George J. Marrett | |
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| Born | 1935 (age 87–88) Grand Island, Nebraska |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |  United States Air Force |
| Years of service | 1957 - 1969 |
| Rank |  Captain |
| Unit | 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron 602d Fighter Squadron (C) |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross Air Medal |
| Other work | Author, Trustee |
George J. Marrett (born 1935) is a former United States Air Force officer, combat veteran, and test pilot. He is the author of many aviation-related books and articles.
George Marrett was born in Grand Island, Nebraska in 1935. He was awarded the Eagle rank by the Boy Scouts in 1951. Marrett graduated in 1957 from Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa with a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. [1] He entered the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant from the Reserve Officers Training Corps. Marrett received pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Texas where he flew the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star. [2] After graduation in 1959, he went to advanced flight training at Moody AFB in Georgia where he flew the North American F-86L Sabre. Marrett spent four years in the 84th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base, California, flying the McDonnell F-101B Voodoo. [3]
Marrett was selected to attend the Aerospace Research Pilot School (ARPS), now called the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California. [4] While at the school, Marrett flew a variety of aircraft including the Northrop T-38 Talon, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter and General Dynamics F-106 Delta Dart. After graduating with Class 64A, [5] he was assigned to the Fighter Test Branch of Flight Test Operations at Edwards and completed three years flight-testing the McDonnell F-4C Phantom, Northrop F-5A Freedom Fighter, and General Dynamics F-111A Aardvark. [1] Marrett flew during the heyday of flight test when many aviation record were set, such as Colonel Robert 'Silver Fox' Stephens' world speed record in the YF-12. [6]
From 1968 to 1969, Marrett flew the Douglas A-1 Skyraider as a "Sandy" rescue pilot in the 602d Fighter Squadron (C), C for Commando, from Udorn and Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Bases, Thailand. [7]
He completed 188 combat missions with over 600 combat hours and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters. He was also awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for flight test at Edwards AFB. [8]
In 1969, Marrett returned from Vietnam and joined Hughes Aircraft Company as an experimental test pilot. [9] For the next twenty years, he flew test programs which helped develop attack radar and missiles for the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-18 Hornet, and an early version of the B-2 Stealth bomber. He also flew test missions for the Hughes Aircraft AGM-65 Maverick missile. Marrett has flown over 40 types of military aircraft and logged over 9,500 hours. [3]
Marrett's personal aircraft while serving with the 602d was an A-1J Skyraider, serial number 142029, maintained by crew chief Joseph Toback. [10] The aircraft was named Sock It To 'Em after the popular 1960s comedy television program, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In . [11] Three weeks after Marrett and Tobak returned home, Sock It To 'Em was shot down by ground fire killing the pilot, Major James East, Jr. [12] Forty-one years later, Marrett and Tobak were reunited at the Estrella Warbird Museum where they flew in Marrett's 1945 Stinson L-5 Sentinel that is also named Sock It To 'Em. [11] The A-1 Skyraider, Sock It To 'Em, was memorialized as a plastic model by the Tamiya Corporation and a die-cast metal model by Hobby Master Limited. [11]
Marrett retired from Hughes Aircraft in 1989 and lives in Atascadero, California. He is one of the founders of the Estrella Warbird Museum at the Paso Robles airport, where he enjoys flying his privately owned plane, a 1945 Stinson L-5E Sentinel. He was the chief pilot for D. P. Industries from 2000 to 2013 flying their Beechcraft King Air C-90. Marrett has been on the Board of Trustees of the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, California since 1983. [1]
Marrett has been married to his Nebraskan wife, Jan, for 62 years. They have a son Randall who is a retired Professor of Geology at the University of Texas at Austin and another son Scott who volunteers with the National Park Service in Idaho. They have four grandchildren Tyler Marrett, Zachary Marrett, Cali Marrett, and Casey Marrett.
Marrett started his career as an aviation author by sending short stories to magazines. [13] He has had nineteen articles published in aviation magazines about military flight test and his experiences in Vietnam. [13] The following is an incomplete list of his works:
Marrett was inducted in the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame on January 26, 2006 in Kearney, Nebraska. [14] He was elected to the Grand Island, Nebraska High School Wall of Honor and inducted in October 2007. [15] Marrett joined the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1967, upgraded to Associate Fellow in 1981 and was elected a Fellow in 2011. [16] On December 9, 2016 he received the USAF Test Pilot School Distinguished Alumnus award during the graduation ceremony for Class 2016A at Edwards AFB, California. This award is presented to a USAF TPS graduate who has made significant and lasting contributions to aviation science and the flight test community.
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The Douglas A-1 Skyraider is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s, which served during the Korean War and Vietnam War. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ; thus becoming known by some as an "anachronism". The aircraft was nicknamed "Spad", after the French World War I fighter.
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United States Air Force (USAF) fighter capable of supersonic speed in level flight.
The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an interceptor aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Convair. A member of the Century Series, the F-102 was the first operational supersonic interceptor and delta-wing fighter operated by the United States Air Force (USAF).
The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced.
The Vought F-8 Crusader is a single-engine, supersonic, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Vought. It was the last American fighter that had guns as the primary weapon, earning it the title "The Last of the Gunfighters".
The Cessna A-37 Dragonfly, or Super Tweet, is a light attack aircraft designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Cessna.
Richard Glenn Rutan is a retired United States Air Force officer and fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in 1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop, non-refueled around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana Yeager. Rutan was born and raised in Loma Linda, California, where he gained an interest in flying at a young age. He is the older brother of famed aerospace designer Burt Rutan, whose many earlier original designs Dick piloted on class record-breaking flights, including Voyager.
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, the T-28 was successfully employed as a counter-insurgency aircraft, primarily during the Vietnam War. It has continued in civilian use as an aerobatics and warbird performer.
William John "Pete" Knight was an American aeronautical engineer, politician, Vietnam War combat pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the U.S. Air Force and NASA. He was also selected for participation in the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
Robert Michael White was an American electrical engineer, test pilot, fighter pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. As an engineer, he supervised the design and development of several modern military aircraft.
Eugene Peyton Deatrick Jr. was a United States Air Force colonel, test pilot, and combat veteran. He is best recognized for his role in the rescue of United States Navy Lieutenant Dieter Dengler during the Vietnam War. The rescue was recounted in the Werner Herzog films Little Dieter Needs to Fly and Rescue Dawn and the national bestseller Hero Found: The Greatest POW Escape of the Vietnam War by author Bruce Henderson.
General Ronald Wilburn Yates served as Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. As AFMC Commander, Yates was responsible for research, development, test, acquisition and logistics support for the Air Force from 18 specialized centers and 116,000 military and civilian employees around the world.
Robert Leon Cardenas was a brigadier general in the United States Air Force.
Robert L. "Silver Fox" Stephens was a United States Air Force test pilot who set several speed and altitude records while testing the Lockheed YF-12 and SR-71.
Steven M. Rainey is a test pilot and retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer. As of 2022, he is a test pilot for Stratolaunch Systems working on the Scaled Composites Stratolaunch aircraft. Previously, he was Lockheed Martin's chief F-22 test pilot, Boeing's lead F-22 test pilot, and commander of the USAF 411th Flight Test Squadron. He is noted for a number of achievements while flight testing the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor. He was the first USAF pilot to fly the aircraft, the first pilot to perform aerial refueling in the F-22, and the first pilot to fly cross-country in the Raptor.
Carlton Breckenridge Ardery Jr. was a former military and later civilian test pilot who flew developmental and test missions for Republic Aviation of Farmingdale, New York. He was killed in the in-flight breakup of an F-105 Thunderchief in 1965.
This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the North American P-51 Mustang and its variants. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances. Accidents involving Mustang replicas are not included unless they are faithful to the original design and/or built using original parts.
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