FASTEST MANNED MILITARY AIRCRAFT: X-15, USA

Manufactured by North American Aviation Inc., the X-15 experimental aircraft was launched from under the wing of a specially converted bomber and became a record-breaking flying machine. On November 9, 1961, test pilot Robert M. White achieved the top speed of 4,520 miles per hour (7,274 km/h), or Mach 6.72, a record that still stands to this day. In August 1963, test pilot Joseph A. Walker took the X-51 to an altitude of 107.8 km, automatically earning him his astronaut's wings.