Joseph Kittinger

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Joseph W. Kittinger II
Born July 27, 1928 (1928-07-27) (age 80)

Colonel Joseph Kittinger
Nickname Icculuss
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Air Force
Years of service 1950-1978
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars Vietnam War
Awards Silver Star (2)
Legion of Merit (2)
Distinguished Flying Cross (6)
Bronze Star (3)
Purple Heart (2)
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Medal (24)
Prisoner of War Medal
Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola

Joseph William "Joe" Kittinger II (born July 27, 1928) is a former Command Pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. He is most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior and as being the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon.

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[edit] Early life and military career

Born in Tampa, Florida (U.S.), he was educated at the Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida, and the University of Florida. After racing speedboats as a teenager, Kittinnger entered military service in March 1949 and after completing aviation cadet training, was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force in March 1950. He was subsequently assigned to the 86th Fighter-Bomber Wing based at Ramstein Air Base in West Germany, flying the F-84 Thunderjet and F-86 Sabre.

In 1954 he was transferred to Holloman AFB, New Mexico and the Air Force Missile Development Center (AFMDC). Kittinger flew the observation/chase plane which monitored Colonel John Paul Stapp's rocket sled run of 632 mph (1,017 km/h) in 1955. Kittinger was impressed by the dedication of Stapp, a pioneer in aerospace medicine. Stapp, in turn, was impressed with Kittinger's skillful jet piloting, later recommending him for space-related aviation research work. Stapp was to foster the high altitude tests which would lead to Kittinger's record leap. In 1957 as part of Man High he set an interim balloon altitude record of 96,760 feet (29,500 m) in Man High I, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

[edit] Project Excelsior

Main article: Project Excelsior

Captain Kittinger was then assigned to the Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. For Project Excelsior (meaning "ever upward", a name given to the project by Colonel Stapp), as part of research into high altitude bailout, he made a series of three parachute jumps wearing a pressurized suit, from a helium balloon with an open gondola.

The first, from 76,400 feet (23,287 m) on November 16, 1959 was a near tragedy when an equipment malfunction caused him to lose consciousness, but the automatic parachute saved him (he went into a flat spin at a rotational velocity of 120 rpm; the g-force at his extremities was calculated to be over 22 times that of gravity, setting another record). On December 11, 1959 he jumped again from 74,700 feet (22,769 m). For that return jump Kittinger was awarded the Leo Stevens parachute medal.

On August 16, 1960 he made the final jump from the Excelsior III at 102,800 feet (31,300 m). Towing a small drogue chute for stabilization, he fell for 4 minutes and 36 seconds reaching a maximum speed of 614 mph [1][2] (988 km/h or 274 m/s) before opening his parachute at 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent, and his right hand swelled to twice its normal size.[3] He set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (4 min), and fastest speed by a human through the atmosphere[4]. These are still current USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the FAI.

The jumps were made in a "rocking-chair" position, descending on his back, rather than the usual arch familiar to skydivers, because he was wearing a 60 lb (27 kg) "kit" on his behind and his pressure suit naturally formed that shape when inflated, a shape appropriate for sitting in an airplane cockpit.

For the series of jumps, Kittinger was decorated with an oak leaf cluster to his Distinguished Flying Cross and awarded the Harmon Trophy by President Dwight Eisenhower.

[edit] Project Stargazer

Kittinger's record-breaking skydive

Back at Holloman AFB he also took part in Project Stargazer on December 13–14, 1962. He and William C. White, an astronomer, took a balloon of equipment to a height of 82,200 feet (25,055 m) and spent over eighteen hours at that height performing observations.

[edit] Later USAF Career

Kittinger later served three combat tours during the Vietnam War, flying a total of 483 missions, the first two tours as an aircraft commander in Douglas A-26 Invaders as part of Projects Farm Gate and Big Eagle. Following his first two Vietnam tours, Kittinger returned to the United States and eventually transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II. On a voluntary third tour to Vietnam in 1971-72, he commanded the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron (555 TFS), the famous "Triple Nickel" squadron, flying the F-4D. Kittinger would also later serve as vice commander of the 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing.

Kittinger was later downed on May 11, 1972, just before the end of his third tour. While flying an F-4D, USAF Serial No. 66-0230, with his WSO, then-1st Lt William J. Reich, then-Lt Col Kittinger was leading a flight of Phantoms approximately 5 miles northwest of Thai Nguyen, North Vietnam when they were engaged by a flight of Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21s. Kittinger and his wingman were chasing a MiG-21 when Kittinger's / Reich's Phantom II was hit by an air-to-air missile that damaged the starboard wing and set the aircraft on fire. Kittinger and Reich ejected a few miles from Thai Nguyen, were soon captured and taken to Hanoi. During the same engagement, Kittinger's wingman, Capt S. E. Nichols, shot down the MiG-21 they had been chasing.[5]

Kittinger and Reich spent 11 months as prisoners of war in the "Hanoi Hilton" prison. Kittinger was senior officer among the newer POWs (those captured after 1969) and in John D. Sherwood's book, Fast Movers, is described as having been in serious conflict with his fellow prisoners over his leadership. He tried to keep the aggressive junior officers under his command from doing anything that would result in more torture for the POWs. Kittinger was put through rope torture soon after his arrival at the POW compound and this made a lasting impression on him. Kittinger and Reich were repatriated on 28 March 1973 and continued their Air Force careers, with Kittinger promoted to full colonel shortly thereafter.

[edit] Later Civilian Career

Kittinger retired from the Air Force as a Colonel in 1978 and initially went to work for Martin Marietta Corporation in Orlando.

Still interested in ballooning, he made a gas balloon world distance record in 1983[6], then completed the first solo Atlantic crossing in the 106,000 cubic foot (3,000 m³) Rosie O'Grady's Balloon of Peace from September 14 to September 18, 1984.[7] As an official FAI world aerospace record, it is (as of December 2008) the longest gas balloon distance flight in AA-10 size category (5,703.03 km) [4]. He participated in the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning in 1989 (ranked 3rd) and 1994 (ranked 12th).

Kittinger lives in the Orlando, Florida area and was Vice President of Flight Operations for Rosie O'Grady's Flying Circus, part of the Rosie O'Grady's / Church Street Station entertainment complex in Orlando, prior to the parent company's dissolution. Kittinger is still active in the aviation community as a consultant and touring barnstormer.

[edit] Currently

Former site of Kittinger Park dedication plaque.

In the mid-1990s, Colonel Joe Kittinger Park in Orlando, Florida was constructed by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) for the City of Orlando and was located on the southwest corner of the Orlando Executive Airport (KORL). The aviation-themed park was named in Kittinger's honor but has since been demolished to permit a highway expansion project of the Florida State Road 408 East-West Expressway. As of August 2008, all that remains is the stand which held the dedicating plaque. The park is currently being used to store construction equipment.

The City of Orlando and the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority plan to replicate Kittinger Park in the same location following completion of the adjacent segment of the State Road 408 project in 2009. City officials are also considering inclusion in the park of a restored USAF F-4 Phantom II aircraft, to be placed on pylon static display and painted in the colors of an F-4 formerly flown by Col Kittinger.

In 1997, Kittinger was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.[8]

On January 23, 2007 the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the United States Air Force Auxiliary, honored Kittinger by renaming the Texas CAP wing's TX-352 Squadron for him. Texas Governor Rick Perry cited Kittinger's work as did the Texas Senate with a special resolution presented during the dedication ceremony attended by Kittinger and his wife Sherry. The Colonel Joseph W. Kittinger Phantom Senior Squadron of CAP's Texas Wing is based at the former Bergstrom AFB, now Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

The Excelsior capsule is on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. An additional exhibit about his balloon jump opened at the National Air and Space Museum on April 6, 2008.

[edit] References

  1. ^ [1] Fact Sheets : Col. Joseph Kittinger Jr. National Museum of the USAF
  2. ^ [2] Life, August 29, 1960
  3. ^ 20-Year Journey for 15-Minute Fall - NYTimes.com
  4. ^ Joseph W. Kittinger - USAF Museum Gathering of Eagles
  5. ^ Vietnam Air Losses, Chris Hobson, Midland Publishing, Hinckley UK, c2001, p.226, ISBN1-85780-115-6/
  6. ^ 3,221.23 km gas balloon distance world record in AA-06 size class, which was later broken [3]
  7. ^ National Geographic, Feb 1985
  8. ^ NAHF: Joseph Kittinger, Jr.
  • Joseph Kittinger. The Long, Lonely Leap. (1961 autobiography)
  • Gregory P. Kennedy. Touching Space: the story of Project Manhigh. (Schiffer, 2007)
  • The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space. (Naval Institute, 1995)

[edit] External links

[edit] Articles about Kittinger

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joseph Kittinger

[edit] Technical information

[edit] Videos

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