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{{Infobox military person |
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|name=Joseph W. Kittinger II |
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|birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1928|7|27}} |
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|death_date= |
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|image=[[File:Joseph Kittinger, Jr.jpg|250px]] |
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|caption=Colonel Joseph Kittinger |
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|nickname= Red |
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|birth_place=Tampa, Florida |
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|death_place= |
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|allegiance= [[United States|United States of America]] |
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|branch= [[Image:Seal of the US Air Force.svg|25px]] [[United States Air Force]] |
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|serviceyears=1950-1978 |
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|rank= [[Image:US-O6 insignia.svg|25px]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] |
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|unit= |
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|commands= |
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|battles= [[Vietnam War]] and [[Korean War]] |
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|awards=[[Silver Star]] (2)<br/>[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br/>[[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] (6)<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]] (3)<br/>[[Purple Heart]] (2)<br/> [[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]<br/>[[Air Medal]] (24)<br/>[[Prisoner of War Medal]] |
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|relations= |
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|laterwork= |
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}} |
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[[Image:Manhigh 01.jpg|thumb|Kittinger next to the Excelsior gondola]] |
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'''Joseph William 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]], holding the records for having the highest, fastest and longest skydive<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyGmTV0q2kY Mission to the edge of Space - Red Bull Stratos - Trailer]</ref> and as being the first man to make a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a gas balloon. Serving as a fighter pilot during the [[Vietnam War]], he was shot down and spent 11 months in a [[North Vietnamese]] prison. |
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==Early life and military career== |
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Born in [[Tampa, Florida]] ([[United States|U.S.]]), Kittinger was educated at [[the Bolles School]] in [[Jacksonville, Florida]], and the [[University of Florida]]. After racing [[speedboat]]s as a teenager, he entered the [[U.S. Air Force]] in March 1949. On completion of [[aviation]] cadet training in March 1950, he received a pilot rating and a commission as a second lieutenant. He was subsequently assigned to the [[86th Airlift Wing|86th Fighter-Bomber Wing]] based at [[Ramstein Air Base]] in [[West Germany]], flying the [[F-84 Thunderjet]] and [[F-86 Sabre]]. |
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In 1954 Kittinger was transferred to [[Holloman AFB]], [[New Mexico]] and the [[Air Force Missile Development Center]] (AFMDC). He flew the observation/chase plane which monitored flight surgeon [[Colonel John Paul Stapp]]'s [[rocket sled]] run of {{convert|632|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}} in 1955. Kittinger was impressed by Stapp's dedication and leadership as 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 balloon tests which would later lead to Kittinger's record-setting leap from over {{convert|102,800|ft|m}}. In 1957, as part of ''[[Project Manhigh]]'', Kittinger set an interim [[balloon]] altitude record of {{convert|96,760|ft|m}} in ''Manhigh I'', for which he was awarded his first [[Distinguished Flying Cross (USA)|Distinguished Flying Cross]]. |
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==Project Excelsior== |
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<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Kittinger-life-cover.jpg|thumb|Life Magazine Cover]] --> |
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{{Main|Project Excelsior}} |
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Captain Kittinger was next assigned to the [[311th Human Systems Wing|Aerospace Medical Research Laboratories]] at [[Wright-Patterson AFB]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. For ''Project Excelsior'' (meaning "ever upward"), a name given to the project by Col. Stapp as part of research into [[high altitude]] bailouts, he made a series of three extreme altitude [[parachute]] jumps from an open [[gondola]] carried aloft by large helium balloons. |
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Kittinger's first high-altitude jump, from about {{convert|76,400|ft|m}} on November 16, 1959, was a near-disaster when an equipment malfunction caused him to lose consciousness.<ref name=supersonic/> The automatic parachute opener in his equipment saved his life. He went into a flat spin at a rotational velocity of about 120 [[Revolutions per minute|rpm]]. The [[g-force]]s at his extremities have been calculated to be over 22 times the force of gravity, setting another record. On December 11, 1959, he jumped again from about {{convert|74,700|ft|m}}. For that leap, Kittinger was awarded the [[A. Leo Stevens Parachute Medal]]. |
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On August 16, 1960, he made the final jump from the ''Excelsior III'' at {{convert|102800|ft|m}}.<ref name=supersonic>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=A Supersonic Jump, From 23 Miles in the Air |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16tier.html?src=me&ref=general |quote=In 1960, Mr. Kittinger, then a 32-year-old Air Force pilot, jumped from a balloon 102,800 feet above the New Mexico desert. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=March 15, 2010 |accessdate=2010-03-17 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref> Towing a small [[drogue parachute]] for initial stabilization, he fell for four minutes and 36 seconds, reaching a maximum speed of {{convert|614|mph}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=562 |title=Fact Sheets : Excelsior Gondola|publisher=National Museum of the USAF|accessdate=2011-01-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://mlsandy.home.tsixroads.com/Corinth_MLSANDY/jk004.html|work= Life |date=August 29, 1960|title=Fantastic catch in the sky, record leap toward earth}}</ref> before opening his parachute at {{convert|18000|ft|m}}. Pressurization for his right glove malfunctioned during the ascent, and his right hand swelled up to twice its normal size.<ref>{{cite news|first=Matt|last=Higgins|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/sports/othersports/24jump.html|title= 20-Year Journey for 15-Minute Fall |work=New York Times|date=May 24, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Paterson">{{cite news |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/faster-than-the-speed-of-sound-the-man-who-falls-to-earth-1877875.html |title=Faster than the speed of sound: the man who falls to earth |author=Tony Paterson |date=25 January 2010 |publisher=''[[The Independent]]'' |accessdate=2010-01-29 |accessdate=2011-01-18 |location=London}}</ref> He set historical numbers for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump, longest drogue-fall (four minutes), and fastest speed by a human being through the atmosphere.<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20050205062355/http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/eagles/kittnger.htm Joseph W. Kittinger - USAF Museum Gathering of Eagles<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> These are still current USAF records, but were not submitted for aerospace world records to the [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale]] (FAI). |
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These jumps were made in a "rocking-chair" position, descending on his back, rather than in the usual face-down position familiar to skydivers. This was because he was wearing a {{convert|60|lb|abbr=on}} "kit" on his behind, and his [[pressure suit]] naturally formed the sitting shape when it was inflated, a shape appropriate for sitting in an airplane cockpit. For this series of jumps, Kittinger was decorated with a second [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], and he was awarded the [[Harmon Trophy]] by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]. |
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==Project Stargazer== |
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[[Image:Kittinger-jump.jpg|thumb|Kittinger's record-breaking skydive]] |
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Back at [[Holloman Air Force Base]], Kittinger took part in ''Project Stargazer'' on December 13–14, 1963. He and the [[astronomer]] William C. White took an open-[[Balloon (aircraft)|gondola]] [[helium]] balloon packed with scientific equipment to an altitude of about {{convert|82,200|ft|m}}, where they spent over eighteen hours performing [[astronomy|astronomical]] observations. |
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==Later USAF career== |
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Kittinger later served three combat tours of duty during the [[Vietnam War]], flying a total of 483 missions. During his first two tours he flew as aircraft commander in Douglas [[A-26 Invader]]s and modified "On-Mark Engineering" B-26 "Counter Invaders" as part of Projects [[Farm Gate]] and Big Eagle. Following his first two Vietnam tours, he returned to the United States, and he soon transitioned to the McDonnell Douglas [[F-4 Phantom II]]. During a voluntary third tour of duty to Vietnam in 1971-72, he commanded the [[555th Fighter Squadron|555th Tactical Fighter Squadron]] (555 TFS), the noted "Triple Nickel" squadron, flying the [[F-4 Phantom II|F-4D Phantom II]]. Kittinger would also later serve as vice commander of the [[432d Air Expeditionary Wing|432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing]]. During this period he was also credited with shooting down a North Vietnamese [[MiG-21]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Col. Joe Kittinger Jr.|publisher=USAF Heritage|url=http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=&pid=123006518}}</ref> |
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Kittinger was shot down on May 11, 1972, just before the end of his third tour of duty. While flying an F-4D, USAF Serial No. 66-0230, with his Weapons Systems Officer, 1st Lieutenant William J. Reich, Lieutenant Colonel Kittinger was leading a flight of Phantoms approximately five miles northwest of the village of Thai Nguyen, [[North Vietnam]], when they were engaged by a flight of [[Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21|MiG-21]] fighter planes. Kittinger and his wingman were chasing a MiG-21 when Kittinger's Phantom II was hit by an air-to-air missile that damaged the fighter's starboard wing and set the airplane on fire. Kittinger and Reich ejected a few miles from Thai Nguyen and were soon captured and taken to the city of [[Hanoi]]. During the same engagement, Kittinger's wingman, Captain S. E. Nichols, shot down the MiG-21 they had been chasing.<ref>{{cite book|title=Vietnam Air Losses|first= Chris |last=Hobson|publisher= Midland Publishing|location= Hinckley UK|year=2001|page=226|isbn=1-85780-115-6}}</ref> |
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Kittinger and Reich spent 11 months as [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs) in the "[[Hanoi Hilton]]" prison. Kittinger was put through "[[strappado|rope torture]]" soon after his arrival at the POW compound and this made a lasting impression on him. Kittinger was the senior ranking officer (SRO) among the newer [[prisoners of war]] (those captured after 1969), and in John D. Sherwood's book, ''Fast Movers'', he was described as having been in conflict with some of his fellow prisoners over his leadership style. He tried to keep the aggressive junior officers under his command from doing anything that would result in more torture for the POWs. In Kittinger's autobiography "Come Up and Get Me" by Kittinger and Craig Ryan, Kittinger was described as being very serious about maintaining the military structure that was essential to survival. Kittinger and Reich were returned to American hands on March 28, 1973, and they continued their Air Force careers, with Kittinger promoted to full colonel shortly thereafter. |
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==Later civilian career== |
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Kittinger retired from the Air Force as a [[colonel]] in 1978, and initially he went to work for [[Martin Marietta]] Corporation in [[Orlando, Florida]]. |
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Still interested in ballooning, he set a gas balloon world distance record for the AA-06 size class (since broken) of 3,221.23 km in 1983.<ref name=FAI>{{cite web|title=History of Records" Joseph W. Kittinger, Jr.|publisher=FAI|url=http://records.fai.org/data?p=658}}</ref> He then completed the first solo [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] crossing in the 106,000 cubic foot (3,000 m³) ''Balloon of Peace'' from September 14 to September 18, 1984.<ref>National Geographic, Feb 1985</ref> As an official [[Fédération Aéronautique Internationale|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).<ref name=FAI/> |
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He participated in the [[Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning]] in 1989 (ranked 3rd) and 1994 (ranked 12th). |
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Kittinger still lives in the Orlando area, and he was the 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 [[Barnstorming|barnstormer]]. |
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[[Image:Stargazer Gondola.jpg|thumb|The Stargazer Gondola on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio]] |
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==Legacy== |
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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. It was located on the southwest corner of the [[Orlando Executive Airport]] (KORL). The aviation-themed park was named in Kittinger's honor, but it was temporarily demolished to permit a highway expansion project of the [[Florida State Road 408]] East-West Expressway. |
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The city of Orlando and the [[Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority]] plan to replicate the Kittinger Park in either the same or a nearby 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 with the colors of an F-4D formerly flown by Colonel Kittinger. Kittinger has also been honored at a ceremony in [[Caribou, Maine]], where he served as the guest of honor at a sesquicentennial celebration. |
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In 1997, Kittinger was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nationalaviation.blade6.donet.com/components/content_manager_v02/view_nahf/htdocs/menu_ps.asp?NodeID=1224359112&group_ID=1134656385&Parent_ID=-1 |publisher=National Aviation Hall of Fame|title= Joseph Kittinger, Jr.}}{{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> |
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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 state 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]], which is now the [[Austin-Bergstrom International Airport]]. |
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The Project Manhigh and Excelsior balloon capsules and the suit from his highest jump are on display at the [[National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]] at [[Wright-Patterson AFB]] in [[Dayton, Ohio]]. An additional exhibit depicting his highest balloon jump opened at the [[National Air and Space Museum]] on 6 April 2008. |
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Kittinger is currently advising [[Felix Baumgartner]] on a planned free-fall from 120,000 feet (about 36,000m).<ref name="Paterson"/> The project is called the [[Red Bull]] Stratos project and has collected leading experts in the fields of aeronautics, medicine and engineering to ensure its success. Felix Baumgartner will also become the first person ever to break the sound barrier while in free fall, if his jump is successful. Baumgartner's jump will be used to test the next generation of full pressure suits, used in space and to collect useful medical and scientific information .<ref>[http://www.hobbynewsonline.com/felix-baumgartner-redbull-stratos - Felix Baumgartner attempts to break Joseph Kittinger's record]{{dead link|date=January 2011}}</ref> Although the jump was planned for 2010, it has been delayed by a legal case between Red Bull and promoter Daniel Hogan, who claims that he was first to propose the jump to Red Bull in 2004, and alleges that Red Bull backed out before resurrecting the project some years later.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/8225594/Space-dive-skydiver-stopped-from-jump-by-legal-case.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
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{{Portal|United States Air Force}} |
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* [[Felix Baumgartner]] |
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* [[Michel Fournier (adventurer)|Michel Fournier]] |
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* [[Nick Piantanida]] |
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* [[Cheryl Stearns]] |
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* [[Steve Truglia]] |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
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*{{Cite book|first=Joseph |last=Kittinger|title=The Long, Lonely Leap|year=1961|publisher=E. P. Dutton|location=New York}} (Kittinger's autobiography) |
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*{{Cite book|first=Gregory P. |last=Kennedy|title=Touching Space: the story of Project Manhigh|publisher=Schiffer|year= 2007|isbn=0764327887}} |
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*{{Cite book|first=Craig|last=Ryan|title=The Pre-Astronauts: Manned Ballooning on the Threshold of Space|publisher=Naval Institute Press|year= 1995|isbn=1557507325}} |
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*{{Cite book|first=Joseph |last=Kittinger|title=Come Up and Get Me| year=2010|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|location=Albuquerque|isbn=0826348033}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commons category}} |
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*{{Cite news|title=National Affairs: The 20-Mile Fall|date=August 29, 1960|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,939169,00.html|work=Time}} |
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*[http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person.asp?dec=1950&pid=123006518 USAF People, Colonel Joe Kittinger Jr.] |
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*[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=562 USAF Museum Fact Sheet] |
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*[http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Daredevils/Kittinger/EX31.htm Overview of his life] for Centennial of Flight |
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*[http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/45761/joe-kittinger-a-legend-looks-back Joe Kittinger: A Legend Looks Back] - slideshow by ''[[Life magazine]]'' |
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*{{Cite news|first=James M.|last=Clash|date=December 8, 2003|url=http://www.forbes.com/global/2003/1208/060.html |work=Forbes |title=Adventurer: One Giant Step}} |
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*{{Cite news|first=James M.|last=Clash|date=December 8, 2003|url=http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2003/1208/282.html |work=Forbes |title=Above His Peers}} |
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*{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2008/04/87b0b0d8-4e31-461b-a347-97acb9df5797.html |publisher=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |title=Aviation Pioneer Recognized For Parachute Jump From Edge Of Space|date=April 18, 2008|accessdate=2011-01-18}} |
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*{{cite web|url=http://stratocat.com.ar/artics/excelsior-e.htm |publisher=Greg Kennedy |title=Joseph W. Kittinger and the Highest Step in the World |date=March 17, 2010}} |
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*{{Cite news|first=Mason|last=Anderson-Sweet|date=March 4, 2010|url=http://www.viceland.com/blogs/en/2010/03/04/this-guy-jumped-out-of-a-balloon-at-102800-feet/ |work=Vice |title=This Guy Jumped Out of a Balloon at 102,800 Feet}} |
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*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1960/HMN-19600816.htm Details of his Big Jump from a stratospheric balloon in 1960] |
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*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1957/FMN-19570602.htm Details of the MANHIGH-I mission that take him to the stratosphere in 1957] |
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*[http://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1962/HMN-19621213.htm Details of the STARGAZER mission that take him along with William C. White to the stratosphere in 1962] |
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*{{cite web|url=http://hypertextbook.com/facts/JianHuang.shtml|title=Speed of a Skydiver (Terminal Velocity)|work=The Physics Factbook|year=1997|last=Huang|first=Jian}} |
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*{{cite web|title=Fastest Skydiver Joseph Kittinger|first=Joe|last=Yoon|date=September 18, 2005|url=http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0243.shtml |publisher="Ask a Rocket Scientist," aerospaceweb.org}} |
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*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-369888258105653405&q=%22First+man+In+Space+-+Skydiving+from+the+edge+of+the+world%22+playable%3Atrue Video: First man In Space - Skydiving from the edge of the world] |
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*[http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5174324517452735832 Joseph Kittinger getting suited up for a test flight] 23 minute video, no sound |
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*[http://www.redbullstratos.com/ - The Red Bull Stratos Project - The mission to the edge of space] |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Kittinger, Joseph |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = July 27, 1928 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = Tampa, Florida |
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| DATE OF DEATH = |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kittinger, Joseph}} |
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[[Category:University of Florida alumni]] |
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[[Category:American aviators]] |
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[[Category:American balloonists]] |
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[[Category:American skydivers]] |
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[[Category:American motorboat racers]] |
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[[Category:United States Air Force officers]] |
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[[Category:Shot-down aviators]] |
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[[Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War]] |
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[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]] |
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[[Category:Recipients of the Prisoner of War Medal]] |
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[[Category:People from Tampa, Florida]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:1928 births]] |
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[[Category:National Aviation Hall of Fame inductees]] |
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[[th:โจเซฟ คิททินเจอร์]] |
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[[zh:约瑟夫·基廷格]] |
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Revision as of 02:07, 16 August 2011
HE LIKES BUNNEHS