, awards the Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager Award to its senior members as part of its Aerospace Education program.[103]
| Insignia | Rank | Service and Component | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| no insignia at the time | Private | United States Army Regular Army | September 12, 1941[112] |
  | Private first class tocorporal | United States Army Regular Army | 1941 to March 9, 1943[112] |
.svg) | Flight officer | United States Army Army of the United States | March 10, 1943[112] |
 | Second lieutenant | United States Army Army of the United States | July 6, 1944[112] |
 | First lieutenant | United States Army Army of the United States | September 4, 1944[112] |
 | Captain | United States Army Army of the United States | October 24, 1944[112] |
| Second lieutenant | United States Army Regular Army | February 10, 1947 (accepted February 25, 1947, rank from July 6, 1944)[112] |
| First lieutenant | United States Army Regular Army | July 6, 1947[112] |
.svg) | Captain | United States Air Force | July 6, 1951[113] |
.svg) | Major | United States Air Force | February 15, 1951 (temporary)[113] July 6, 1958 (permanent)[114] |
.svg) | Lieutenant colonel | United States Air Force | March 22, 1956 (temporary)[115] August 1, 1964 (permanent)[116] |
.svg) | Colonel | United States Air Force | March 14, 1961 (temporary)[117] September 20, 1967 (permanent)[118] |
.svg) | Brigadier general | United States Air Force | June 22, 1969 |
[112][113][115][114][117][116][118]
| Date | # | Type | Location | Aircraft flown | Unit Assigned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 4, 1944 | 1 | Messerschmitt Bf 109 | Kassel, Germany | P-51 | 363 FS, 357 FG |
| September 13, 1944 | 0.5 | Bf 109 | Kassel, Germany | P-51 | 363 FS, 357 FG |
| October 12, 1944 | 5 | Bf 109 | Hanover, Germany | P-51 | 363 FS, 357 FG |
| November 6, 1944 | 1 | Messerschmitt Me 262 | Assen, Germany | P-51 | 363 FS, 357 FG |
| November 27, 1944 | 4 | Focke-Wulf Fw 190 | Magdeburg, Germany | P-51 | 363 FS, 357 FG |
Yeager named his plane after his wife, Glennis, as a good-luck charm: "You're my good-luck charm, hon. Any airplane I name after you always brings me home."[120] Yeager and Glennis moved toGrass Valley, California, after his retirement from the Air Force in 1975. The couple prospered as a result of Yeager's best-selling autobiography, speaking engagements, and commercial ventures.[121] Glennis Yeager died ofovarian cancer in 1990. They had four children (Susan, Don, Mickey, and Sharon).[122] Yeager's son Mickey (Michael) died unexpectedly in Oregon, on March 26, 2011.[123]
Yeager appeared in aTexas advertisement forGeorge H. W. Bush's1988 presidential campaign.[124]In 2000, Yeager met actress Victoria Scott D'Angelo on a hiking trail inNevada County. The pair started dating shortly thereafter, and married in August 2003.[125] A bitter dispute arose between Yeager, his children, and D'Angelo. The children contended that she, at least 35 years Yeager's junior, had married him for his fortune. Yeager and D'Angelo both denied the charge. Litigation ensued, in which his children accused D'Angelo of "undue influence" on Yeager, and Yeager accused his children of diverting millions of dollars from his assets.[126] In August 2008, theCalifornia Court of Appeal ruled for Yeager, finding that his daughter Susan had breached her duty as trustee.[127][128]
Yeager lived in Grass Valley,Northern California and died in the afternoon of December 7, 2020 (National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day), at age 97, in a Los Angeles hospital.[129][130] Following his death, PresidentDonald Trump issued a statement of condolences stating Yeager "was one of the greatest pilots in history, a proud West Virginian, and an American original who relentlessly pushed the boundaries of human achievement".[131]
.He's not my uncle, he's a cousin. That's a misprint. You can't believe everything you read.
An experimental rocket plane, the Bell XS-1, has flown faster than the speed of sound a number of times recently,Aviation Week reports in an issue to be released tomorrow.
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