The Legacy of Flight
Images from the archives of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
- By David Romanowski and Melissa Keiser
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 14, 2010
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NASA selected Marine Lt. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. for the third Mercury mission, the first to send an astronaut into orbit. Senior in age and rank among the Mercury Seven, Glenn brought to the project both a distinguished service record and a winning smile. As a test pilot and a decorated combat veteran of World War II and Korea, he possessed the nerves of steel required for the unnerving prospect of being strapped inside a capsule atop an Atlas rocket and fired into space.
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Comments (4)
Can some knowledgeable person comment upon why the
canopy of the distant (of the four) F-51 seems
different from the others. EDITORS' REPLY: According to Melissa Keiser and David Romanowski’s book, “The top three airplanes are P-51Ds, the first model with the distinctive bubble canopy, which improved the pilot’s view toward the rear. Suzy-C, by contrast, is a P51B with the earlier canopy design.”
Posted by J. P. Vetrano on October 30,2010 | 05:58 PM
The caption of photo 9 is not phrased well.
The thousands of men who serviced and flew the B-24 Liberator also deserve some acknowledgment as the "might" of the Mighty Eigth Air Force's daylight campaign.
Posted by Mark Breeding on February 10,2012 | 11:32 AM
Note the second P-51 aircraft has a revised tail.
Posted by James Williamson on April 18,2013 | 10:03 AM
Let me just make an inocuous comment; as an ex-86D driver, your stuff is the first I note each AM.
Posted by Gordon Caswell on April 18,2013 | 04:56 PM