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Editorial use only .US aviators Jacqueline 'Jackie' Cochran (1906-1980) and Charles 'Chuck' Yeager (1923-2020) walking away from an aircraft after a flight in 1962. On 14th October 1947 Yeager became the first pilot confirmed to have broken the speed of sound in an aircraft. Yeager had begun his career as a fighter pilot during World War II, destroying 13 enemy aircraft. He spent several years flying experimental aircraft, including the Bell X-1 used to break the sound barrier. On 18th May 1953 Cochran became the first woman to break the sound barrier. During her career she also set a new women's national speed record, a new transcontinental speed record as well as altitude records, and was the first woman to fly a bomber across the Atlantic. At the time of her death, no other pilot held more speed, distance, or altitude records in aviation history. Photographed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA. (KEYSTONE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/US AIR FORCE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)