Presentation Date: January 22, 2009
LT COL Martin A. Knutson USAF, CIA and NASA
PILOT- Combat, Recon, Test, Research
* Joined Navy Reserve & trained as a ball-turret gunner in TBF “Avenger”.
* KOREA: F-84s, F-86s; Selected by Curtis LeMay for SAC Fighter Group, F-86s.
* VIETNAM & COLD WAR: One of only six pilots first selected for the CIA’s Air Division to fly U-2s, often over the Soviet Union.
* Joined NASA - Ames Research Center in early 1971 as Manager of Airborne Instrumentation Research, then Chief of Airborne Missions & Applications
* Involved with numerous aircraft at NASA, from F-104, F-18, X-29, F-15, CV-990 Space Shuttle Landing Gear Test Vehicle and, finally, the legendary SR-71 “Blackbird”, which he flew at Mach 3.275 when he was 67 years young!
* Awards and decorations include: Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Meritorious Service Award, Intelligence Star (twice), NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Award and the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive; Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (Associate Fellow), Charter Member of the Senior Executive Service ( Federal Government). PILOT- Combat, Recon, Test, Research
* Born May 31, 1930 in St. Louis Park, MN; attended University of Minnesota, EE.
* Joined Navy Reserve & trained as a ball-turret gunner in TBF “Avenger”.
* Qualified for Air Force Cadet Program; Pilot Wings, Class 51G @ Williams AFB.
* KOREA: F-84s, F-86s; Selected by Curtis LeMay for SAC Fighter Group, F-86s.
* VIETNAM & COLD WAR: One (1) of only six (6) pilots first selected for the CIA’s Air Division to fly U-2s, often over the Soviet Union.
* Retired from USAF in 1970 with over 6,500 hours of flight time.
* Joined NASA - Ames Research Center in early 1971 as Manager of Airborne Instrumentation Research, then Chief of Airborne Missions & Applications; same job at NASA – Dryden; finally, Chief of Flight Operations at Ames 1990 to 1997.
* Involved with numerous aircraft at NASA, from F-104, F-18, X-29, F-15, CV-990 Space Shuttle Landing Gear Test Vehicle and, finally, the legendary SR-71 “Blackbird”, which he flew at Mach 3.275 when he was 67 years young!
* Logged flight time of over 8,000 hours, almost all in high-performance aircraft.
* Awards and decorations include: Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), Meritorious Service Award, Intelligence Star (twice), NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Award and the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive; Member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots (Associate Fellow), Charter Member of the Senior Executive Service ( Federal Government).
Marty Knutson flew 21 years for the USAF and CIA, plus another 21 years for NASA, a total of 42 years and over 8,000 hours of active, dangerous, high-performance flying--combat, reconnaissance, test, development and research--for our Nation!