"Comic book stuff" was the typical response on one would draw in 1938 when the subject of rocket propulsion came up. To most, the subject of rocket power conjured up images of Buck Rogers and the Saturday afternoon matinee. Rocketry was the flight of fantasy science fiction writers used to transport their audiences to new worlds. But it was also during this time that visionaries like Dr. Robert Goddard and Dr. Theodor Von Karman worked developing their theories of rocket science.

The D-558 program was a Douglas Aircraft Company contract with the U.S. Navy and NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), intended to produce an aircraft for the purpose of exploring transonic and supersonic flight.

88 PAGES, 147 B&W PHOTOS, AND 35 DRAWINGS