History of aviation – November 20, 1953. A major first in the sky on November 20, 1953, the date on which a rather exceptional flight was signed. It is to the aviator Albert Scott Crossfield that we owe a flight achieved on this day at a speed of Mach 2.04, never before had a pilot evolved so quickly. A historic moment for the American test pilot.
A feat that Albert Scott Crossfield accomplished with a supersonic Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket aircraft, which was then still an experimental aircraft equipped with a rocket engine to provide propulsion. The aviator having made his flight above the Edwards base located in the State of California, thus being twice as fast as sound!
A quick reminder, in terms of supersonic flights, it was in October 1947 that a man managed to break the sound barrier for the first time: Charles Yeager, installed at the controls of an X-1, flying at 1,127 kilometers/ hour, or Mach 1.07. In May 1953, it was the turn of a woman to have such an experience, namely the American Jacqueline Cochran piloting a Canadair F-86 Sabre. The Frenchwoman Jacqueline Auriol will be the first European to achieve a supersonic flight with a Mystère II.
![[🇺🇦/🇷🇺] Vers un face à face Su57 vs F16 en Ukraine ? Retour sur l'échec de la contre-offensive](https://www.airlinesanddestinations.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Towards-a-Su57-vs-F16-face-to-face-in-150x150.)
