flying with Chuck Yeager
March 9, 1944 WWII Hiding from the Germans
Jean and I go to the bigger lake to fish. He, as alert as I am and wise beyond his years, shows me the hidden way. Hanging out with Jean, I learn a little French. It’s a long way. We bring back some fish for le dejeuner (lunch). The young mother makes a shirt for…
Read MoreMarch 8, 1944. WWII. On the Run from the Germans
General Yeager’s words: March 8, 1944. Six year old Jean and I played soccer. Then he took me to a little lake where we fished. I’m alert. The Germans are still on the prowl looking for me. I learn that the plane of the Germans who shot me down came down in a field just…
Read MoreMarch 7, 1944. WWII.Escaping the Germans
March 7, 1944 evening General Yeager’s words: I’m in hiding during the day in the basement of the house in Casteljaloux. You have to go to the back of the house to get in. Not comfortable in the middle of town. Rumors are neighbors have turned in neighbors in this town. Wonder what they would…
Read MoreMarch 6, 1944.Evening.WWII. Evading the Germans
March 6, 1944 evening: dark We ride off on bicycles: make it as far as Castaljaloux where they put me in the back of a house for the rest of the night and the next day. It’s right in the middle of town. Neighbors are pretty close. The Germans are still looking for me but have…
Read MoreWWII.Mar 6, 1944: Behind Enemy Lines:Germans Everywhere Looking for Yeager
March 6, 1944: Behind Enemy Lines:Germans Everywhere Looking for Me: In the morning, I hear a rhythmic banging. I crawl to where I could see – it is a woodsman chopping wood. We were told, if we’re shot down or behind enemy lines, to approach poor people – they would be the most likely to…
Read MoreWWII. Shot down. Not so Sierra Hotel. March 5, 1944
March 5, 1944: Weather is stinkin’ again. We head to Bordeaux to hit some shipping targets. As we get closer, it is clear we can’t see the targets so we decide to head east to an air base as a target of opportunity. I call out: Bandits! Six o’clock! And turn into them – do…
Read MoreYaw Damper & Snaking Discussion re F-86, F-104, Century Series
Question from a top engineering historian: I have been doing some research into specific airplanes, one of which is the production F-86A and later models. In two different places I came across engineers casually discussing the in flight high-speed ‘snaking’ motion of the F-86. One North American engineer just said ‘. . . the snaking…
Read MoreBritish v American Fighter Pilots
Jan 16, 1944 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower took command of the Allied invasion force in London. And not a moment too soon for the US fighter pilots at Leiston, UK. The British, whose derrieres we were saving, were rudely saying: The Americans are: Overpaid Oversexed and Over here. After General Eisenhower took command, the…
Read MoreYeager Gets Nuke Weapons at Hahn Air Base during Cold War
General Yeager: About 10 months after I arrived at Hahn Air Force Base, life became more complicated and dangerous for all of us. The wing received new airplanes – a bigger and more powerful version of the Sabre, called the H model, which gave us much faster acceleration. The MiGs discovered the fact when a…
Read MoreGeneral Yeager Recollects B-47 & Gen Ascani
I used to fly from Wright Field to Edwards with a few stops along the way – Oklahoma City, OK, then Alberquerque, New Mexico. One time I flew a B-47 into New Mexico. General Ascani needed a ride. When he saw I was flying the bomber alone, he sputtered: Where’s your co-pilot? Me: I don’t…
Read MoreWithout an Abort – Mission to South Korea – Pueblo Flap
From General Chuck Yeager: After the US Navy ship, the Pueblo, was taken by the North Koreans in 1968, we took off from South Carolina and 17 hours later, my whole wing was in South Korea without an abort. That mission led to my becoming a General. On the way, we hit the tankers off…
Read MoreMy First & Only Cruise: Yeager Going to War (WWII) on HMS Queen Elizabeth
General Yeager tells this story: 1943: Shortly before Christmas, we left for England and war. Just a couple nights before, we had feasted on the antelope I had herded and shot cleanly with a P-39. Far better than spam or powdered eggs, it would be our last good meal for a long time. As the…
Read More