Thomas G. W. Settle
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Thomas Greenhow Williams "Tex" Settle was an officer of the United States Navy who on November 20, 1933, together with Army major Chester L. Fordney, set a world altitude record in the Century of Prog
Settle during World War II.
August 25, 1927. Los Angeles rotates around the mooring mast, Settle in the control car.
Settle as Lieutenant in 1928.
November 21, 1933. New Jersey police rescue Settle (left) and Fordney from the swamp.
USSR-1
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USSR-1 was a record-setting, hydrogen-filled Soviet Air Forces high-altitude balloon designed to seat a crew of three and perform scientific studies of the Earth's stratosphere. On September 30, 1933,
Thomas G. W. Settle
…altitude record of 18,665 meters (61,237 feet). The flight earned Settle the Harmon Trophy and the FAI Henri de la Vaulx medal. Earlier in 1933 the USSR-1 had flown to 62,230 feet, but it was not recognized by the FAI, so Settle and Fordney became the official record holder until the flight of Explorer…
USSR-1 over Moscow Kremlin on a 1933 postage stamp (Scott C37). Here the balloon is shown in low altitude configuration; in stratosphere the envelope expanded into a nearly perfect sphere. The balloon did not pass over the Kremlin directly, but it was clearly in sight for the first few hours of the flight.
USSR-1 balloon gondola displayed at the Central Air Force Museum in Monino, Russia.