Skip to content

This Day in History – June 10, 1969 – The X-15 gets a place in history

10 June 1969: The U.S. Air Force donated the first North American Aviation X-15, serial number 56-6670, to the Smithsonian Institution for display at the National Air and Space Museum. The first of three X-15A hypersonic research rocketplanes built by North American for the Air Force and the National Advisory Committee (NACA, the predecessor of NASA), 56-6670 made the first glide flight and

Read More »
Main Menu
  • Home
  • History
    • About The SSS
    • Headed West
    • Biographies
    • Today in F-100 History
    • SSS Caterpillar
    • Wall of Honor
    • F-100 Information
    • Friends of the Super Sabre
    • N. American F-100 Super Sabre
  • Galleries
  • The Intake
    • About The Intake: Journal
    • The Intake: Journal of the Super Sabre Society – Archives
  • What’s New
  • Contact

Connolly, Michael F.

  • Home
  • Biography
  • Biographies
  • Connolly, Michael F.

Michael F. Connolly

Preferred Name: Mike
Date of Birth: October 13, 1936
Highest Military Grade: 0-5 – Lieutenant Colonel
Hometown: Jersey Shore, PA
Biography
Pilot Information

JS Flyer With Black Panthers at Phan Rang AB

U.S. Air Force Capt. Michael F. Connolly of Jersey Shore R.D. 1 (PA), recently took part in a successful strike mission southwest of Binh Thuy AB which resulted in the destruction of eight enemy fortifications and seven motorized sampans. Captain Connolly… volunteered for an assignment in Vietnam and is enthusiastic about his role as an F-100 Super Sabre fighter pilot.
I really enjoy it”, he commented.

A former B-52 bomber pilot, the captain is assigned to the “Black Panthers” of the 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron. “The members of the 615th are some of the best pilots I have seen in the Air Force”, he said.

Based at Phan Rang Air Base, Capt. Connolly has flown 14 combat missions. The captain, a graduate of Jersey Shore High School, attended Pennsylvania State University and earned his B.S. degree from the University of Omaha (Neb.) and his M.S. degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. A member of Alpha Chi Cigma, he received his commission through the aviation cadet program.

(source: “Happy Valley” Phan Rang AB, Vietnam (Source unknown, dated: Monday, January 15,

Units Assigned

  • 3597th Combat Crew Training Squadron
  • 1966 615th Tactical Fighter Squadron “Black Panthers”, Phan Rang AB, Vietnam (F-100)
  • 4417th Combat Crew Training Squadron

Awards & Decorations

Flight Info

B-52
F-100

Military & Civilian Education

Military Education:

  • Aviation Cadets

Civilian Education:

  • HS Jersey Shore High School, PA
  • Penn State University
  • BS University of Omaha, NE
  • MS George Washington University, DC

Wall of Honor Location

Our Mission

The mission of the Super Sabre Society is to preserve the history of the F-100 Super Sabre and the men who flew the aircraft.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2025 Super Sabre Society
Website by: Heart and Soul Web Design
Scroll to Top