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
As a boy he wanted to fly. His plane ride in a “little old Ford two motor job” only enhanced that desire. Flying was his dream and since that time the accomplishment list has awed many.
In 1949 Joe enlisted in the Air Force from the time at that $1.50 ride he was enamored by aviation. He spent his youth around planes – flying was to be his life.
During his years as a test pilot, Joe volunteered to test a parachute that was to be used by astronauts. With calm courage he dramatically fell several miles, thus evoking the comment from aerospace doctor Paul Stamp, “Joe is the bravest man alive.”
At age 28 in 1957 in the early dawn Joe boarded a small gondola under a high balloon. He was to test man’s endurance in space.
Upward he went more than eighteen miles; it was the highest man had ever gone and he became known as
“the first man in space”.
A brush with death came while flying an F-100. The plane went out of control, crashed and burned. Joe had bailed out at 1000 feet and not even a scratch!
Later in 1960 he rode another balloon to the height of 102,000 feet. Wearing a bulky pressure suit he climbed out of the balloon. He descended for four minutes 38 seconds, finally reached the speed of 614 MPH, even through there was a drag chute which was used to slow his descent When asked about his fall, he said, “I didn’t have time to worry ” This gave Colonel Kittinger the record for the highest jump and longest free fall. Later he was given the credit for testing the parachute which would be used by astronauts in the event that an ejection was necessary.
Units Assigned
1950 Aviation Cadet training
1950 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany (F-84, F-86)
1954 Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC), Holloman AFB, NM
1957 Project Manhigh, Kittinger (set an interim balloon altitude record of 96,760 feet)
Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories, Project Excelsior, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, OH
1965 Returned to operational USAF
May 11, 1972 shot down and spent 11 months in Hanoi Hilton (F-4D)
3/28/1973 Released in Operation Homecoming
48th Tactical Fighter Wing, Vice Commander, RAF Lakenheath, England (F-4)
12th Air Force, Bergstrom AFB, TX
1978 Retired USAF
Awards & Decorations
Silver Star with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster
Distinguished Flying Cross with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster
Bronze Star Medal with Valor device and 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal with 4 Silver Oak Leaf Clusters
Air Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Presidential Unit Citation
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award
Prisoner of War Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal with Service Star
Vietnam Service Medal with1 Silver and 2 Bronze Service Stars
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon with 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
USAF Marksmanship Ribbon
Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Palm
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Flight Info
F-84
F-86
F-100
F-4
Command Pilot
Master Parachutist
Military & Civilian Education
Military Education:
1973 Air War College
Civilian Education:
The Bolles School, Jacksonville, FL
University of Florida
Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr., Col USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on December 9, 2022.
From the Washington Post,
FILE – Retired Air Force Col. Joseph W. Kittinger Jr., smiles during his induction into the Aviation Hall of Fame, Saturday, July 19, 1997, in Dayton, Ohio. Kittinger, the U.S. Air Force pilot who held the record for the highest parachute jump for more than 50 years, died Friday, Dec. 9, 2022, in Florida at age 94. (AP Photo/Michael Heinz, File)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Retired Air Force Col. Joseph Kittinger, whose 1960 parachute jump from almost 20 miles (32 kilometers) above the Earth stood as a world record for more than 50 years, died Friday in Florida. He was 94.
His death was announced by former U.S. Rep. John Mica and other friends. The cause was lung cancer.
Kittinger, then an Air Force captain and pilot, gained worldwide fame when he completed three jumps over 10 months from a gondola that was hoisted into the stratosphere by large helium balloons. Project Excelsior was aimed at helping design ejection systems for military pilots flying high-altitude missions.
Wearing a pressure suit and 60 pounds of equipment, Kittinger almost died during the project’s first jump in November 1959 when his gear malfunctioned after he jumped from 14.5 miles (23 kilometers). He lost consciousness as he went into a spin that was 22 times the force of gravity. He was saved when his automatic chute opened.
Four weeks later, Kittinger made his second jump from just over 14 miles (22 kilometers) above the surface. This time, there were no problems.
Kittinger’s record jump came on Aug. 16, 1960, in the New Mexico desert. His pressure suit malfunctioned as he rose, failing to seal off his right hand, which swelled to twice normal size before he jumped from 102,800 feet — more than 19 miles (31.3 kilometers) above the surface.
Free falling in the thin atmosphere, the Tampa native exceeded 600 mph (965 kph) before the gradually thickening air slowed his fall to about 150 mph (241 kph) when his parachute deployed at 18,000 feet (5.5 kilometers).
“There’s no way you can visualize the speed,” Kittinger told Florida Trend magazine in 2011. “There’s nothing you can see to see how fast you’re going. You have no depth perception. If you’re in a car driving down the road and you close your eyes, you have no idea what your speed is. It’s the same thing if you’re free falling from space. There are no signposts. You know you are going very fast, but you don’t feel it. You don’t have a 614-mph (988-kph) wind blowing on you. I could only hear myself breathing in the helmet.”
His record stood until 2012, when Austrian Felix Baumgartner jumped from 24 miles (38.6 kilometers) above the New Mexico desert, reaching the supersonic speed of 844 mph (1,360 kph). Kittinger served as an adviser.
Kittinger stayed in the Air Force after his jumps, serving three tours of duty during the Vietnam War. He was shot down over North Vietnam in May 1972, but ejected and parachuted to Earth. He was captured and spent 11 months in a Hanoi prisoner of war camp, undergoing torture.
He retired from the Air Force in 1978 and settled in the Orlando area, where he became a local icon. A park is named there is named after him.
JOSEPH W. KITTINGER JR.
Colonel – United States Air Force
Captured: May 11, 1972
Released: March 28, 1973
Others in incident: none
A short, stocky man with reddish hair and freckles was a relative newcomer to Hanoi. He was older than most of the POWs and was known as the “Red Baron” to some and as “Grandpa” to the younger pilots. He buoyed the spirits, boosted morale and was one of the best officers in the camp. He had confidence and courage, his outlook was positive. He knew that captivity was not forever and on his 307th day as a POW he was released.
Joe Kittinger had confidence, enthusiasm and a desire for accomplishment. “Self-mastery is the key to the portals of the universe” and with these words he attempts and succeeds where many would be daunted.
Joe served three tours in Vietnam. He volunteered for his third tour saying he wanted to go “because I want the war to end so my own sons won’t have to go.” By May 11, 1972, Joe had flown more than 485 missions as the pilot of an F-4 with the 432 TFW. Seven days before he was to return home, a missile struck the right side of his aircraft, the wings fell off, and the rear of his plane began to break up. His parachute was not observed and his family feared he was missing in action. However, several months later his wife and his two sons were notified he was a prisoner of war.
Times were sometimes difficult, but Joe Kittinger, a Christian, turned to God in prayer.
SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor, P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602 Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and spelling errors).
UPDATE – 03/97 by the P.O.W. NETWORK, Skidmore, MO
