Chuck Yeager Breaks Sound Barrier

The Bell X-1, nicknamed "Glammorous Glennis" after the wife of Capt. Chuck Yeagers, was powered by RMI XLR-11 series rocket engines providing 26.7 kN of thrust. The airplane itself was shaped after the 12.7mm rifle bullet, being the only aerodynamically stable shape in supersonic conditions known to U.S. scientists in those days. On Oct. 14, 1947, Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier while piloting the X-1.