On 18 May 1953, American aviation pioneer Lt. JACQUELINE JACKIE COCHRAN (1906-1980) became the first woman in history to break the sound barrier. Encouraged by then-Major Chuck Yeager, with whom she shared a lifelong friendship, COCHRAN flew a Canadair F-86 Sabre jet, borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force, at a speed of 652.337 mph (1050 km/h), over Rogers Dry Lake in California. JACKIE COCHRANs contributions to American Aviation are the stuff of legend. Before the United States entered WWII, she was part of Wings for Britain, an organization that ferried American built aircraft to Britain, and as such she was the first woman to fly a bomber (a Lockheed Hudson V) across the Atlantic. Once the US entered the war, COCHRAN became the first director of the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots), during which she trained hundreds of women at the Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas. For her war efforts, she received the Distinguished Service Medal and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Following WWII, COCHRAN joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Besides becoming the first woman in the world to fly faster than the speed of sound, she also became the first woman to reach Mach 2, the first to make a transatlantic flight in a jet, and the first woman to land and take off from an aircraft carrier. She still holds more distance and speed records than any pilot, living or dead, male or female. She passed away in 1980 and is buried in the Coachella Valley Public Cemetery in California. The local airport is named in her honor.
Posted on: Sun, 18 May 2014 11:31:12 +0000
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