Robert Michael White Major General Robert Michael " Bob " White ( July 6 , 1924 – March 17 , 2010 ) was a military aircraft test pilot and a major general in the United States Air Force . White broke a number of records with the North American X - 15 experimental aircraft during the 1960s , and supervised the design and development of several modern military aircraft . Background and career . White was born in New York on 6 July 1924 . He entered active military service in November 1942 as an aviation cadet in the United States Army Air Forces , and received his pilot wings and commission as a Second Lieutenant in February 1944 . During World War II he served with the 355th Fighter Group in the European Theater of Operations , where he flew P - 51 Mustang s from July 1944 until February 1945 when he was shot down over Germany on his 52nd combat mission . He was captured and remained a prisoner of war until his release in April 1945 . He then returned to the United States , left active duty in December 1945 , and became a member of the Air Force Reserve at Mitchel Air Force Base , New York , while studying electrical engineering at New York University . He earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from New York University in 1951 and a master of science degree in business administration from The George Washington University in 1966 . White was recalled to active duty in May 1951 , during the Korean War , where he served as pilot and engineering officer with the 514th Troop Carrier Wing at Mitchel Air Force Base . In February 1952 he was assigned as a fighter pilot and flight commander with the 40th Fighter - Interceptor Squadron , based at Johnson Air Base , Japan . In August 1953 , he returned from overseas to serve as a systems engineer at Rome Air Development Center , Griffiss Air Force Base , New York . Test pilot program . White attended the U . S . Air Force ' s Experimental Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base , California , and became a test pilot , flying advanced models such as the F - 86 Sabre , F - 89 Scorpion , the new F - 102 Delta Dagger and the F - 105 Thunderchief . He was promoted to deputy chief of the Flight Test Operations Division , later becoming assistant chief of the Manned Spacecraft Operations Branch . White was designated the Air Force ' s primary pilot for the North American X - 15 program in 1958 . While the new plane was undergoing its initial tests , he attended the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base , Alabama , graduating in 1959 . He made his first test flight of the X - 15 on April 15 , 1960 , when the aircraft was fitted with two interim , 16 , 000 lbf ( 71 kN ) thrust rocket engines . Four months later he flew to an altitude of 136 , 000 ft ( 41 . 5 km , above Rogers Dry Lake . White would have participated in the Air Force ' s Man In Space Soonest program , had it come to fruition . In February , 1961 , White unofficially set a new air speed record when he flew the X - 15 at a speed of 2 , 275 mph ( 3 , 660 km / h ) , following the installation of a 57 , 000 lbf ( 254 kN ) thrust XLR - 99 engine . White was the first human to fly an aircraft at Mach 4 and later Mach 5 over the next eight months . On 9 November 1961 , White flew the X - 15 at 4 , 093 mph ( 6 , 590 km / h ) , making him the first pilot to fly a winged craft at six times the speed of sound ( Mach 6 ) . President John F . Kennedy used the occasion to confer the most prestigious award in American aviation , the Robert J . Collier Trophy , jointly to White and three of his fellow X - 15 pilots ; NASA ' s Joseph Walker , Commander Forrest S . Peterson of the U . S . Navy , and North American Aviation test pilot Scott Crossfield . A day later , Air Force Chief of Staff General Curtis E . LeMay awarded White his new rating as a Command Pilot Astronaut . On 17 July 1962 , Major White flew the X - 15 to an altitude of 314 , 750 feet ( 59 miles , 96 km ) . This qualified him for an Astronaut Badge , becoming the first " Winged Astronaut " , and one of a few who have flown into space without a conventional spacecraft . Major Bob White was featured with a cover story in the August 3d , 1962 issue of LIFE magazine , detailing his July 17 , 1962 flight . Pilot Robert White commented on his high altitude X - 15 flights , " My flights to 217 , 000 feet [ 66 km ] and 314 , 750 feet [ 96 km ] were very dramatic in revealing the Earth ' s curvature . . . at my highest altitude I could turn my head through a 180 - degree arc and wow ! — the Earth is really round . At my peak altitude I was roughly over the Arizona / California border in the area of Las Vegas , and this was how I described it : Looking to my left I felt I could spit into the Gulf of California ; looking to my right I felt I could toss a dime into San Francisco Bay . " Post - test pilot career . In October 1963 he returned to Germany , where he served as operations officer for the 22d Tactical Fighter Squadron , 36th Tactical Fighter Wing , flying F - 105 Thunderchief s at Bitburg Air Base , and from July 1964 to August 1965 as commander of the wing ' s 53d Tactical Fighter Squadron . He returned to the United States in August 1965 to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces , Washington , D . C . , and graduated a year later . Lt . Col . White then was transferred to Air Force Systems Command at Wright - Patterson Air Force Base , Ohio , as chief of the Tactical Systems Office , F - 111 Systems Program Office , where he served from September 1966 to May 1967 . In May , 1967 , during the Vietnam War , Col . White was assigned as Deputy Commander for Operations of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing , an F - 105 unit based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand . He flew 70 combat missions over North Vietnam , including leading an attack against the Paul Doumer Bridge in Hanoi on August 11 , 1967 , for which he was awarded the Air Force Cross . He was transferred in October to the Seventh Air Force Headquarters at Tan Son Nhut Air Base , South Vietnam , serving as chief of the Attack Division in the Directorate of Combat Operations . White returned to the United States and Wright - Patterson Air Force Base in June 1968 , where he served as director of the F - 15 Eagle Systems Program , responsible for managing development and production planning , in the Aeronautical Systems Division , Air Force Systems Command . On 31 July 1970 , White assumed duties as commander of the Air Force Flight Test Center , Edwards Air Force Base , where he was responsible for research and developmental flight testing of manned and unmanned aerospace vehicles , aircraft systems , deceleration devices and for the Air Force Test Pilot School . During his tenure as commander , testing was begun on such important programs as the F - 15 Air Superiority Fighter , the A - X ground attack aircraft , and the Airborne Warning and Control System . In October 1971 he completed the Naval Test Parachutist course and was awarded parachutist ' s wings . He served at the Flight Test Center until 17 October 1972 . The following month , he assumed the duties of Commandant , Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps . In February 1975 , he received his second star and in March became Chief of Staff of the Fourth Allied Tactical Air Force . White was promoted to the grade of major general effective February 12 , 1975 , with date of rank July 1 , 1972 . He retired from active duty on February 1 , 1981 . In 1992 , White was inducted into the Aerospace Walk of Honor . General White was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton , Ohio , on 15 July 2006 . A rumor abounds that in honor of his achievements , the Scaled Composites White Knight spacecraft launch plane was named after White and fellow X - 15 pilot Pete Knight . Space Ship One and White Knight pilot / astronaut Brian Binnie reports this is not true . Awards and decorations . Other achievements Air Force Cross citation . The President of the United States of America , authorized by Title 10 , Section 8742 , United States Code , awards the Air Force Cross to Colonel Robert M . White , for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as an F - 105 Mission Commander near Hanoi , North Vietnam , on 11 August 1967 . On that date , Colonel White led the entire combat force against a key railroad and highway bridge in the vicinity of Hanoi . In spite of 14 surface - to - air missile launches , MIG interceptor attacks , and intense antiaircraft artillery fire , he gallantly led the attack . By being the first aircraft to dive through the dark clouds of bursting flak , Colonel White set an example that inspired the remaining attacking force to destroy the bridge without a single aircraft being lost to the hostile gunners . Through his extraordinary heroism , superb airmanship , and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces , Colonel White reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force .