• A man kneels in a flight suit in front of the nose of an aircraft which has Bell Aircraft X-2 written on the side. He balances a helmet on his knee.
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    On September 27, 1956, Capt. Milburn G. Apt became the first person to reach Mach 3. During that same flight he was killed when the Bell X-2 crashed. In this photo, he poses with the X-2 at Edwards Air Force Base just a few days before the crash.

  • A man kneels in a flight suit in front of the nose of an aircraft which has Bell Aircraft X-2 written on the side. He balances a helmet on his knee.

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SI-90-3798

Credit:

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM 90-3798)

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National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

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Smithsonian Institution

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