October 14: “Sound Barrier” officially broken by American test pilot Chuck Yaeger.
At age 24, piloting a Bell X–1, in CA.
Speed of sound is: 744 miles/hour… a.k.a. “Mach 1”…
The next major hurdle, Mach 2 was achieved 6 years later in Nov 1953 by test pilot Scott Crossfield piloting a D–558 II Skyrocket (when in doubt, these feats occur in California).