Glen Edwards (pilot)
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2010) |
Glen Walter Edwards | |
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Distinguished Flying Crosses (4) (6)Air Medal |
Glen Walter Edwards (March 5, 1916–June 5, 1948) was a test pilot for the United States Air Force, and is the namesake of Edwards Air Force Base.
Early life
Edwards was born March 5, 1916, in
World War II
North Africa and southern Italy
After graduating with a
When the Germans broke through the
During his tours in the North African campaign and the
Returning to the United States in December 1943, he was assigned to the
Post war
The first test flights
Although assigned to Wright Field, he spent much of his time at
In 1946, he was the principal project pilot for the jet-powered Convair XB-46 prototype bomber. It was also during this period that he acquired his first experience with a flying wing, as he familiarized himself with the flying qualities of the Northrop N-9M, a single-seat, one-third scale mock-up of the giant XB-35 prototype bomber.
His superb skills as a pilot, engineer and officer were held in such high esteem that his immediate superior, Major Robert Cardenas, recommended him as project pilot for an unprecedented program—the first attempt to exceed the speed of sound in the Bell X-1. That assignment, however, went to Capt. Chuck Yeager.
University
Edwards was, instead, selected to be among the first to be sent to
Death
In May 1948, Edwards was selected to join the team of test pilots and engineers at Muroc who were then evaluating the
Tributes
One of Col. Boyd's first orders of business, when he assumed command of Muroc in late 1949, was to rename the base in honor of someone who had given his life to the cause of experimental flight research. By tradition, Air Force bases were named after distinguished individuals who were native sons of the state in which a base was located. Boyd could think of no one more deserving than the bright, young, Canadian-born Californian whose promising career had ended in the skies over the western Mojave.
On December 8, 1949,
In 2008, the family of Captain Edwards donated his diaries to the Air Force Flight Test Center museum. The diaries describe Edwards' experiences during World War II, from when he joined the Army Air Corps, up to a few days before he died.[2]
There is a middle school in Lincoln, California, named after Edwards.[3]
Notes
- ^ This day in aviation - Glen Edwards bio
- ^ Perry, William (2008-11-26). "AFFTC museum receives Capt. Edwards' diaries". Edwards Air Force Base. Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
- ^ "Glen Edwards Middle School". Glen Edwards Middle School.
References
Ford, Daniel: Glen Edwards: The Diary of a Bomber Pilot (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998)