SUPERSONIC FLIGHT: Breaking the Sound Barrier and Beyond - Story of the Bell X-1 and Douglas D-558

SUPERSONIC FLIGHT: Breaking the Sound Barrier and Beyond - Story of the Bell X-1 and Douglas D-558 by Hallion, Richard P.. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781857532531.

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Chuck Yeagers first supersonic flight, this edition includes a new introduction and new photographs. The book is a history of the struggle to break the sound barrier. Starting with an introduction co-written by astronaut Michael Collins and a prologue relating the fatal attempt by Britains Geoffrey de Havilland to break the sound barrier in 1946, the book describes: the basic problems of supersonic flight; the story of the Bell X-1 in which "Chuck" Yeager successfully broke the sound barrier in 1947; and the Douglas D-558, the first aircraft to reach twice the speed of sound.