Was having a look on Wikipedia and other sites to see just how wildly innacurate the dreadful film Pearl Harbour is. Read the entry about the 2 pilots who got airborne over the auxiliary strip and was surprised to discover one of them was none other than George Welch, he of the alleged breaking of sound barrier before Yeager!!
By: spitfireman - 31st March 2025 at 14:11
A film/movie on this man would be really worthwhile.
Baz
(without the UFO crap!)
By: J Boyle - 31st March 2025 at 14:11
Really, I thought by now anyone who has read anything about Welch knew that. 😀
It probably helped get him his post-war job with North American Aviation as a test pilot.
What I find inspiring about him is his death in an F-100 due to inertia roll yaw coupling.
Back then, test pilots put it all on the line.
No computer simulators to test designs beforehand.
They were testing supersonic jets when the industry hadn’t progressed far…in terms of some of their knowledge and procedures…from the air racing and glory days of flight testing in the the 30s.
One more item about Welch, there is a UFO book out there that blames his death on his jet being shot down by a flying saucer.:rolleyes:
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January 17, 2010 at 10:31 pm