American flying ace
Iven Carl "Kinch" Kincheloe Jr.
[a]
[2]
(July 2, 1928 ? July 26, 1958)
[3]
[4]
was an American pilot. He served in the
U.S. Air Force
during the
Korean War
, in which he was recognized as a
flying ace
. He continued as a
test pilot
after the war, participating in the
Bell X-2
program, in which he set an altitude record of 126,200 feet (38,470 m) in 1956. For this suborbital flight above most of the atmosphere, he became known as "The First Spaceman".
[4]
[5]
[6]
He was selected for the Air Force's program to put a man in space,
[7]
but was killed in a plane crash in 1958.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Born July 2, 1928, in
Detroit
,
Michigan
, Kincheloe grew up in
Cassopolis
in the
southwest
part of the state, the only child of Iven C. Kincheloe Sr. (1894?1966) and Frances Wilder Kincheloe. Interested in aviation from a very young age, he graduated from
Dowagiac
High School in 1945 and attended
Purdue University
in
West Lafayette, Indiana
.
Kincheloe joined the
Reserve Officers' Training Corps
(ROTC), was a member of
Sigma Phi Epsilon
fraternity
(Indiana Alpha), and graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
degree in
aeronautical engineering
in 1949. In the summer of 1948, the ROTC cadet met test pilot
Chuck Yeager
and sat in the cockpit of the
Bell X-1
.
Korean War
[
edit
]
Upon graduation from college, Kincheloe received his
commission
as a
second lieutenant
in the
U.S. Air Force
and entered flight training. After earning his
pilot wings
in August 1950, he spent a year as a test pilot, flying the
F-86E
at
Edwards Air Force Base
,
California
, was promoted to
first lieutenant
, and transferred to
Korea
in September 1951.
During the war, he was assigned to the
25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
, he flew
F-80s
on thirty
combat missions
and F-86s on 101 combat missions, downing five
MiG-15s
(becoming an
ace
and earning the
Silver Star
) before returning to the U.S. in May 1952. At this time, he had reached the rank of
captain
.
Post-war career
[
edit
]
After the war, Kincheloe was a gunnery instructor at
Nellis Air Force Base
outside
Las Vegas
,
Nevada
, then resumed his activity as a test pilot (subsequent to his prior flight test activities associated with the F-86E), graduating in December 1954 from the
Empire Test Pilots' School
at
Farnborough, England
. He participated in the testing of the
Century Series
of
fighter aircraft
(
F-100 Super Sabre
,
F-101 Voodoo
,
F-102 Delta Dagger
,
F-104 Starfighter
,
F-105 Thunderchief
, and
F-106 Delta Dart
).
In the mid-1950s, Kincheloe joined the
Bell X-2
program and on September 7, 1956,
[8]
flew at more than 2,000 mph (3,220 km/h) and to a height of 126,200 feet (38,470 m)
[3]
[8]
(some sources list 126,500),
[4]
the first flight ever above 100,000 feet (30,480 m), above 30 km (18.6 mi) and above 20 mi (32.2 km). For this he was nicknamed "America's
No. 1 Spaceman"
. (However, this altitude is below the
Karman line
, the threshold for "space" later established by the
Federation aeronautique internationale
[b]
, as well as below the 50-mile-boundary used by the U.S. Air Force.) He was awarded the
Mackay Trophy
for 1956 for the flight.
[9]
The X-2 program was halted three weeks later, after a crash resulted in the death of
Mel Apt
in a flight in which he became the first person to exceed Mach 3.
[10]
Kincheloe was later selected as one of the first three pilots in the next rocket-powered aircraft program, the
X-15
,
[11]
and would have been part of the
Man in Space Soonest
project.
Death and legacy
[
edit
]
In July 1958, Kincheloe was killed in the crash of an F-104A (Lockheed F-104A-10-LO s/n 56-772) at Edwards Air Force Base; he had ejected at low altitude, but given that the early F-104 used a downwards catapulted ejection seat the deployed parachute did not adequately slow his descent.
[11]
[12]
He was buried with full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery
.
[13]
Only thirty years old, Kincheloe was survived by wife, Dorothy, their young son, Iven III, and a daughter who was born two months later, Jeannine.
[14]
- On September 25, 1959,
Kincheloe Air Force Base
in Michigan's
Upper Peninsula
was renamed in his honor;
[15]
formerly
Kinross
Air Force Base, it closed in 1977.
- A monument stands approximately 1½ miles (2½ km) east of his hometown of Cassopolis, Michigan; an angular stone slab twelve feet (3.7 m) in height, it bears a silver model of the X-2 pointed skyward.
[16]
[17]
(
41°54′54″N
85°58′23″W
/
41.915°N 85.973°W
/
41.915; -85.973
)
- Kincheloe Elementary School, part of the nearby Dowagiac Union School District, is named in his honor.
[18]
- The television program
Hogan's Heroes
included a character named Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe, played by
Ivan Dixon
.
- In 1992, he was inducted into the
Aerospace Walk of Honor
.
[19]
- In 2011, he was inducted into the
National Aviation Hall of Fame
.
[20]
[21]
- The Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Iven C. Kincheloe Award
is named in his honor.
[22]
- The Purdue University
Arnold Air Society
squadron is named in his honor.
Awards and decorations
[
edit
]
Silver Star citation
[
edit
]
- Kincheloe, Iven C.
- Captain U.S. Air Force
- 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group, Fifth Air Force
- Date of Action: April 1, 1952
- Citation:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Captain Iven Carl Kincheloe, United States Air Force, for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United Nations as Pilot of an F-86 Fighter Plane in the 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, 51st Fighter-Interceptor Group, Fifth Air Force, on 1 April 1952. While leading a flight of four F-86 type aircraft, Captain Kincheloe encountered sixteen enemy aircraft attempting to intercept friendly fighter-bombers, Captain Kincheloe quickly broke his flight into elements to engage the enemy, and boldly attacked although greatly outnumbered. He pressed attacks against two of the enemy, completely disregarding efforts of other aircraft to deter him. Displaying unusual aggressiveness, Captain Kincheloe severely damaged the aircraft of the enemy flight leader, forcing him to eject himself, and despite heavy damage to his own aircraft, attacked another and destroyed it completely. Captain Kincheloe's destruction of the two aircraft effectively broke up the enemy force and prevented their attack on the friendly fighter-bombers. Through his personal courage, outstanding airmanship, and devotion to duty, Captain Kincheloe reflected great credit upon himself, the Far East Air Forces, and the United States Air Force.
[23]
See also
[
edit
]
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. is on his
grave marker
at
Arlington National Cemetery
. However, his first name is sometimes spelled
Ivan
.
[1]
The Right Stuff
, however, consistently uses Iven
- ^
The FAI established 100 km (62.14 mi) as a space boundary which isn't exactly the altitude of the (varying) Karman line.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Bryan, C. D. B. (1979-09-23).
"The Right Stuff"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2006-04-02
.
- ^
"Astronaut bio: Robert L. Crippen"
. NASA, Johnson Space Center. 1997
. Retrieved
2006-04-02
.
- ^
a
b
Burns, Curtis A. (1975).
"Capt. Iven C. Kincheloe Jr"
. National Museum of the United States Air Force. Archived from
the original
on 2006-02-25
. Retrieved
2006-04-02
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Captain Iven C. Kincheloe Jr"
. Air Force Link. Archived from
the original
on 2005-10-25
. Retrieved
2006-04-02
.
- ^
Mumford, Lou (September 10, 2006).
"Cassopolis native was first man in space"
.
South Bend Tribune
. (Indiana). Archived from
the original
on October 22, 2017
. Retrieved
December 13,
2017
.
- ^
"Kincheloe"
. Archived from
the original
on December 28, 2016.
- ^
"America's First Spaceman"
.
NPR.org
. Retrieved
2023-01-11
.
- ^
a
b
Chant, Christopher (1999). "The chronology of flight 1940 to [1999-03-25]". In Taylor, Michael J.H. (ed.).
The world's greatest aircraft
. Hertfordshire: Regency House Publishing Ltd. p. 388.
ISBN
1-85605-523-X
.
The Bell X-2 research aircraft is flown by Capt. Iven C. Kincheloe to an altitude of 126,200 ft (38,466m).
- ^
"Mackay Trophy".
The Air Power Historian
.
4
(3): 173. 1957.
JSTOR
44512998
.
- ^
"Needle-nose X-2 dives to earth"
.
Spokesman-Review
. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 28, 1956. p. 1.
- ^
a
b
"Jet crash kills pilot slated to be one of first spacemen"
.
Lewiston Morning Tribune
. (Idaho). Associated Press. July 27, 1958. p. 1.
- ^
Swopes, Bryan (26 July 2022).
"26 July 1958"
.
This Day in Aviation
. Retrieved
7 April
2023
.
- ^
"Ike asks successor to aid lad"
.
Spokane Daily Chronicle
. (Washington). Associated Press. November 18, 1958. p. 2 – via Google News.
- ^
Kincheloe's family
Archived
2015-02-12 at the
Wayback Machine
,
- ^
Boster, Steven F. (1969). "Aerospace Profile: Space Age Pioneer".
Aerospace Historian
.
16
(4): 7?8.
JSTOR
44524658
.
- ^
Smalls, Yashekia (September 24, 2006).
"Kincheloe monument restored"
.
South Bend Tribune
. (Indiana). Archived from
the original
on December 14, 2017
. Retrieved
December 13,
2017
.
- ^
"Sightings: Capt. Iven Kincheloe Memorial, Cassopolis, Michigan"
.
Bell X-2
. 2016
. Retrieved
December 13,
2017
.
- ^
"Kincheloe Elementary"
. Dowagiac Union Schools. Archived from
the original
on September 1, 2018
. Retrieved
December 13,
2017
.
- ^
Halley, Blaine (September 19, 1992).
"Ceremony Will Honor 5 Test Pilots"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Los Angeles, California. p. B2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"
50th Annual Enshrinement Dinner and Ceremony
".
National Aviation Hall of Fame
website. Retrieved on 2011-07-23.
- ^
Mumford, Lou (July 22, 2011).
"An Honor Long Overdue"
.
South Bend Tribune
. Archived from
the original
on November 7, 2012
. Retrieved
July 25,
2011
.
- ^
"Need of Human Pilots, Despite Missiles, Seen"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Los Angeles, California. October 5, 1958. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
"Valor awards for Iven Carl Kincheloe"
.
Military Times
. Retrieved
2022-09-14
.
External links
[
edit
]
Preceded by
|
Human altitude record
1956-1960
|
Succeeded by
|