Supersonic Pressure Tunnel staff and computers. 1950s group portrait of the men and women who worked at the 4x4-Foot Supersonic Pressure Tunnel (Facility 1236), at the Langley Research Center, Virginia, USA. The women in the front row were the 'human computers' (from left): Doris Barron, Amy Swann, Virginia Finch, Peggy White, Jean Pond, Evalyn Wells, Mary Korycinski, Doris Blanchard, Phyllis Henry and Mary Jackson. This facility was built from 1945, opening in 1948. Tests conducted here included military jets such as the F-102, F-105, B-58 supersonic bomber, and the X-2 research aircraft. In the 1970s, tests were performed for the F-14 and F-15 jets. The facility and its tunnel was decommissioned in 1977. |