John Barron McKay

1922 - 1975  (52 years)  Submit Photo / Document

• Name	John Barron McKay
  Nickname	Jack
  Born	8 Dec 1922	Portsmouth, Virginia
  Gender	Male
  Census	1930
  		1930 McKay. 1930 US census, King, St Thomas Island, Virgin Islands, enumeration district 21, Family Number 35, McKay.
  Census	1940
  		1940 McKay. 1940 US census, Portsmouth, Virginia, enumeration district 116-38, Family Number 221, McKay.
  Military Service	U.S. Navy, WWII
  	He flew 82 combat missions as a Navy Fighter Pilot in World War II. He was awarded the The Air Medal which is awarded for acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. He subsequently earned two Oak Leaf Clusters to signify additional awards.
  Occupation	John was a test pilot. In 2005 he was posthumously awarded his astronaut wings for his work with the X-15.
  		F-104 McKay. John piloting the F-104. NASA used the fighter as a chase plane for the X-15 test program. They also had three of them specially modified with directional thrusters in the nose and wing tips to train pilots for flight outside of the earth's atmosphere.
  		John B McCay X-15. John was a NASA test pilot and one of 12 test pilots that flew the X-15. Of those only 8 flew the X-15 to an altitude of 50 miles or higher which qualified them as astronauts. The Air Force pilots were awarded their wings immediately. The civilian pilots were awarded their NASA astronaut wings in 2005. John's highest flight reached 55.9 miles. He received his wings posthumously.
  		X-15 The X-15 (the "X" stood for experimental) was a rocket powered plane that looked more like a missile than an airplane. Three X-15s were built. they were used for 199 test flights from June 8, 1959 to October 24, 1968. #3 was destroyed, November 15, 1967 when it began to spin and broke apart before landing killing astronaut Michael J. Adams.
  		X-15 Cockpit. The center joystick controlled the wing surfaces for standard atmospheric flight. The smaller joystick on the left controlled attitude rockets for flight control outside of the Earth's atmosphere.
  		X-15 Cut-Away. To fly the X-15 the pilot was doing little more than strapping himself to a rocket engine.
  		B-52 Mothership. Like most of the "X" series aircraft the X-15 did not takeoff under it's own power. It was carried to an altitude of about 8.5 miles by a modified B-52 bomber. It would be traveling about 500 MPH when it was released.
  		X15 in Flight. The X-15 flying under it's own power. Note the lower fin. This is something you don't normally see on aircraft. Before landing it had to be jettisoned and, it was recovered by parachute.
  		X-15 Flight The top speed ever reached was 4,520 MPH. As of 2019 this remains the worlds record for the fastest manned, powered aircraft. The highest altitude reached was 67 miles.
  		X-15 Landing. The X-15 expends all of it's fuel during flight. It has to glide to a landing. The Guinness book of world records' lists the X15 as holding the record for fastest landing speed at 242 mph. As of 2019 this is a record that has not been broken even by the space shuttle. The nose gear has wheels but, the rear only has skids. The landing took place on a dry lake bed.
  		X-15 Ground Crew. The ground crew attends to the X-15 shortly after landing as the B-25 mothership flies by.
  		US Navy P2B-1S Superfortress. On march 22, 1956 John was the test pilot of a U.S. Navy, Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket to be dropped from a Superfortress bomber re-purposed as a mothership. Problems developed with the rocket plane and John called "no drop". Unfortunately at the same time the mothership developed a runaway engine. Protocol was that if the mothership experienced an emergency the test plane had to be dropped. John was release to fend for himself. Immediately after he was dropped the propeller on the affected engine failed from overspeed and broke apart. Shrapnel tore through the adjacent engine and the fuselage of the mothership. Had John not been dropped he likely would have been killed by the debris. Fortunately John and the pilots of the mothership, Stanley Paul Butchart and (future astronaut) Neil Alden Armstrong all made it safely back to the ground.
  		X-15 Crash. On November 9, 1962 John attempted to power up his X-15 but the engine failed to produce more than 30% thrust. It was decided to make an emergency landing. They kept the engine running for 70.5 seconds before releasing him in an attempt to burn off the fuel and reduce the weight. The landing speed was far higher than it should have been. Unresponsive controls coupled with the extra weight led to the plane rolling when it landed. The cockpit canopy sheared away and John's helmeted head dug into the lake bed. John wold eventually recover and made 22 more flights in the X-15. The wrecked plane was repaired and returned to service. John turned to alcohol to deal with pain resulting from the accident and died as a result of liver disease. His autopsy revealed substantial brain damage.
  Died	27 Apr 1975	Lancaster, Los Angeles, California
  Siblings	5 siblings
  1. Rita E McKay,   b. Abt 1922, Virginia
  2. James Milton McKay,   b. 8 Dec 1922, Portsmouth, Virginia ,   d. 15 Dec 1998, Lancaster, Los Angeles, California
  3. Mildred W McKay,   b. Abt 1926, United States Virgin Islands
  4. Charles E McKay,   b. Abt 1931, United States Virgin Islands
  5. Richard McKay,   b. Abt 1933, Haiti
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I43901	Nagel
  Last Modified	23 Jul 2019

  
  

  Father	Milton Barron McKay,   b. 12 Nov 1895, Port Gibson, Claiborne, Mississippi ,   d. 7 Nov 1974, Hazlehurst, Copiah, Mississippi  (Age 78 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Mother	Wilhelmina Emaline Dearing,   b. 12 Aug 1885, Lonoke, Lonoke, Arkansas ,   d. 17 Oct 1970, Portsmouth, Virginia  (Age 85 years)
  Relationship	Birth
  Family ID	F13264	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Shirley Londeree,   b. 27 Mar 1926, Campbell, Albemarle, Virginia ,   d. 18 Oct 2004, Lancaster, Los Angeles, California  (Age 78 years)
  Married		McCay-Londeree Marriage. McCay-Londeree Marriage.
  Last Modified	23 Jul 2019
  Family ID	F13287	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 8 Dec 1922 - Portsmouth, Virginia Died - 27 Apr 1975 - Lancaster, Los Angeles, California  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos » Slide Show		John B McCay. John B McCay.
  		John Barron McKay He was a NASA test pilot who became an astronaut September 28, 1965 when he went outside of the confines of the earth's atmosphere in the X-15 rocket plane. Military pilots who did this earned their astronaut wings immediately. Unfortunately they had not developed the process to award the civilian pilots their wings. John was awarded his wings posthumously in 2005.
  		John B. McCay John B. McCay
  		John B. McKay John B. McKay

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		X15 Crashes Test Pilot Escapes. Anderson (Indiana) Herald, Sunday, November 11, 1962 page 12.
  		X15 Pilot Reports Strange Vibrations. The Anderson (Indiana) Herald, Wednesday, October 10, 1962 page one.
  		X-15 Rocket Ship In Routine Test. Eureka (California) Humboldt Standard, Thursday, May 16, 1963 page 22.
  		X15 Given Tough Heat Test. Florence (South Carolina) Morning News, Friday, July 20, 1962 page 20.
  		Space Dust Is Brought Back By High-Flying X15. Moberly (Missouri) Monitor-Index & Evening Democrat, Friday, July 29. 1966 page 5.
  		X-15 Forerunner Of New Satellite. Oakland (California) Tribune, Tuesday, May 19, 1959 Page 21.