First to exceed Mach 1?

I recall reading that a diving Thunderbolt got near Mach 1. Also, how about a Lightning? (the Lockheed, not the EE). It also ran into compressability problems at high speed.

My guess for the first man to break Mach 1 is some poor soul (in a Spit, Thunderbolt, Mustang, or whatever) who didn’t live to tell the tale.

P-47, Fw190, Ta152 all came close. Not the P-38, that had severy problems at quite low Mach numbers already caused by the tail assembly.

I wouldn’t be surprised.

I haven’t read the details for some years but I believe Martindale’s prop (and reduction gear) parted company with the airframe due to being driven too fast by the speed of the dive.

A late night thought, wouldnt the spinning propellor actually mean it was impossible for an aircraft so powered to exceed the speed of sound, a sort of aerodynamic wall?

Thunderbolt

I recall reading that a diving Thunderbolt got near Mach 1. Also, how about a Lightning? (the Lockheed, not the EE). It also ran into compressability problems at high speed.

My guess for the first man to break Mach 1 is some poor soul (in a Spit, Thunderbolt, Mustang, or whatever) who didn’t live to tell the tale.

Then he ‘forced’ me to drink sherry with him.

Emva Cream? You are Dr Evadne Hinge and I claim my five pounds 🙂

We are hoping to upgrade one of his entries in the Guinness book by getting type no 487 in the Rearwin!

he wont fly it if it still looks like an RAC van!!

Happy Christmas Melv 😀

John Derry also got to mach 1 in the DH108 . He was on a high speed dive and was going to pull out and while switching off the recording instruments momentary lost control and went through the barrier.
According to Farnborough test pilot Eric ‘winkle’ Browns book, and he flew them, the 163 was uncontollable at .84 and the 262 at .89. The 163 killed more of its own pilots than it did of the enemy. It looks like it would have taken some pilot to take it through the barrier and live.
And may I be the 1st to say that the Miles M52 would no doubt had been the 1st to reach mach1 in level flight insted of the X-1 ‘M52 copy 😉 ‘!

According to the same Eric Brown the machmeter on the crashed 108 (that killed Geoffrey de Havilland was stuck at .87. Brown then had to recreate the flight and could only get .87 on the other ‘108. He stated that he respected Derry as a pilot but believes the mach one claim to be a mistake. The aeroplane would not go faster than .87.

Then he ‘forced’ me to drink sherry with him.

He was also designated pilot on the M52! We are hoping to upgrade one of his entries in the Guinness book by getting type no 487 in the Rearwin!

John Derry also got to mach 1 in the DH108 . He was on a high speed dive and was going to pull out and while switching off the recording instruments momentary lost control and went through the barrier.
According to Farnborough test pilot Eric ‘winkle’ Browns book, and he flew them, the 163 was uncontollable at .84 and the 262 at .89. The 163 killed more of its own pilots than it did of the enemy. It looks like it would have taken some pilot to take it through the barrier and live.
And may I be the 1st to say that the Miles M52 would no doubt had been the 1st to reach mach1 in level flight insted of the X-1 ‘M52 copy 😉 ‘!

Spitfires did reach very high Mach numbers but the highest I’ve heard of was, I think, 0.94 by Tony Martindale. IIRC, he did it twice, losing the prop on at least on occasion and seriously injuring his back on landing.
There was an article in AM a few years back by a Flt Lt Powles, again IIRC, in which he claimed a slightly higher figure, 0.96 perhaps.
I’m sure Mark12 will know the numbers and can confirm or correct these.

Spitfires and probably others in a dive, too… – Nermal

I think I’d need some convincing of that.

Moggy

And Yeager didn’t hold the FAI world record, as the Bell X-1 didn’t take off under it’s own power – that is a standard FAI requirement. Doesn’t lessen the achievement, but in case you were looking at the official world records…

Spitfires and probably others in a dive, too… – Nermal

The X-1 with Yeager on the stick was the first to do it in level flight.
Others had done it before in a dive, during the war with Me163, Me262 and after the war when testflying Me262 and XP-86.

What was Yeager doing when he broke the sound barrier?

At a guess, over Mach 1? 😀

Wasn’t Yeager’s run straight and level?

JC

Hmmm….

Wouldn’t surprise me. The ‘163 was as fast as a cloud of flies to a pile of sh!t, but I guess it depends on the type of flying he was doing at the time – dive? Straight and level?

What was Yeager doing when he broke the sound barrier?