I wrote an essay on him in Eighth Grade. He was an inspiration to me and though I never got to be a pilot, he served his country and then some. 11.5 kills over Germany in WWII, broke the sound barrier, excellent test pilot and trained astronauts on the quest to get to the Moon. He went from enlisted to Brigadier General, what a life he led.
On October 12, 1944, he became the first pilot in his group to make "
ace in a day," downing five enemy aircraft in a single mission.
(Only 68 U.S. pilots Becoming an ace in a day during WW II according to Wikipedia )
Two of these kills were scored without firing a single shot: when he flew into firing position against a
Messerschmitt Bf 109, the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking right and colliding with his wingman. Yeager said both pilots bailed out. He finished the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter, a German
Messerschmitt Me 262 jet that he shot down as it was on final approach for landing.
Trivia: Every pilot in the US emulates his speech pattern due to the drawl of his West Virginia accent and manner of speaking:
Every pilot out there takes on the exact same speech pattern and pseudo-West Virginian accent. Chuck Yeager is the reason why.
www.wearethemighty.com
R.I.P. Chuck Yeager
Fastest Man Alive by Steve Earle.
www.dailymail.co.uk
