which was the first aircraft to touch Mach 1.0?

Answer 1

it was x-1

Answer 2

Ah, the endless debate over who first went supersonic. Common wisdom holds it was Chuck Yeager in the rocket-powered Bell X-1 on October 14, 1947, but an argument can be made that the first manned aircraft to break Mach 1 was actually the prototype North American Aviation XP-86 Sabre flown by North American's test pilot George Welch a couple of weeks earlier on October 1st of the same year. Welch had put the new jet into a steep dive from 35,000 feet over what is now Edwards Air Force Base and described flight characteristics of the airplane consistent with what would later be called "Mach Jump". Witnesses on the ground also reported hearing a sonic boom, but Welch's aircraft did not carry the necessary recording equipment to verify his claims or mark the event for posterity, so history awarded the laurels to Chuck, which does not in any way take away from his achievement or skills as a pilot.

The Sabre could rightly be said to be the first high-performance, air superiority jet combat aircraft of the postwar era. North American's engineers had adopted data from the wartime German Luftwaffe's jet programmes regarding the value of swept wings to increase high speed performance and delay the onset of compressibility shockwave effects over the length of the wing. While early models of the Sabre had to put into a near-vertical power dive from high altitude to go supersonic, later versions with more powerful engines, such as the Canadian Canadair CF-86 Mark 6 Sabre and the Australian CAC Avon Sabre, could push through Mach 1 from much shallower, less drastic dives. It should also be noted that Chuck Yeager tested the supersonic performance of the Russian MiG-15, the Sabre's chief combat rival during the Korean War, and declared the the MiG to be nearly uncontrollable at supersonic speeds.

N.

Answer 3

The Bell X-1 was the first airplane to pass the sound barrier in level flight, on 14 October 1947, with Chuck Yeager at the controls.

During WW2, some P-51s came very close to Mach 1 during steep dives. Some of them came apart, which led some people to the belief that the sound barrier couldn't be exceeded.

Answer 4

Neil_H (?) is correct. Though Chuck Yeager's flight in the X-1 was the Official flight to exceed mach 1, there have been reports of at least one F-86 Sabre that hit Mach 1 during a steep dive. Though it was not during a public event nor was it publicly announced.

But for argument's sake, we can say that the Bell X-1 was the first aircraft to hit Mach 1 in LEVEL flight (parallel to the ground, that is).

Answer 5

It was a Bell X-1 piloted by United States Air Force Captain Charles (Chuck) Yeager. The name of the particular aircraft that Yeager flew was the Glamorous Glennis. You can get a view at the link below.

Answer 6

The Bell X-1, a rocket powered craft.

Answer 7

x-1....Glamorous Glennis