Marshall E. Headle (March 21, 1893
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Winthrop is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban town in Greater Boston situated at the ...
, United States - May 14, 1945) was a U.S. test pilot.
He is best known for his participation in the first
Lockheed Aircraft company projects.
Biography
In 1913, Marshall Headle graduated from the Massachusetts State College and decided to go to France after the start of
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He enlisted as a soldier, and soon became captivated by the flying machines he discovered during the conflict. He then asked to be transferred to the French Air Force and learned to fly.
After the entry of the United States in the conflict, he joined the
US Air Service as an instructor in
Tours
Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...
and in
Issoudun
Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name.
Geography Location
Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the eas ...
. After the war, he continued to fly in the
US Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...
before becoming chief test pilot for
Lockheed, succeeding
Wiley Post
Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was an American aviator during the Aviation between the World Wars, interwar period and the first aviator, pilot to fly solo around the world. Known for his work in high-altitude flyi ...
. From 1935, his position at Lockheed evolved and he traveled the world on behalf of the company conducting demonstration flights as well as training for global customers.
[Google book]
Lockheed, The people behind the story
/ref>
A high-altitude chamber
A hypobaric chamber, or altitude chamber, is a chamber used during aerospace or high terrestrial altitude research or training to simulate the effects of high altitude on the human body, especially hypoxia (low oxygen) and hypobaria (low ambien ...
accident ended his flying career and led to a premature death May 14, 1945, at the age of 52.Lockheed P-38 Lightning
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinc ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Headle, Marshall
Aviators from Massachusetts
1893 births
1945 deaths