Today in History: Jackie Cochran Breaks the Sound Barrier

71 years ago today, pilot Jackie Cochran broke the sound barrier. Smithsonian‘s piece from 2010 elaborates on Cochran’s trailblazing.

On May 18, 1953, Cochran took off from Rogers Dry Lake, California, accompanied by Air Force Captain Charles “Chuck” Yeager, who six years earlier had been the first man to break the sound barrier. In an F-86 Sabre plane, borrowed from the Royal Canadian Air Force, Cochran surpassed Mach 1; over the course of her flight, she averaged speeds of 652.337 miles per hour.

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