George Welch – First thru the Sound Barrier

The history books tell us Chuck Yeager was the first man to break the sound barrier in the Bell X1. But how many of us know about George Welch, another great fighter ace with 16 confirmed kills, including 4 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? His greatest accomplishment, however, as the FIRST man to break the sound barrier in the XP-86 is slowly coming to be appreciated. This is not a knock on Yeager or his bravery and accomplishment but I think that Welch should be recognized for what he accomplished. Following is an excerpt from “the amazing george welch”
http://home.att.net/~historyzone/Welch1.html

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Bell’s XS-1 was designed specifically to break the sound barrier. However, the technology of the XS-1 was, in some regards, actually less advanced that that of the XP-86. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager was assigned the job of piloting the rocket-plane. After slowly sneaking up on Mach 1, Yeager finally pushed the XS-1 through the sound barrier on October 14, 1947. However, George Welch and the XP-86 had already gone supersonic twice before. It appears that the Air Force is beginning to feel the heat and can no longer ignore the evidence supporting George Welch and North American’s XP-86 Sabre. The Air Force Museum web site has now added three key words when they describe Yeager’s Mach 1 flight. The ammended language is as follows: “Capt. Charles E. Yeager, on the ninth flight of the Air Force test series, exceeded the speed of sound IN LEVEL FLIGHT.”

Since the press release of 1948, the story of the XP-86 and George Welch has remained little more than rumor and legend. In the early 1990s, a former North American test pilot began the research for a book that would finally tell the truth about who was the first man to fly faster than sound. Al (Blackie) Blackburn labored for several years, gathering evidence and interviews. Finally, in 1998, his book was released. It had an immediate impact within the aviation community. The Smithsonian’s Air and Space magazine published a condensation of the book. The Air Force has denied that Welch was first. However, even the U.S. Air Force cannot totally ignore the existing wealth of evidence, the weight of which, is more than compelling. The official web site of the Air Force Museum has ammended its language and added the words; “IN LEVEL FLIGHT” to their story of the famed supersonic flight made by Yeager in the XS-1 on October 14, 1947. Fifty one years of history will have to be rewritten to incorporate Welch and his accomplishment. Like any massive organization, the military is terribly slow to accept change. This is exacerbated by the realization that the Air Force’s greatest hero since World War Two will have to, at the minimum, share his place on the pedestal of fame. If anyone should have any doubts, the evidence, if properly considered, is conclusive. Let’s view this in terms of presenting the evidence as if in a criminal trial. Would the evidence result in a conviction?

You be the judge.

Motive: Welch clearly demonstrated a desire to push the Sabre through Mach 1. His discussions with the design engineers at North American and with his friends and family are proof positive of this.

Opportunity: Welch had two opportunities to dive the XP-86 prior to Yeager’s record flight.

Weapon: There can be no doubt that the XP-86 could exceed Mach 1 in a dive. This was officially established on November 13, 1947. There were no changes made to the aircraft that could improve performance between October 1 and November 13. So, there is no doubt that the XP-86 was capable of supersonic flight from day one.

Witnesses: There were hundreds, if not thousands of people who felt and heard the two sonic booms of October 1 and 14. Several have since testified to hearing the booms. In addition, we have the testimony of those who spoke with Welch where he admitted to making unauthorized supersonic dives.

Additional evidence: Welch’s flight logbook contains entries for all supersonic flights, including those not authorized. “Mach Jump”: Welch was the first to report this phenomenon. No one had observed “Mach Jump” prior to the flight. Yet, today it is considered as decisive evidence of supersonic flight.

Summation: Welch announced his intention to dive the XP-86 through the sound barrier. Welch had at least two opportunities to do so. Welch was flying an airplane that was easily capable of exceeding Mach 1 in a dive. Welch told several credible people that he had flown through the sonic barrier. There were hundreds of witnesses, including one General and other high ranking military and civilian personnel who heard and felt the sonic booms. Welch witnesses a phenomenon that only someone who had exceeded Mach 1 would see. He reported it before any other pilot. Therefore, he could not invent it. Welch’s logbook lists the two flights as high Mach (the same terms used for the official speed runs).

The Verdict: Guilty as hell.