"Gig 601XL Builder" wrDOTgiaconaATsuddenlink.net wrote in message
...
Dudley Henriques wrote:
wrote in message
oups.com...
Funny story:
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/IAF/Hi...unPrakash.html


Although Yeager is without question one of the finest sticks the
United States military has ever turned out, and he is entitled to
many accolades involving his fine career, the following statement
accompanying the photograph of Gen Yeager from this article is
incorrect.
"The first man to break the sound barrier - Brigadier General Charles
E "Chuck" Yeager, USAF."

In fact, Chuck Yeager was the first man to beak the speed of sound in
LEVEL FLIGHT.
His flight in the X1 at Edwards followed by a week the flight of the
first man to actually break the sound barrier. That man was George
Welch. The aircraft was the North American F86 prototype.
Dudley Henriques

And there are stories of pilots during WWII doing it in powered dives. But
the X1 was the first to do it with only the power it's engines were
producing.

....under monitored conditions (ICAO?).