Editing Chuck Yeager (section)

=== World War II ===
On September 12, 1941, Yeager enlisted as a private in the [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]] (USAAF), and became an aircraft mechanic at [[George Air Force Base]], [[Victorville, California]]. At enlistment, Yeager was not eligible for flight training because of his age and educational background, but the entry of the U.S. into World War II less than three months later prompted the USAAF to alter its recruiting standards. Yeager had unusually sharp vision, a [[visual acuity]] rated 20/10, which once enabled him to shoot a deer at {{cvt|600|yd}}.<ref name="yeagerbio_297">{{harvp|Yeager|Janos|1985|p= 297|ps=.}}</ref>

At the time of his flight training acceptance, he was a crew chief on an [[Beechcraft Model 18|AT-11]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.chuckyeager.com/1941-1943-training-for-war| title = Chuck Yeager's Training for War| access-date = May 14, 2020| archive-date = April 29, 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200429163607/http://www.chuckyeager.com/1941-1943-training-for-war| url-status = dead}}</ref> He received his [[U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating|pilot wings]] and a promotion to [[Warrant Officer (United States)#Flight Officer|flight officer]] at [[Luke Air Force Base|Luke Field]], [[Arizona]], where he graduated from Class 43C on March 10, 1943. Assigned to the [[357th Fighter Group]] at [[Tonopah, Nevada]], he initially trained as a fighter pilot, flying [[Bell P-39 Airacobra]]s (being grounded for seven days for clipping a farmer's tree during a training flight),<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Take Off Magazine #36|magazine=Take Off|number=36|page=991}}</ref> and shipped overseas with the group on November 23, 1943.<ref>{{cite web|last=Poffenberger|first=Leah|date=October 2020|title=This Month in Physics History|url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/202010/history.cfm|access-date=December 8, 2020 |publisher=American Physical Society}}</ref>

[[File:Captain Charles E. Yeager.jpg|thumb|upright|Yeager in {{circa|1944}} was a young [[Captain (United States O-3)|captain]] in the [[United States Army Air Forces]].]]
Stationed in the United Kingdom at [[RAF Leiston]], Yeager flew [[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51 Mustangs]] in combat with the [[363d Fighter Squadron]]. He named his aircraft ''Glamorous Glen''<ref>{{cite web|title=Chuck Yeager downs five – becomes an 'Ace in a Day'|date=n.d.|access-date=July 7, 2015|website=World War II Today|url=http://ww2today.com/12-october-1944-chuck-yeager-downs-five-becomes-an-ace-in-a-day|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121114735/http://ww2today.com/12-october-1944-chuck-yeager-downs-five-becomes-an-ace-in-a-day|archive-date=January 21, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=12 October 1944|date=n.d.|access-date=July 7, 2015|website=This Day in Aviation|url=http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/363d-fighter-squadron/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707233503/http://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/363d-fighter-squadron/|archive-date=July 7, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> after his girlfriend, Glennis Faye Dickhouse, who became his wife in February 1945. Yeager had gained one victory before he was shot down over France in his first aircraft (P-51B-5-NA s/n 43-6763) on March 5, 1944, on his eighth mission.<ref name=EscapeEvasion>{{cite web|url=http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=105467|title=Escape and Evasion Case File for Flight Officer Charles (Chuck) E. Yeager|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218212756/http://narademo.umiacs.umd.edu/cgi-bin/isadg/viewitem.pl?item=105467|archive-date=February 18, 2009|website=narademo.umiacs.umd.edu|access-date=December 8, 2010}}</ref> He escaped to Spain on March 30, 1944, with the help of the ''[[Maquis (World War II)|Maquis]]'' (French Resistance) and returned to England on May 15, 1944. During his stay with the ''Maquis'', Yeager assisted the guerrillas in duties that did not involve direct combat; he helped construct bombs for the group, a skill that he had learned from his father.<ref name="yeagerbio_45">{{harvp|Yeager|Janos|1985|p=45}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] for helping a navigator, Omar M. "Pat" Patterson Jr., to cross the [[Pyrenees]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Michon |first=Heather|date=November 10, 2018|title=The Story of Chuck Yeager, the Pilot Who Broke the Sound Barrier|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/chuck-yeager-pilot-biography-4169722|access-date=December 8, 2020 |publisher=ThoughtCo}}</ref>

Despite a regulation prohibiting "evaders" (escaped pilots) from flying over enemy territory again, the purpose of which was to prevent resistance groups from being compromised by giving the enemy a second chance to possibly capture him, Yeager was reinstated to flying combat. He had joined another evader, fellow P-51 pilot 1st Lt Fred Glover,<ref>{{cite book|last=Disney|first=Ryan|title=Escape & Evasion Report No. 686: The True Story of an American Fighter Pilot's Escape from Nazi-Occupied France|publisher=Amazon Digital Services|year=2016|asin=B01N9LBA0H}}</ref> in speaking directly to the [[Supreme Allied Commander]], General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], on June 12, 1944.<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Colleen Madonna Flood|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rO5bAgAAQBAJ&q=%22Chuck+Yeager%22+%22Eisenhower%22+%22June+12%22&pg=PT31|title=Chuck Yeager|date=2013|publisher=Infobase Learning|isbn=978-1-4381-4735-2}}</ref> "I raised so much hell that General Eisenhower finally let me go back to my squadron" Yeager said. "He cleared me for combat after [[D Day]], because all the free Frenchmen – Maquis and people like that – had surfaced".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://airportjournals.com/chuck-yeager-booming-and-zooming-part-1/|title=Chuck Yeager: Booming And Zooming (Part 1)|date=November 3, 2003 |publisher=Airport Journals}}</ref> Eisenhower, after gaining permission from the War Department to decide the requests, concurred with Yeager and Glover.<ref name=":0" /> In the meantime, Yeager shot down his second enemy aircraft, a German [[Junkers Ju 88]] bomber, over the [[English Channel]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=Press|first=Salem|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=obVZAAAAYAAJ|title=American Heroes|date=2009|publisher=Salem Press|isbn=978-1-58765-460-2|page=1041}}</ref>

[[File:P51-1 300.jpg|thumb|[[North American P-51 Mustang|P-51D-20NA]], ''Glamorous Glen III'', is the aircraft in which Yeager achieved most of his aerial victories.]]
Yeager demonstrated outstanding flying skills and combat leadership. On October 12, 1944, he became the first pilot in his group to make "[[ace in a day]]," downing five enemy aircraft in a single mission. Two of these victories were scored without firing a single shot: when he flew into firing position against a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]], the pilot of the aircraft panicked, breaking to port and colliding with his wingman.<ref name="yeagerbio_57">{{harvp|Yeager|Janos|1985|p=57|page=https://archive.org/details/yeagerautobiogra00yeag/page/57}}</ref> Yeager said both pilots bailed out. He finished the war with 11.5 official victories, including one of the first air-to-air victories over a jet fighter, a German [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] that he shot down as it was on final approach for landing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/chuck-yeager-fighter-pilot/|last=Niderost|first=Eric|title=Chuck Yeager: Fighter Pilot |publisher=Warfare History Network|date=June 21, 2017|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329064304/http://warfarehistorynetwork.com/daily/wwii/chuck-yeager-fighter-pilot/ |archive-date=March 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chuckyeager.com/yeager-destroys-an-me-262|title=Encounter Report|date=November 6, 1944|access-date=March 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222114645/http://www.chuckyeager.com/yeager-destroys-an-me-262|archive-date=February 22, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Yeager's official statement of the 12 October mission states: {{Blockquote
|text="I was leading the Group with Cement Squadron and was roving out to the right of the first box of bombers.  I was over STEINHUDER LAKE when 22 Me. 109s crossed in front of my Squadron from 11:00 O’Clock to 1:00 O’Clock.  I was coming out of the sun and they were about 1 ½ miles away at the same level of 28,000 feet.  I fell in behind the enemy formation and followed them for about 3 minutes, climbing to 30,000 feet.  I still had my wing tanks and had closed up to around 1,000 yards, coming within firing range and positioning the Squadron behind the entire enemy formation.  Two of the Me. 109s were lagging over to the right.  One slowed up and, before I could start firing, rolled over and bailed out.  The other Me. 109, flying his wing, bailed out immediately after as I was ready to line him in my sights.  I was the closest to the tail-end of the enemy formation and no one, but myself, was in shooting range and no one was firing.  I dropped my tanks and then closed up to the last Jerry and opened fire from 600 yards, using the K-14 sight.  I observed strikes all over the ship, particularly heavy in the cockpit.  He skidded off to the left and was smoking and streaming coolant and went into a slow diving turn to the left.  I was closing up on another Me. 109 so I did not follow him down.  Lt. STERN, flying in Blue Flight, reports this E/A on fire as it passed him and went into a spin.  I closed up on the next Me. 109 to 100 yards, skidded to the right and took a deflection shot of about 10o.  I gave about a 3 second burst and the whole fuselage splitopen and blew up after we passed.  Another Me. 109 to the right had cut his throttle and was trying to get behind.  I broke to the right and quickly rolled to the left on his tail.  He started pulling it in and I was pulling 6”G”.  I got a lead from around 300 yards and gave him a short burst.  There were hits on wings and tail section.  He snapped to the right 3 times and bailed out when he quit snapping at around 18,000 feet.

I did not blackout during this engagement due to the efficiency of the “G” Suit.  Even though I was skidding I hit the second Me. 109s by keeping the bead and range on the E/A.  To my estimation the K-14 Sight is the biggest improvement to combat equipment for Fighters up to this date.

The Me. 109s appeared to have a type of bubble canopy and had purple noses and were a mousey brown all over.

I claim Five Me. 109s destroyed."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Yeager {{!}} 357th Fighter Group {{!}} World War II {{!}} 12 October 1944 |url=https://www.8af.org/charles-yeager-357th-fighter-group-10-12-1944.cfm }}</ref>  }}

In his 1986 memoirs, Yeager recalled with disgust that "atrocities were committed by both sides", and said he went on a mission with orders from the [[Eighth Air Force]] to "[[War crime|strafe anything that moved]]".<ref name="Wolfgang W. E p454">{{cite book|last=Samuel|first=Wolfgang W. E.|title=American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets|location=Jackson|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57806-649-0|page=454}}</ref><ref name="J. Coady p.13">{{cite book|last=Coady|first=C. A. J.|title=Morality and Political Violence|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2008 |isbn=978-0-521-70548-6|page=13}}</ref> During the mission briefing, he whispered to Major [[Donald H. Bochkay]], "If we are going to do things like this, we sure as hell better make sure we are on the winning side".<ref name="Wolfgang W. E p454"/><ref name="J. Coady p.13"/> Yeager said, "I'm certainly not proud of that particular strafing mission against civilians. But it is there, on the record and in my memory".<ref>{{harvp|Yeager|Janos|1985|pp=63, 80|ps=.}}</ref> He also expressed bitterness at his treatment in England during World War II, describing the British as "arrogant" and "nasty" on Twitter.<ref>{{cite news|first=Adam |last=Boult|date=October 5, 2016|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/05/british-people-are-nasty-and-arrogant-says-wwii-flying-ace-chuck/|title=WWII flying ace Chuck Yeager in extraordinary attack on 'nasty' and 'arrogant' British people|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226215647/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/05/british-people-are-nasty-and-arrogant-says-wwii-flying-ace-chuck/|archive-date=February 26, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Yeager was commissioned a [[Second lieutenant#United States|second lieutenant]] while at [[Leiston]], and was promoted to [[Captain (U.S. Air Force)|captain]] before the end of his tour. He flew his 61st and final mission on January 15, 1945, and returned to the United States in early February 1945. As an evader, he received his choice of assignments and, because his new wife was pregnant, chose [[Wright Field]] to be near his home in [[West Virginia]]. His high number of flight hours and maintenance experience qualified him to become a functional test pilot of repaired aircraft, which brought him under the command of Colonel [[Albert Boyd]], head of the Aeronautical Systems Flight Test Division.<ref name="yeagerbio_60">{{harvp|Yeager|Janos|1985|p= 60|ps=.}}</ref>