Apollo soucek

Apollo Soucek (* 1897 in Medford , Grant County (Oklahoma) , † July 9, 1955 ) was Vice Admiral in the US Navy . He was a test pilot in 1929 and 1930, served in World War II and the Korean War . He ended his career as the commander of the Bureau of Aeronautics .

NAS Oceana , an air base for naval aviators of the US Navy in Virginia Beach / Virginia is named after him .

Early career

Soucek joined the United States Navy in 1918 and initially served on the battleship USS Missouri in the rank of midshipman . On June 3, 1921, he was made an ensign and transferred to the USS Mississippi . In February 1924, Soucek was assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola to be trained as a pilot. He was assigned to the Navy's first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley . In January 1925 he was transferred to the USS Maryland for Observation Squadron 1 . In May 1927 he was assigned to the Naval Aircraft Factory in Philadelphia , and subsequently to the Bureau of Aeronautics to serve.

Soucek set a number of height records with the Wright Apache . On May 8, 1929, he set the world record for land-based aircraft at 39,140 feet (11,930 m), and on June 4, he set the world record for sea-based aircraft at 38,560 feet (11,750 m) with an Apache. On June 4, Soucek improved his altitude record to 43,166 feet (13,157 m).

His grave is in Arlington Cemetery.

Web links

• Navy and Marine Corps Air Stations and Fields Named for Naval Aviators and Others ( July 24, 2006 memento in the Internet Archive )