On October 14, 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager piloted the Bell X-1 rocket plane to a speed of 662 mph, thus becoming the first man to break the sound barrier in level flight. The San Diego Air & Space Museum recently debuted an online exhibit outlining a short history of the United States’ Army Air Forces attempt to break the sound barrier. This exhibit uses images and films from the Museum’s archives to look at that attempt and the efforts that led up to it. Our thanks to Museum docent Paul Trevisan for providing content for this exhibit.

To view the exhibit, visit: https://sandiegoairandspace.org/exhibits/online-exhibit-page/sound-barrier-introduction