posted 01-22-2023 09:22 AM               

Space Cover 686: D-558-II Skyrocket First Flight

Almost 75 years ago the Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket rocketplane made its' maiden flight in the hands of Douglas test pilot John Martin. Above is a cover that Mr. Martin carried on that flight on February 4, 1948. It was postmarked from Muroc, CA on that day and signed by Mr. Martin as having been flown. About two dozen covers were flown that day for the Historic Aeronautics Association along with a few individual-collector requests. But this is the only cover flown that day, that I know of, that came from a family member of the pilot.

And the family tie-in? Here is the letter enclosed in the cover, written by Martin's wife at the time, Dori Marland Martin. Mrs Martin had been a WWII Women Airforce Service Pilot (WASP), an accomplished air racer, and had acted in movies prior to marrying. It appears that she wrote the letter and had it carried on her husband's maiden flight of the Skyrocket in response to some fan mail to her.

The flight that day was performed using only the Skyrocket's small jet engine since the rocket engine was not available yet. Mr. Martin (as well as subsequent Skyrocket pilots) noted that the Skyrocket was sluggish to fly with only its' underpowered jet engine. However, after later being fitted with rocket engines Skyrockets (there were three of them) came into their own, having reached an altitude of 83,235 feet on August 21, 1953 (beating the other rocketplane flights and highest crewed balloon flights to that date), and on November 20, 1953 became the first piloted craft to go faster than twice the speed of sound. Over eight years and 313 flights, unlike many of the other rocketplanes of that era, all three Skyrockets stayed in one piece always brought their pilots home. Three Skyrocket pilots (Scott Crossfield, Joe Walker, and Jack McKay) went on to fly the X-15 rocketplane, where Walker and McKay won astronaut wings. The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket became a solid precursor for human rocket flights to come.

Here's a photo from the author's collection showing the #1 Skyrocket (that flew the cover above) on the Muroc lakebed sometime during the span of its' first 10 flights.