William Sommerwerck wrote:
Sorry? Where was supersonic flight first achieved, again?

Germany, 1943?

Chuck Yeager would likely disagree. Got some proof of that?


Many wartime planes went supersonic in a dive. Few survived to tell of
it though.

The plane that finally did it in peace time was the Miles M52, well it
WOULD have been the Miles, except the total plans for it were handed to
the USA and UK government funding withdrawn from the Miles company. It
appeared virtually unchanged as the Bell X-1 , with American stickers
all over it. But it was in essence the Miles plane. A smaller unmanned
version of which had reached Mach 1.38 in about 1946/7.

The key thing that allowed the X-1 to maintain control in transonic
flight was the Miles' all moving tailplane. This got around the control
reversal that plagued transonic aircraft fitted with conventional elevators.

The USA was about 5 years behind everyone else in jet engines and high
speed flight, till they lifted what they could from the UK and Germany
to make up for the ideas and research they didn't have. Of course
staying out of the war as long as possible, lending money to the winning
side, finally joining it, and not actually ever getting bombed proved
excellent business, and they were then the only country in the world
with enough money left to spend on waving a supersonic dick around.