He named his planes Glamorous Glennis after his wife, Glennis Dickhouse (married 26 February 1945). Despite those regulations to the contrary, he later was allowed to resume flying over France after receiving the direct approval of General Eisenhower after D-Day.Ĭhuck Yeager on or about October 14, 1947, when he became the first man to break the sound barrier, posing beside the plane in which he did it, the Bell X-1. After his return, he was officially grounded per regulations due to his knowledge of the French resistance (which he might reveal after another downing). That makes it sound simple and straightforward, but it wasn't: Yeager's escape required four days of climbing through knee-deep snow and freezing rain, and he and a companion were fired upon by a German patrol. Making contact with French partisans after a harrowing night, he escaped to Spain and made his way back to England via Lisbon. After gaining one victory, he was shot down over France during his eighth mission while attacking a pair of Focke Wulf 190s. In the latter half of 1943, the Allied fighter range grew tremendously and ultimately extended to Berlin.However, Yeager got off to a rocky start with the high-performance aircraft (he had trained on the mediocre Bell P-39 Aircobra). This forced the defending German fighters to battle Allied fighters during the daylight hours, giving Allied fighter pilots like Chuck Yeager greater opportunities. Charles E “Chuck” Yeager”, Hamlin, WV, 363rd Fighter Squadron, P-51D 44-13897 B6-Y “Glamorous Glen II”. Yeager's arrival coincided with the upgrading of the P-51D fighter into a war-winning aircraft that could escort bombers all the way to Berlin (the renewed bombing offensive against Berlin resumed on virtually the day he arrived in Europe). He was transferred with his Group to RAF Leiston on 23 November 1943.Ĭapt. Early on, he exhibited a daredevil attitude and earned an early reprimand for dangerous stunts. 1943.Yeager graduated from flight training on 10 March 1943, and he was assigned to the 357th Fighter Group at Tonopah, Nevada. He had phenomenally good eyesight and thus was accepted for flight training after beginning as a mechanic despite an indifferent educational background.Ĭhuck Yeager in flight school, ca. Army Air Forces before Pearl Harbor, on 12 September 1941. However, Yeager's adventures during the war by themselves were enough for any military career and are illustrative of the career of a top Allied fighter pilot.Ĭhuck Yeager (left) at RAF LeistonYeager was born in Myra, West Virginia, and spent two summers gaining exposure to the military at the Citizens Military Training Camp at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Indiana. Much of Yeager's celebrity accrues from his post-war service, and that is beyond the scope of this article. While there were indeed many extraordinarily competent Allied pilots, one that stands out is Chuck Yeager (born 13 February 1923).
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