Signed by WWII pilot Gen. Bob Cardenas - Acrylic-enclosed "Wright Stuff" aviation data plate, donated & autographed by Bob Cardenas (B-24, B-29, YB-49 pilot). In a compendium of reminiscences, photographs, and experts' discussions, the surviving participants in the development and flying of the Bell X-1 rocket plane that broke the sound barrier in 1947 recount their experiences. This book is signed by Brig Gen Bob Cardenas, who will be 100 years old in 2020.in 1944, his airplane, the B-24 "Sack Artists" (serial number 42-100073), was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire. Capt. Cardenas landed on the German side of Lake Constance. He swam across the lake to the Swiss side in order to evade capture. He was first interned at a camp for American officers at Adelboden, and was later assigned to teach Swiss officers how to fly interned American bombers at Dübendorf Airfield near Zurich. On 27 September 1944, Cardenas escaped into France with the help of Swiss civilians and the French resistance. He was flown to England and then sent back to the United States to recover from his head injury. In 1948, Major Cardenas was the Officer in Charge of Flight Test Division at Muroc Air Force Base and was Chief Air Force Test Pilot of the Northrop YB-49 flying wing. During the Vietnam War, Cardenas flew F-105 Thunderchief combat missions and was then assigned to McConnell AFB as a trainer for the F-105.