Not counting the Sound Barrier- here’s 7 other facts about the Greatest of All Time
In 1944, while fighting in World War Two, Yeager became the first in his flight group to make “ace in a day” by shooting down five enemies in a single mission.
That same year, Yeager also scored one of the first air-to-air victories of the war against a German Messerschmitt ME262 jet fighter.
After a North Korean pilot defected to South Korea, Yeager tested his MiG-15 and became one of the first American pilots to fly that aircraft.
In 1962, Yeager became the first commandant of the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School, and over in late 1963/early 1964 he set a record for completing five flights in the NASA M2-F1 lifting body.
On June 22, 1969, Yeager was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and became the vice-commander of the Seventeenth Air Force.
In 1986, Yeager drove the Chevrolet Corvette pace car for the 70th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 at the age of 63.
On October 14, 2012, the 65th anniversary of his breaking the sound barrier, Yeager broke it again at the age of 89.
"In this clear and perhaps rather surprising view from 17,500’ (5,300m) beneath the surface of the Pacific, a 1941 International Harvester A14 “Shop Mule” sits still chained to the deck of aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8). Most famous today for being host vessel of the successful Doolittle Raid in April of 1942, the carrier was later lost during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands on October 27th of the same year. This and a number of other stunning photos were taken soon after the lost ship’s discovery by Paul Allen’s research vessel R/V Petrel in January of 2019 off the coast of the Solomon Islands, these being the first new images seen of Hornet in more than 76 years.
Similar in form and appearance to other International Harvesters of the period used in agricultural work, this machine would have been employed aboard as a tow tractor for use in moving aircraft - likely including the famous B-25B Mitchells of the first bombing raid on Japanese soil during WWII.
Photo credit Navigea LTD, January 2019"