Northrop Corporation XP-61 prototype 41-19509 at Northrop Field, 1942. (U.S. Air Force)
26 May 1942: The prototype Northrop XP-61-NO Black Widow, 41-19509, made its first flight at Northrop Field, Hawthorne, California, with free-lance test pilot Vance Breese at the controls. (Breese had taken the North American Aviation NA-73X, prototype of the Mustang, for its first flight, 20 October 1940.)
Northrop XP-61 41-19509 taking off from Northrop Field. (U.S. Air Force)
The first American airplane designed specifically as a night fighter, the XP-61 was the same size as a medium bomber: 48 feet, 11.2 inches (14.915 meters) long with a wingspan of 66 feet (20.117 meters) and overall height of 14 feet, 8.2 inches (4.475 meters). The prototype was equipped with a mockup of the top turret. Its empty weight was 22,392 pounds (10,157 kilograms), gross weight of 25,150 pounds (11,408 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 29,673 pounds (13,459 kilograms).
Northrop XP-61 41-19509 retracts its landing gear after takeoff. (U.S. Air Force)
The XP-61 was powered by two air-cooled, supercharged, 2,804.4-cubic-inch-displacement (45.956 liter) Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp SSB2-G (R-2800-10) two-row, 18-cylinder radial engines with a compression ratio of 6.65:1. The R-2800-10 had a Normal Power rating of 1,550 horsepower at 2,550 r.p.m. at 21,500 feet (6,553 meters), and 2,000 horsepower at 2,700 r.p.m. for takeoff, burning 100-octane gasoline. The R-2800-10 had a 2:1 gear reduction and drove four-bladed Curtiss Electric constant-speed propellers which had a 12 foot, 2 inch (3.708 meter) diameter. The R-2800-10 was 4 feet, 4.50 inches (1.334 meters) in diameter, 7 feet, 4.47 inches (2.247 meters) long, and weighed 2,480 pounds (1,125 kilograms), each.
The prototype Black Widow had a top speed of 370 miles per hour (595 kilometers per hour) at 29,900 feet (9,114 meters) and a service ceiling of 33,100 feet (10,089 meters). The maximum range was 1,450 miles (2,334 kilometers).
Prototype Northrop XP-61 Black Widow 41-19509 in camouflage. (U.S. Air Force)
The night fighter was crewed by a pilot, a gunner and a radar operator. A large Bell Laboratories-developed, Western Electric-built SCR-720 air search radar was mounted in the airplane’s nose. The gunner sat above and behind the pilot and the radar operator was in the rear fuselage.
SCR-720 Air Search Radar mounted in nose of a Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter. (NOAA)
The Black Widow was armed with four Browning AN-M2 .50-caliber machine guns in a remotely-operated upper turret, and four AN-M2 20 mm aircraft automatic cannons, grouped close together in the lower fuselage and aimed directly ahead. This was a superior arrangement to the convergent aiming required for guns mounted in the wings. The fire control system was similar to that used by the B-29 Superfortress. The guns could be fired by either the gunner or the radar operator. The Black Widow carried 200 rounds of ammunition for each cannon.
The eight guns of a P-61 Black Widow converge on target during test firing.Northrop P-61A-1-NO Black Widow 42-5507 in olive green camouflage. (U.S. Air Force)
The XP-61 was built with a center “gondola” for the crew, radar and weapons, with the engines outboard in a twin-boom configuration, similar the the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. The Black Widow did not use ailerons. Instead, it had spoilers mounted on the upper wing surface outboard of the engines. Roll control was achieved by raising a spoiler, decreasing lift on that wing and causing it to drop. A similar system was employed on the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress ten years later.
Northrop P-61A three-view illustration with dimensions. (U.S. Army Air Forces)
The P-61 got its nickname, Black Widow, from the glossy black paint scheme that scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) had determined was the best camouflage for a night fighter. Over 700 P-61s were built, with 36 built as the F-15 photo reconnaissance variant. They served in both the Pacific and European Theaters during World War II, and were also used during the Korean War. After the war, the radar-equipped fighter was used for thunderstorm penetration research.
Northrop P-61C-1-NO Black Widow 43-8353 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)Northrop P-61C-1-NO Black Widow 43-8353 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
1st Lieutenant Harrison Gage Crocker, Air Service, United States Army, with the DH-4B-1-S, A.S. 22-353. (Bain News Service, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)
26 May 1923: 1st Lieutenant Harrison Gage Crocker, Air Service, United States Army, made the first South-to-North non-stop flight across the United States when he flew from the Gulf of Mexico to the U.S./Canada border near Gordon, Ontario.
Lieutenant Crocker’s airplane was a modified DH-4B-1-S, serial number A.S. 22-353. This was the same airplane flown by Lieutenant James H. Doolittle on an East-to-West Transcontinental flight, 4 September 1922. The DH-4B-1-S had a 240 gallon (908.5 liter) main fuel tank and a 28 gallon (105.9 liter) reserve tank. It carried 24 gallons (90.9 liters) of lubricating oil for the engine.
Due to the heavy load, a long smooth airfield was necessary for the takeoff. Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, was selected, though it was farther south than other locations near the Gulf coastline.
Lieutenant Crocker took off from Ellington Field at 5:20 a.m., Central Time (0920 UTC) and turned toward the Gulf of Mexico. On reaching the Gulf, Crocker turned to the North, climbed to 1,800 feet (550 meters) at a speed of 97 miles per hour (156.1 kilometers per hour). Throughout the flight, he encountered low clouds and fog and rainstorms. He flew over, under, or through the clouds, depending on the circumstances. The storms forced him to deviate from his planned course several times.
According to Lieutenant Crocker’s report of the flight,
The Canadian Border was touched about one mile from Gordon, Ontario, across from Trenton, Mich. at 4:49 p.m. central time, taking 11 hours and 29 minutes from Gulf to Border. The main tank supply gave out at 4:55 central time and the reserve was used for 20 minutes. Both mentally and physically fatigued, a landing at Selfridge Field was made at 5:15 p.m., making 11 hours and 55 minutes in the air.
—AIR SERVICE NEWS LETTER, Vol. VII, No. 13, 10 July 1923, at Page 2.
Harrison Gage Crocker was born at Wahpeton, Dakota Territory, 4 July 1888. He was the third of six children of William Goss Crocker, a county school superintendent, and Sarah Baird Purdon Crocker. He worked for his father as a printer at Lisbon, North Dakota.
After the United States had entered World War I, Harrison Crocker enlisted as a private in the Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps at Fort Omaha, Nebraska, 19 December 1917. He served as a private, first class, in the Aviation Section from 22 January to 18 October 1918, when he was discharged to accept a commission as a second lieutenant. This commission was vacated and Crocker was appointed a first lieutenant, Air Service, United States Army, 21 September 1920.
1st Lieutenant Crocker married Miss Ethel Toye at Northwood, Iowa, 1 December 1920. They had one son, Gage Houston Crocker, who would also serve as an officer in the Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force. Mrs. Crocker died 14 September 1955. The following year, 20 October 1956, Colonel Crocker married Marjorie Bindley Johnston.
In 1926, Lieutenant Crocker was stationed in the Territory of the Canal Zone, Panama. He and Mrs. Crocker arrived there 10 April 1926, aboard the U.S. Army transport ship, USAT Cambrai.
On 1 October 1934, Lieutenant Crocker was promoted to the rank of captain, and a year later, 20 October 1935, to the temporary rank of major. This temporary rank became permanent 1 July 1940.
Major Crocker was promoted to lieutenant colonel (temporary), 15 July 1941 (permanent as of 11 December 1942).
Colonel Harrison Gage Crocker died at Los Gatos, California, 3 December 1964. He was buried at the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California.
U.S. Army Air Service de Havilland DH-4B, A.S. 64008 (McCook Field Project Number P 174). (U. S. Air Force)
DH-4B-1-S A.S. 22-353 was a modified DH-4B. The Airco DH.4 was a very successful airplane of World War I, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. It was a two-place, single-engine, two-bay biplane. Originally intended as a bomber, it served in virtually every capacity during World War I and the years following. It was built by several manufacturers in Europe and the United States.
The DH-4B was a rebuilt DH.4 with fuel capacity increased to 110 gallons (420 liters). The DH-4B was 30 feet, 6 inches (9.296 meters) long with a wingspan of 43 feet, 6 inches (13.259 meters) and height of 10 feet, 4 inches (3.150 meters). Loaded weight of the standard DH-4B was 3,557 pounds (1,613.4 kilograms).
In place of the Rolls-Royce Eagle VII V-12 of the British-built version, Army Air Service DH-4s were powered by a water-cooled, normally-aspirated, 1,649.336-cubic-inch-displacement (27.028 liter) Liberty L-12 single overhead cam (SOHC) 45° V-12 engine with a compression ratio of 5.4:1. The Liberty produced 408 horsepower at 1,800 r.p.m. The L-12 as a right-hand tractor, direct-drive engine. It turned turned a two-bladed fixed-pitch wooden propeller. The Liberty 12 was 5 feet, 7.375 inches (1.711 meters) long, 2 feet, 3.0 inches (0.686 meters) wide, and 3 feet, 5.5 inches (1.054 meters) high. It weighed 844 pounds (383 kilograms).
The Liberty L12 aircraft engine was designed by Jesse G. Vincent of the Packard Motor Car Company and Elbert J. Hall of the Hall-Scott Motor Company. This engine was produced by Ford Motor Company, as well as the Buick and Cadillac Divisions of General Motors, The Lincoln Motor Company (which was formed by Henry Leland, the former manager of Cadillac, specifically to manufacture these aircraft engines), Marmon Motor Car Company and Packard. Hall-Scott was too small to produce engines in the numbers required.
The DH-4B had a maximum speed of 128 miles per hour (206 kilometers per hour), service ceiling of 19,600 feet (5,974 meters) and range of 400 miles (644 kilometers).
Reproduction of a DH-4B in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. (U.S. Air Force)
This photograph shows LZ-5 backing out of its floating shed on Lake Constance, just before its first flight. (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)Ferdinand Adolf Heinrich August Graf von Zeppelin (Bundesarchive)
26 May 1909: The creation of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, the rigid airship LZ-5 made its first flight at Lake Constance (Bodensee).
This was an experimental airship, 442 feet (136 meters) long, with a diameter of 42 feet (13 meters). Powered by two Daimler engines producing 105 horsepower each, it was capable of 30 miles per hour. The structure of the airship was a framework built of a light alloy covered with a fabric skin. Buoyancy was provided by hydrogen gas stored inside the envelope.
LZ-5 was purchased by the army and renamed ZII. It was destroyed in a storm 24 April 1910.
Kaman HH-43B-KA Huskie 60-0263 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. (U.S. Air Force)
25 May 1961: Captain Walter C. McMeen, U.S. Air Force. flew a Kaman HH-43B Huskie, 60-0263, to an altitude of 8,037 meters (26,368 feet) over Luke Air Force Base, west of Phoenix, Arizona. This established a new Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Altitude with a 1,000 Kilogram Payload.¹
Brigadier General James W. Chapman, Jr., commander, 4510th Combat Crew Training Wing, Luke Air Force Base, congratulates Captain Walter C. McMeen on his record setting flight. (U.S. Air Force)
Captain McMeen was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his achievement.
This same helicopter set a World Record for Altitude Without Payload at 10,010 meters (32,841 feet), 18 October 1961.² It was flown by Lieutenant Colonel Francis M. Carney over the Kaman plant at Bloomfield. Connecticut. The following week, on 24 October 1961, Colonel Carney set six more world records, flying the HH-43B to 3,000 meters (9,853 feet) in 2 minutes, 41.5 seconds;³ 6,000 meters (19,685 feet) in 6 minutes 49.3 seconds;⁴ and to 9,000 meters (29,528 feet) in 14 minutes, 31 seconds.⁵ Captain Richard H. Coan set a World Record for Distance Over a Closed Circuit Without Landing, when he flew 60-0263 1,055.16 kilometers (655.65 miles), at Mono Lake, California, 13 June 1962.⁶ Captain Chester R. Radcliffe, Jr., set an FAI World Record for Distance Without Landing when he flew the Huskie from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to Springfield, Minnesota, a distance of 1,429.80 kilometers (888.44 miles), 5 July 1962.⁷
Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-263. (FAI)
The Kaman Aircraft Corporation Huskie was used by the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, primarily for short range rescue operations. It was operated by two pilots and two rescue crewmen.
A turboshaft engine drove a unique system of counter-rotating and intermeshing rotors to provide lift, thrust and directional control. The counter-rotation cancelled the torque effect so no anti-torque, or tail, rotor was necessary. This allowed all of the engine’s power to drive the main rotor system.
The fuselage of the H-43B was 25 feet, 2 inches (7.671 meters) long. Each rotor had a diameter of 47 feet, 0 inches (14.326 meters). It’s height was 15 feet, 6½ inches (4.737 meters). The helicopter’s empty weight was 4,470 pounds (2,028 kilograms) and its maximum gross weight was 8,800 pounds (3,992 kilograms).*
Kaman H-43B 58-1846 at Edwards Air Force Base. (University of Texas at Dallas 14EAK-1-1PB29)
The H-43B was powered by one Lycoming T53-L-1B turboshaft engine, rated at 860 shaft horsepower at 21,510 r.p.m. The engine uses a 5-stage axial-flow, 1 stage centrifugal-flow, compressor with a single stage gas producer turbine and single-stage power turbine. A reverse-flow combustion section allows significant reduction in the the engine’s total length. The power turbine drives the output shaft through a 3.22:1 gear reduction. The T53-L-1 is 3 feet, 11.8 inches (1.214 meters) long and 1 foot, 11.0 inches (0.584 meters) in diameter. It weighs 460 pounds (209 kilograms).
The Huskie’s economical cruise speed was 98 miles per hour (158 kilometers per hour), and the maximum speed was 120 miles per hour (193 kilometers per hour). Its hover ceiling out of ground effect (HOGE) was 18,000 feet (5,486 meters), and in ground effect (HIGE) was 20,000 feet (6,096 meters) and it had a range of 235 miles (378 kilometers).
Kaman H-43B Huskie 58-1846 at Edwards AFB. Left rear quarter view. Note the early configuration of vertical fins.
With the call sign Pedro, the HH-43 was a rescue helicopter that served in combat during the Vietnam War.
The record-setting Kaman HH-43B Huskie 60-0263 was last assigned to Detachment 3, 42nd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. It is in the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
Walter Carlton McMeen was born 22 July 1926 at Lamesa, Dawson County, Texas, He was the son of Ralph Evan McMeen, an oil company truck driver, and Nannie Dee Price. At the age of 17 years, Walter enlisted in the United States Navy, 29 March 1944. He served as a fireman aboard the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Young (DD-580). Following World War II, Fireman 1st Class McMeen was released from active duty, 16 May 1946.
USS Young (DD-580), Mare Island, 6 October 1944. (U.S. Navy)
McMeen studied at Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas, but in 1950, he left school to enlist as an aviation cadet in the U.S. Air Force. He was sent to pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, southeast of Phoenix, Arizona.
Aviation Cadet McMeen married Miss Lena Fay Boykin of Dallas, Texas, at Williams AFB, 28 Oct 1950. The wedding was presided over by an Air Force chaplain. They would have four children.
Walter C. McMeen was commissioned as a second lieutenant, U.S.A.F., 10 February 1951. He flew 100 combat missions in fighter bombers during the Korean War. He then served as an instructor at Nellis AFB, near Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lieutenant McMeen transitioned to the Piasecki H-21. In three years at Nellis, he rescued 49 pilots. He was then assigned to Luke AFB. During the next four years, in addition to 31 Air Force personnel, McMeen rescued 41 civilians and brought them to safety.
Piasecki H-21B Workhorse O-34334 at Elmendorf Air Foce Base, Alaska, circa 1960. (U.S. Air Force)
In 1955, using an ax to chop through the canopy of a burning North American Aviation F-86 Sabre, Lieutenant McMeen saved the life of the fighter’s pilot. For this action he was awarded the Soldier’s Medal.
On 12 April 1960, Captain McMeen accepted the first Kaman H-43B at the factory in Bloomfield, Connecticut. He flew the new helicopter to Langley, Virginia, where it was loaded aboard a Lockheed C-130 Hercules and transported to Luke AFB, Arizona.
In 1968, Major McMeen commanded Detachment 16, Western Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Center at Williams AFB.
Major McMeen retired from the Air Force 1 July 1970.
McMeen was fatally injured 28 December 1984, at San Diego, California. He was a passenger aboard a Bell 47G-3B-1 helicopter, N474MP, attempting to land aboard M/V Olga del Pacifico, a 70.01-meter, 1,111 gross ton Mexican-registered tuna seiner which was tied up alongside the 10th Avenue Terminal in San Diego Bay. The pilot, James McDonald, did not see a crane boom which was positioned over the ship’s helideck. McDonald was critically injured, but McMeen died at Physicians and Surgeons Hospital at 4:15 p.m.**
Major Walter Carlton McMeen was buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona.
¹ FAI Record File Number 13154
² FAI Record File Number 1870
³ FAI Record File Numbers 13057 and 13135
⁴ FAI Record File Numbers 13056 and 13136
⁵ FAI Record File Number 13137
⁶ FAI Record File Number 1258
⁷ FAI Record File Number 13208
* Maximum overload gross weight is 9,150 pounds (4,150 kilograms) at a load factor of 2.0
** The helicopter, manufacturer’s serial number 6531, was repaired and returned to service. It was later registered N811MS and N9296U. The FAA registration was cancelled in 2013.
George S. Welch with North American YF-100A 52-5754. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
25 May 1953: North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch took the YF-100A Super Sabre, U.S. Air Force serial number 52-5754, for its first flight at Edwards Air Force Base. The airplane reached Mach 1.03.
Development of the Super Sabre began with an effort to increase the speed of the F-86D and F-86E Sabre fighters. The wings had more sweep and the airfoil sections were thinner. A much more powerful engine would be needed to achieve supersonic speed in level flight. As design work on the “Sabre 45” proceeded, the airplane evolved to a completely new design. Initially designated XF-100, continued refinements resulted in the first two aircraft being redesignated YF-100A.
North American Aviation Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch in the cockpit of YF-100A 52-5754 at Los Angeles International Airport. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The two YF-100As, 52-5754 and 52-5755, were 46 feet, 2.4 inches (14.082 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 9.6 inches (11.217 meters) and height of 14 feet, 4.8 inches (4.389 meters). The Super Sabre had a 49° 2′ sweep to the leading edges of the wings and horizontal stabilizer. The wings were swept to 45° at 25% chord, and had 0° angle of incidence, 0° dihedral, and no twist. The total wing area was 376 square feet (34.932 square meters). The ailerons were placed inboard on the wings to eliminate their twisting effects at high speed. The airplane had no flaps, resulting in a high stall speed in the landing configuration. The horizontal stabilizer was moved to the bottom of the fuselage to keep it out of the turbulence created by the wings at high angles of attack. The pre-production prototypes weighed 18,279 pounds (8,291 kilograms) empty; had a combat weight of 24,789 pounds (11,244 kilograms); and maximum takeoff weight of 28,965 pounds (13,138 kilograms).
The YF-100A had a fuel capacity of 757 U.S. gallons (2,866 liters) in five fuselage tanks, and could carry two external drop tanks for another 550 gallons (2,082 liters).
The new air superiority fighter was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Turbo Wasp XJ57-P-7 engine. The J57 was a two-spool axial-flow turbojet which had a 16-stage compressor section (9 low- and 7 high-pressure stages) and a 3-stage turbine (2 high- and 1 low-pressure stages). The XJ57-P-7 had a Normal Power rating of 7,250 pounds of thrust (32.250 kilonewtons) at 5,570 r.p.m., N1/9,630 r.p.m, N2; Military Power rating was 8,450 pounds thrust (37.587 kilonewtons) at 5,850 r.p.m./9,630 r.p.m., for 30 minutes; and 13,200 pounds thrust (587.717 kilonewtons) at 5,850 r.p.m./9,630 r.p.m. with afterburner, limited to five minutes. The engine was 20 feet, 3.0 inches (6.172 meters) long, 3 feet, 5.0 inches (1.014 meters) in diameter, and weighed 5,126 pounds (2,325 kilograms). Later production aircraft used a J57-P-39 engine, which had the same ratings.
Cutaway illustration of a North American Aviation F-100A Super Sabre. (Boeing)North American Aviation YF-100 Super Sabre 52-5754, 19 May 1953. (North American Aviation, Inc.)The prototype North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre, 52-5754, with the North American F-100 team. Chief Test Pilot George S. Welch is in the center of the front row, seated. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
The YF-100A had a maximum speed of 634 knots (730 miles per hour/1,174 kilometers per hour) at Sea Level, and 573 knots (659 miles per hour/1,061 kilometers per hour) at 43,350 feet (13,213 meters). The service ceiling was 46,000 feet (14,021 meters). The combat radius was 422 nautical miles (486 statute miles/782 kilometers), and maximum ferry range, 1,410 nautical miles (1,623 statute miles/2,611 kilometers).
During testing, 52-5754 reached Mach 1.44 in a dive. On 29 October 1953, Colonel Frank K. Everest set a world speed record of 1,215.298 kilometers per hour (755.151 miles per hour) with 52-5754.¹
In service with the United States Air Force, the Super Sabre’s mission changed from air superiority fighter to fighter bomber. It was used extensively during the Vietnam War. North American Aviation, Inc., built 2,294 single and tandem-seat Super Sabres between 1954 and 1959.
The F-100 pushed the State of the Art in the 1950s. There was a very steep learning curve back then. They remained in service with the USAF until 1979, and with the Republic of China Air Force until 1988. They also flew for France and Turkey.
In USAF service, 889 were destroyed in accidents, resulting in the death of 324 pilots. During the Vietnam War, the F-100s flew more combat sorties that all of the 15,000+ P-51 Mustangs during World War II. 186 Super Sabres were shot down by antiaircraft fire, but none were lost to enemy fighters.
North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 over Edwards Air Force Base, California, 25 May 1953. (North American Aviation, Inc.)North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 lands on the dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (North American Aviation, Inc.)
George Welch was born George Lewis Schwartz, in Wilmington, Delaware, 10 May 1918. His parents changed his surname to Welch, his mother’s maiden name, so that he would not be effected by the anti-German prejudice that was widespread in America following World War I. He studied mechanical engineering at Purdue, and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939.
North American Aviation YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 banks away from a chase plane during a flight test. (U.S. Air Force)
George S. Welch is best remembered as one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor. He was one of only two fighter pilots to get airborne during the Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Flying a Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, he shot down three Aichi D3A “Val” dive bombers and one Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter. For this action, Lieutenant General H.H. “Hap” Arnold recommended the Medal of Honor, but because Lieutenant Welch had taken off without orders, an officer in his chain of command refused to endorse the nomination. He received the Distinguished Service Cross. During the War, Welch flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra and Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 348 combat missions. He had 16 confirmed aerial victories over Japanese airplanes and rose to the rank of Major.
Suffering from malaria, George Welch was out of combat, and when North American Aviation approached him to test the new P-51H Mustang, General Arnold authorized his resignation. Welch test flew the P-51, FJ-1 Fury, F-86 Sabre and F-100 Super Sabre. He was killed 12 October 1954 when his F-100A Super Sabre came apart in a 7 G pull up from a Mach 1.5 dive.
North American Aviation pre-production prototype YF-100A Super Sabre 52-5754 with drag chute deployed on landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The extended pitot boom is used to calibrate instruments early in the flight test program. (U.S. Air Force)North American Aviation YF-100 Super Sabre 52-5754 with external fuel tanks, parked on the dry lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (U.S. Air Force)
