In November 1943, the 357th Fighter Group was transferred to England where they traded in their outdated P-39s for the brand-new North American Aviation P-51C Mustang. Up until his eighth combat mission, Yeager had shot down one German aircraft, a Messerschmitt BF-109E "Emil". On that eighth mission, Yeager was engaged in a fierce fight over the skies of German-held France, where a German Messerschmitt BF-109E shot him down. He evaded capture and made it back to England, where he eventually scored 11 more kills against the Germans, making him a double-ace. An interesting thing to note is that on one mission, Yeager shot down 5 enemy aircraft.
In 1946, Yeager attended and graduated from Flight Performance School, and, in 1947 was selected to be the pilot for the Bell X-1, the plane that the newly-formed USAF was attempting to break the "Sound Barrier" with ( Before Yeager's flight on October 14, 1947, some believed that planes could not go faster than the speed of sound). On October 14, 1947 Yeager flew the rocket-powered X-1 to a top speed of Mach 1.06 (1.06 times the speed of sound) at 42,000 fett in altitude.
Yeager went on to command several different Air Wings in the Air Force, and was promoted to Brigadier General. Charles Yeager has earned many awards, including the peacetime Medal of Honor, the Collier Trophy, the Harmon International Trophy, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Federation Aeronatique International Gold Medal.
Charles Yeager can truly be considered one of the most famous aviators of all time, up with the names of such legends as Jimmy Doolittle and Charles Lindbergh.