FOREST S. PETERSON

1922-1990

The X-15 program was funded and run jointly by NASA, the Air Force, and the Navy. Forest “Pete” Peterson, USN, completed five flights in the X-15 from September 23, 1960, to January 10, 1962. The number of flights reflected the Navy’s smaller participation in the program compared to that of NASA and the Air Force. Peterson’s contributions were nonetheless important.

Forest Silas Peterson was born on May 16,

1922, in Holdrege, Nebraska. He attended the Naval Academy in Annapolis, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering, and was commissioned an ensign in June 1944.

As usual for Naval Academy graduates, his first assignment was sea duty. He saw action in the South Pacific, notably in the Philippines, Formosa, and Okinawa while serving on the destroyer USS Caperton. After the war, he switched from the Navy “black shoe” to the “brown shoe” of Naval Aviation. He graduated from flight training in 1947 and was assigned to the VF-20A squadron. Shortly thereafter, he attended Naval Postgraduate School, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in July 1950. He then went to Princeton University, where he earned a master’s degree in engineering. From 1953 to 1956, he was back on flight duty, this time with Fighter Squadron 51. He was selected to attend the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, in 1956, and he remained as an instructor following graduation. When the Navy became involved with the X-15 program, Peterson moved to the Dryden Flight Research Center in August 1958. He served at Dryden until January 1962.

Pete Peterson made five flights in the X-15, beginning with Flight 22 on September 23, 1960. The first flight for a new test pilot was always the pilot-familiarization flight; Peterson achieved Mach 1.68 and an altitude of 53,043 feet before the engines shut down prematurely and failed to restart. His next flight, on October 20, 1960, was good, and he achieved Mach 1.94 and 53,800 feet. He was the first pilot to check out the higher – thrust XLR99 engine for the X-15-1, achieving Mach 4.11 and an altitude of 78,000 feet. On September 28, 1961, he achieved his fastest and highest flight, Mach 5.30 and 101,800 feet.

His last flight in the X-15, on January 10,

1962, was a disappointment. Upon reaching Mach 0.97 and an altitude of 44,750 feet, he had a total engine malfunction and had to make an emergency landing at Mud Lake. Over his limited number of flights, Pete Peterson contributed to the X-15 data collection by carrying out high-angle-of-attack stability tests and collecting aerodynamic, heat transfer, thermostructural stability and control, and performance data.

Peterson went back to more traditional duty in the Navy. He served as commanding officer of VF-154 and then was assigned to the position of director, Division of Naval Reactors, Atomic Energy Commission for Nuclear Power Training. From 1964 to 1967, he was the executive officer on board the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, and he participated in the Enterprise’s first combat tour in Vietnam. He was commanding officer of the Enterprise from July 1969 to December 1971. He then spent three years as an assistant director of Naval Program Planning in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. The following year, he commanded Combined Task Force 60 based in Athens, Greece. By 1975, he was back in the Pentagon heading the Naval Air Operations office and then the Naval Air Systems Command. He retired as a vice admiral in 1980.

On December 8, 1990, Admiral Peterson died in Georgetown, South Carolina, from a brain tumor. Although his naval career was varied, he stood apart as one of the select twelve who flew the X-15. He was the only active-duty Navy pilot to fly the X-15 (although four other pilots had been former Navy pilots).