The first person to officially fly faster than sound in level flight would have been 100 today.
There are those who believe that a British pilot could and should have beaten him to the feat. UK designer Fred Miles had solved some key problems relating to transonic flight, secrets which had to be shared with the Americans under a war-time agreement. The Miles M.52 incorporated those features and was due to start test flights when the project was cancelled. It is probable that this was a decision taken by prime minister Clement Attlee, whose major failing was ingratiating himself with the US Democratic presidency.
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