1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,880 Speaker 1: Heart Radio Welcome Back. I'm your host Eves, and you're 3 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,680 Speaker 1: tuned into This Day in History Class, a show that 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: takes history and squeezes it into bite size stories. Today 5 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 1: is October nineteen. The day was October nine. American test 6 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,160 Speaker 1: pilot Chuck Yeager piloted the first flight to go faster 7 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: than the speed of sound in a Bell X one aircraft. 8 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 1: By this point, attempts had already been made to break 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: the so called sound barrier. The UK's Ministry of Aviation 10 00:00:43,680 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: wanted to develop an aircraft that could achieve supersonic flight. 11 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: Motivated by secret intelligence of a German supersonic long range 12 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 1: bomber project, the British worked with Miles Aircraft to create 13 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 1: the prototype M fifty two, which was designed to go 14 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: up to one thousand miles per hour or one thousand, 15 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: six hundred nine kilometers per hour in level flight. The 16 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 1: M fifty two employed a lot of innovative technology and 17 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:16,600 Speaker 1: its air frame design and construction, jet engine and flying controls, 18 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,240 Speaker 1: but the project was canceled before it could claim the 19 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,759 Speaker 1: supersonic record. A mock number indicates the speed of something 20 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: by comparing it to the speed of sound mach one 21 00:01:27,440 --> 00:01:30,039 Speaker 1: is about seven hundred and sixty miles per hour at 22 00:01:30,040 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: sea level. Since sound moves slower in cold air, the 23 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: speed required to break the sound barrier decreases higher in 24 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:42,720 Speaker 1: the atmosphere. Other pilots like George schwartz Welch and Hans 25 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:46,720 Speaker 1: Guido Mutka claimed to have broken the sound barrier before Gagor, 26 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:50,680 Speaker 1: but their claims are not officially recognized because the flights 27 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: in question lacked adequate measuring equipment. The Bill X one 28 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: was a joint project between the National Advisory Committee for 29 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: Aeronautics later on as NASA and the U. S Air Force. 30 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: It was built by the Bill Aircraft Corporation. The US 31 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: and Bill Aircraft Company were given access to the research 32 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: and design of the M fifty two, and they used 33 00:02:14,400 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: that information to advance their project. The X one was 34 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: a rocket plane, or an aircraft that uses a rocket 35 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: engine for propulsion. It was originally called the X S one, 36 00:02:27,160 --> 00:02:31,480 Speaker 1: where the X S stood for Experimental Supersonic, but the 37 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,320 Speaker 1: S was dropped early in the program. The X one 38 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,320 Speaker 1: had a four chamber rocket engine that produced twenty six 39 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: thousand five new ends of static thrust instead of taking 40 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:44,520 Speaker 1: off from the ground. It was dropped from the bomb 41 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: bay of a Boeing B twenty nine super Fortress, accelerated 42 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:52,400 Speaker 1: quickly and then glide it to a landing. Yeager was 43 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,640 Speaker 1: chosen to attempt to break the speed record after he 44 00:02:55,720 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: graduated from Flight Performance School in New Rock, California. His 45 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:03,560 Speaker 1: first test launch of the X one, which he dubbed 46 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:08,080 Speaker 1: Glamorous Glennys after his wife, was on August ninth, nineteen. 47 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: On each subsequent test launch leading up to his first 48 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:19,239 Speaker 1: supersonic flight, he increased his speed. There were challenges. For instance, 49 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: he lost control of the plane's elevator in one flight 50 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,400 Speaker 1: and had to cut the engines and dump the fuel. 51 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:28,520 Speaker 1: But in October fourte the X one reached a speed 52 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: of seven hundred miles per hour or one thousand, one 53 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: hundred and twenty seven kilometers per hour. As he reached 54 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,760 Speaker 1: mark one oh six, controllers on the ground heard the 55 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: sonic boom. The plane traveled at supersonic speed for about 56 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: twenty seconds before it decelerated, making Yeager the first to 57 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: travel faster than the speed of sound and level flight. 58 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: In March night, Yeager reached mark one four five in 59 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: the X one. Information about Yeager's flights was classified and 60 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: not review to the public until nineteen. The series of 61 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: X experimental projects, both crude and uncrude, continues today. The 62 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: Bell X one that Yeager flu is in the Smithsonian 63 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: Air and Space Museum. I'm Eves Jeff Coote and hopefully 64 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: you know a little more about history today than you 65 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: did yesterday. Keep up with us on Twitter, Facebook, and 66 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: Instagram at t d i h C podcast, or if 67 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,640 Speaker 1: you are so inclined, you can send us a message 68 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: at this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 69 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: for listening. We'll see you again tomorrow with another episode. 70 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:53,159 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart 71 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:55,680 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 72 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: favorite shows.