1961-Continued
Shepard's recoveq completes first U.S. manned space flight NH69954
17 May
An HSS-2 helicopter flown by Commander
Patrick 1. Sullivan and Lieutenant Beverly W.
Witherspoon, set a new world class speed record of
192.9 mph for 3 kilometers at Bradley Field, Windsor
Locks, Conn.
24 May
Three F4H Phantom II fighters competing
for the Bendix Trophy bettered the existing record for
transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York.
The winning team of Lieutenant Richard F. Gordon,
pilot, and Lieutenant Ug) Bobbie R. Young, RIO, aver-
aged 870 mph on the 2,421.4 mile flight and set a new
record of 2 hours, 47 minutes.
24 May
Commander Patrick 1. Sullivan and
Lieutenant Beverly W. Witherspoon, flying an HSS-2
helicopter set another new world class speed record
with a mark of 174.9 mph over a 100-kilometer course
between Milford and Westbrook, Conn.
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
241
1 June
Ships of the Second Fleet, including
Intrepid,
Shangri-La,
and
Randolph,
were ordered to stand by
off southern Hispaniola when a general uprising
seemed about to follow the assassination of President
Trujillo of the Dominican Republic.
21 June
The Secretary of the Navy approved plans
for terminating the lighter-than-air program that would
disestablish all operational units by November, put
eight of the 10 remaining airships in storage and deac-
tivate the Overhaul and Repair shop at Lakehurst, N.J.
29 June
The navigation satellite Transit 4A was put
into a nearly circular orbit at about 500 miles by a
Thor-Able-Star rocket fired from Cape Canaveral.
Although Greb and Injun satellites riding pickaback
did not separate from each other, both operated satis-
factorily. Transit 4A was the first space vehicle to be
equipped with a nuclear powered generator.
10 July
The first NATOPS (Naval Air Training and
Operating Procedures Standardization) Manual was
promulgated with the distribution of the HSS-l manu-
al. This manual prescribed standard operating proce-
Sullivan and Witherspoon NH 69959
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