Captain Glen Edwards

Glen Edwards (March 5, 1918–June 5, 1948) was a test pilot for the U.S. Air Force, and is the namesake of Edwards Air Force Base. March 5 is the 64th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (65th in leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerospace branch of the United States armed forces. ... Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home...

He was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada where he lived until 1931, when his parents moved the family to Lincoln, California. He maintained dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship throughout his life. Template:Hide = Motto: Template:Unhide = A Community of Choice Established: City: 09 May 1906 Area: 120. ... Lincoln is a city located in Placer County, California. ...

After graduating with a degree in chemical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, Edwards enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on July 15, 1941. After completing his flight training, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Luke Field, Arizona, in February 1942. Assigned to the 86th Light Bombardment Squadron of the 47th Bombardment Group, he departed for the North African theater of operations (Tunisia) as a flight commander in October 1942. There he led his flight of A-20s on extremely hazardous, low-level missions German tanks, convoys, troop concentrations, bridges, airfields and a variety of other tactical targets. The University of California, Berkeley (also known as the University of California at Berkeley, UC Berkeley, Cal, California, or Berkeley) is the oldest and flagship campus of the ten-campus University of California system. ... The United States Army Air Forces, or USAAF, was a part of the U.S. military during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... July 15 is the 196th day (197th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 169 days remaining. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... Luke Air Force Base, Arizona is a large Luke beacuse he is Americas idle. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Phoenix Phoenix Area  Ranked 6th  - Total 113,998 sq mi  (295,254 km²)  - Width 310 miles (500 km)  - Length 400 miles (645 km)  - % water 0. ... The Douglas A-20 series, Douglas model DB-7, was a family of bomber and fighter aircraft of World War II, serving with United States, British, Soviet, French and Australian services. ...

When the Germans broke through the Kasserine Pass in February 1943, his undermanned and undersupplied squadron flew eleven missions in a single day, repeatedly attacking advancing armored columns and blunting their thrust. On one of these missions, Edwards and his crew set a record by completing a combat mission – from takeoff to landing – in just 19 minutes. His squadron received a Distinguished Unit Citation for this action. The Battle of the Kasserine Pass took place in World War II during the Battle of Tunisia, fought between the German Afrika Korps under General Erwin Rommel, and the Americans under General Lloyd Fredendall in the Kasserine Pass (a 2 mile wide gap in the Dorsal Chain of the Atlas... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... USA and USAF Presidential Unit Citation Please see Presidential Unit Citation for other versions of this award The Presidential Unit Citation is awarded to units of the Armed Forces of the United States and allies for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy on or after 7 December 1941...

During his tours in the North African campaign and the invasion of Sicily, Edwards completed 50 combat missions and was awarded four Distinguished Flying Crosses and six Air Medals. Husky was also the codename of Australian military support to Sierra Leone ending in February 2003. ... The Distinguished Flying Cross. ... The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States which was established by Executive Order 9158, signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, on May 11, 1942. ...

Returning to the United States in December 1943, he was assigned to the Pilot Standardization Board at Florence Army Air Field, S.C., and then, in late 1944, to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio. He graduated from the Flight Performance School (initial designation of the USAF Test Pilot School) there in May 1945 and was assigned to the Bomber Test Operations Section. Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Columbia Columbia Area  Ranked 40th  - Total 34,726 sq. ... National Museum of the United States Air Force at WPAFB Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base in Greene and Montgomery counties, adjacent to Fairborn and Dayton, Ohio. ... Official language(s) None Capital Largest city Columbus Columbus (largest metropolitan area is Cleveland) Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Though assigned to Wright Field, he spent much of his time at Muroc Army Air Field, on California's high desert, testing a wide variety of experimental prototypes such as Douglas' highly unconventional pusher-prop light bomber, the XB-42 Mixmaster. Indeed, in December 1945, he and Lt. Col. Henry E. Worden set a new transcontinental speed record when they flew this airplane from Long Beach, California, to Bolling Air Force Base, in Washington, D.C., in just 5 hours, 17 minutes. Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home... The Douglas XB-42 Mixmaster was an experimental bomber aircraft, designed for a high top speed. ... County Los Angeles County, California Area  - Total  - Water 170. ... Bolling Air Force Base, in Southwest Washington, DC, is named for Col. ... Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Official website: http://www. ...

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-place, one-third scale mock-up of the giant XB-35 prototype bomber. Living modestly on a captain's salary at the time, he also somehow managed to help put two of his nephews through college. The Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, universally known as Convair, was the result of a 1943 merger between Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft, resulting in a leading aircraft manufacturer of the United States. ... The Convair XB-46-CO was a single example of an experimental medium jet bomber developed in the mid-1940s but which never saw production or active duty. ... The Northrop N-9M was a one-third scale development aircraft for the Northrop B-35 flying wing bomber. ...

His superb skills as a pilot, engineer and officer were held in such high esteem that his immediate superior, Maj. Robert M. 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. The Bell X-1, originally XS-1 was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound in controlled, level flight. ... Charles Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Chuck Yeager (born February 13, 1923 in Myra, Lincoln County, West Virginia) is a World War II ace and test pilot, considered a living legend of aviation. ...

Edwards was, instead, selected to be among the first to be sent to Princeton University for graduate study in the aeronautical sciences. The recent war had spawned truly revolutionary advances in aviation technology and it had become apparent to men such as Col. Albert Boyd, the chief of the Flight Test Division, that a new breed of military test pilot – one who combined the talents of a highly skilled pilot with the technical expertise of an engineer – would be required to effectively evaluate increasingly complex aircraft and onboard systems. Thus, when Glen Edwards graduated from Princeton with a masters of science in aeronautical engineering in 1947, he represented one of the first of this new breed. Princeton University is a coeducational private university located on an extensive campus in and around suburban Princeton, New Jersey. ...

In May 1948, he was selected to join the team of test pilots and engineers at Muroc who were then evaluating the Northrop YB-49, the all-jet version of the exotic flying wing bomber. After his first few flights, he was not favorably impressed, confiding to his diary that it was "the darndest airplane I've ever tried to do anything with. Quite uncontrollable at times." Then, on June 5, 1948, he was flying as co-pilot with Maj. Daniel Forbes when the airplane departed from controlled flight and broke apart in the sky northwest of the base. All five crew members were killed. A YB-49 being flown during a test flight The Northrop YB-49 was a prototype jet-powered flying wing heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Air Force shortly after World War II. It was a development of the piston-engined Northrop YB-35, and the two YB... June 5 is the 156th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (157th in leap years), with 209 days remaining. ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ...

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 Californian whose promising career had ended so tragically in the skies over the western Mojave.

On December 8, 1949, Muroc Air Force Base was officially redesignated Edwards Air Force Base and, during ceremonies on January 27, 1950, a plaque was unveiled which commemorated his achievements. That plaque is now located in a place of honor in front of the headquarters of the Air Force Flight Test Center. The tribute at its base reads: "A pioneer of the Flying Wing in the western skies, with courage and daring unrecognized by himself." December 8 is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ... Edwards Air Force Base is an airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home for flight... Edwards Air Force Base is a USAF airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, USA at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home... January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Edwards Air Force Base is an airbase located on the border of Kern County and Los Angeles County, California in the Antelope Valley, 7 miles (11 km) due East of Rosamond, at 34°57′ N 117°52′ W. An airbase since 1933, Edwards has long been a home for flight...

References

Ford, Daniel: Glen Edwards: The Diary of a Bomber Pilot (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998) ISBN 1560985712

External links

• Glen Edwards and the Flying Wing
• Edward AFB History Office biography
• A Toast to Glen Edwards
• Crash site of the YB-49