"Boy, That Was A Ride"

A. Scott Crossfield in front of an X-156 Rocketplane.

What follows is a story about a pilot who became one of only seven pilots to qualify as an Air Force astronaut.

To qualify as an Air Force astronaut you have to fly an aircraft higher than 50 miles. 

Early Life 

Robert Michael White was born on July 6th, 1924, in Manhattan, New York City. He was the first born of two sons to Michael White and Helen IKaroline) Butz White, an immigrant from Austria.

Robert grew up in the Bronx and attended a vocational high school studying to be an electrician, all the time working as a telegram messenger for Western Union. We all remember telegrams, right?

After Pearl Harbor Robert White enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces as an Aviation Cadet in November of 1942. Upon completion of his flight training in February of 1944 he graduated as a 2nd Lieutenant.

He had been trained to be a fighter pilot, and upon completion of his training was sent to Great Britain to join a fighter group at RAF Steeple Mordin in Hertforshire.

He began flying the North American P-51C Mustang in combat in July of 1944.

He christened his P-51C-10-NT Mustang number 42-103795 WR-V aircraft the Duchess of Manhattan.

This is a Dallas, Texas-built P-51C-1-NT, 42-103023. (North American Aviation, Inc.)

World War II

On his 52nd combat mission on February 23, 1945, Lt. White (call sign: Falcon Green One) was busy strafing the Neubeerg Airfiled in Germany when he was hit by ground fire. 

He decided he was too low to bail out and crash landed the Duchess of Manhattan in a clearing in the forest near Boehnfeld.

White was quickly captured and interred as a prisoner of war. Initially White was shuffled from one POW camp to another until he finally landed in Stalag III-D in Berlin.

In what can only called an ugly turn of events, the train he was being transported on wound up being strafed by some American P-51s. Many of the passengers were either wounded or killed, but White survived unscathed from the incident.

The Americans were advancing quickly and Lt White found himself taking a 110 mile march to Stalag VII-A in southern Bavaria. This was the largest POW camp in Germany, with more than 130,000 Allied POWs.

On April 29th, 1945, the camp was liberated by the 14th Armored Division, Sevent Army. From there Lt. White was taken to a relocation center in France, and then took a cruise to the USA on a Liberty ship whereupon he was released from active duty but retained his commission in the USAAF Reserves.

Post World War II

Following his release from active duty White attended New York University while making regular currency flights in a North American Aviation AT-6 Texan.

 
Two USAFF North American AT-6C-NT Texan trainers in flight near Luke Field, Arizona.

On February 7th, 1948, Robert White married Miss Doris M. Allen at the Holy Name Church in New York, followed by four children.

In 1951 Bob White graduated from NYU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering (BSEE).

The Korean War

During the Korean War, White was recalled to active duty, assigned as a pilot and engineering officer, 514th Troop Carrier Wing, Mitchel AFB, New York.

In February of 1952 he was sent to Japan and assigned to the 40th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, at Johnson Air Base near Tokyo, Japan, flying P-51 Mustangs.

As the unit transitioned to jet fighters, White received 50 hours of training in the Lockheed T-33, and was then transitioned into F-80 Shooting Stars.

He then applied for a commission as a regular officer in the U.S. Air Force, which was approved, and he was promoted to the rank of captain.

After 18 months overseas, he returned to the United States to attend the Squadron Officer’s School at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. He finished first in his class.

Test Pilot School

While at Maxwell, Captain White applied to the Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB in California.

He was accepted, and in June 1954 began 6 months of training at Edwards. On completion of the school, he was assigned to Edwards under Lieutenant Colonel Frank Kendall (“Pete”) Everest, chief of flight test operations.

He flew “chase” in the F-86 and F-100, made test flights in the Convair F-102, North American F-86K Sabre, Northrop F-89H Scorpion, the Ryan X-13, and the Republic YF-105A and F-105B Thunderchief.

Then came the creme' de la creme', hw was assigned to fly the X-15 Rocket Plane.

Major Robert M. White, U.S. Air Force, with a North American Aviation X-15 on Rogers Dry Lake, 1961. (NASA)

Over the next 32 months White flew 16 flights in the X-15 rocket plane as the third pilot chosen to fly the X-15.

As he accumulated time in the X-15 he gradually increased his speed becoming the first pilot to exceed Mach 4, Mach 5, and Mach 6.

On November 9th, 1961, he piloted the X-15 to Mach 6.04 (4,093 mph). But, he was not finished yet!

On July 17, 1962 he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 314,750 feet, setting a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world record for altitude gain. 

For this feat, he won the Air Force rating of winged astronaut--the first one awarded to a pilot.

Command Pilot Astronaut insignia, United States Air Force

As an added bonus Maj. White was featured on the front cover of the August 3rd, 1962 LIFE magazine with his son, telling everyone that 'Boy, That Was A Ride'!

Vietnam

In 1966 Major White received a Master of Science degree in business administration for George Washington University in Washington D.C.

For the third time in his career, White was called to serve in another war, the Vietnam War, as F-105 Thunderchief (the THUD), flying 70 combat missions over North Vietnam.

His career in the USAF continued to grow with various assignments including promotion to Colonel and returning him eventually to Edwards to command of the Air Force Flight Test Center in July of 1970.

USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, CA.

White retired from the Air Force as a Major General in February, 1981, having earned the Air Force Cross and four Silver Stars with three clusters.

On March 17, 2010, NASA announced the death of Robert White in Orlando, Florida at the age of 85. His obituary appeared in the March 23rd,2010 edition of the New York TImes.

I hope you enjoyed this trip through some of the history of aviation. If you enjoyed this trip, and if you are new to this newsletter, sign up to receive your own weekly newsletter here: Subscribe here!

Until next time, keep your eyes safe and focused on what's ahead of you, Hersch!