Yeager breaks the sound barrier (Bell X-1)

In October 1947 test pilot Chuck Yeager became the first aviator confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight. He did so aboard rocket-powered Bell X-1 number 46-062, nicknamed "Glamorous Glennis", built by Bell Aircraft for a joint NACA, Army Air Forces and USAF research project. The X-1 was the first of the American X-planes series of experimental research aircraft.