Welch's flight was in the first 86 and is not official and still debated. In the end it really doesn't matter at this point. Apparently the catch is one was in a dive and one was in level flight.
Yeager was credited with being the first October 14, 1947 in the Bell X-1
Officially Welch broke the speed of sound in the XP86 in a shallow dive on November 13, 1947. I've also seen it reported as not until April 26, 1948.
Probably the one thing folks could agree with is that both Yeager and Welch thought quite highly of themselves and were both very competitive. Welch was with the wartime 80th Headhunters for a while flying 38s and apparently thought he could play by a different set of rules based on his Pearl Harbor exploits. He and 80th CO Porky Cragg didn't get along at all if the histories can be believed.
Corky, what has being in a dive or level flight have to do with anything? The first is still the first. The recognized British record (first British aircraft to exceed Mach 1) involved a dive, an out of control dive to boot. Nonetheless, the record still stands. No double standards... However, the fact remains that the first British pilot to exceed Mach 1 was Bee Beaumont, flying the.. You guessed it, the XP-86.
No air breathing jet fighter exceeded Mach 1 in level flight until the first flight of the YP-100 Super Sabre. Guess who piloted it? Yep, George Welch.
Jay Welch related a story of his dad's issues with Porky Cragg. It seems that Welch tended to ignore orders he didn't care for. This was apparently more than Cragg could tolerate gladly. However, Cragg also knew that Welch was Hap Arnold's fair-haired boy and short of murdering someone, was untouchable.
An example of this was Welch's Squadron CO on Oahu. He disapproved Welch's CMoH recommendation, claiming that Welch had taken off without orders (he shot down 4, with two probables). Arnold was incensed and that officer's career was effectively over. It was Arnold that got Welch his test pilot position with North American after it was determined that Welch's malaria was too severe to allow him into the SWPA again. Once cleared for flying again, Arnold arranged to have Welch discharged and he immediately went to work at NA testing the P-51H, and later, the XP-82. Welch was selected as a test pilot for the XFJ-1 Fury and lead test pilot for XP-86 program.
Anyway, Cragg wasn't especially fond of Welch, but he recognized that Welch was one of the most talented fighter pilots in the Headhunters. Welch was well liked by his some of his squadron mates, but he was not the type to draw followers. Welch was a bit of a screwball. If he flew a mission and shot down less than two Japanese, he didn't put in a claim. Jay Welch says that his dad under-reported his kills by at least 4.
Blackburn writes a pretty good biography of Welch, and you quickly see that he was one of those rare, wild-eyed crazy pilots that had a lot more talent than sense. Welch died in an early production F-100. He was chummy with Yeager (whom Welch called "the best stick and rudder test pilot" he ever knew). Yeager warned Welch that the F-100 was too unstable in the yaw axis for a high Mach, high G pull-out test. Welch shrugged off the warning and was dead two hours later...
