Joseph F. Cotton

Joseph Frederick Cotton (January 21, 1922 – May 5, 2016) was an American military test pilot.

Colonel

Joseph F. Cotton
Birth nameJoseph Frederick Cotton
Nickname(s)Joe
Born(1922-01-22)January 22, 1922
Rushville, Indiana, U.S.
DiedMay 5, 2016(2016-05-05) (aged 94)
Atherton, California, U.S.
Allegiance United States
Service/branch
Years of service1942–66 (24 years)
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars
AwardsSee below
Spouse(s)Rema Nelson (1944–2016; his death) (3 children)[1]
Other workFlight instructor, Airline pilot

Early life

Cotton was born in Rushville, Indiana on Jan. 21, 1922, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Cotton. Cotton was a graduate of Manilla High School where he was a member of the basketball team and a 4H club member. He lived in Rush County and helped his father with work on the family farm until he reached the age of 20.[2]

Military service

In his first combat mission, in November 1943, the plane he was co-piloting crash-landed on the island of Corfu after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. After four months the crew members were able to escape with the help of Italian allies, and Mr. Cotton was sent back to the U.S. to recover from malaria and return to flight school[3] to become a flight instructor.[4]

He later attended the Empire Test Pilot School, and eventually was the chief test pilot for the Air Force. He was head of the B-58 Hustler and XB-70 test programs, and was flying in the ill-fated formation flight that resulted in the loss of XB-70 A/V2 on June 8, 1966.[4] He retired from the Air Force in 1968 having been involved in aeronautical research for 22 of his 26 years. [5]

Awards and decorations
Badges, patches and tabs
U.S. Air Force Command Pilot Badge
Personal decorations
Legion of Merit
Air Medal - for his actions during an emergency with the XB-70 when he extended the jammed nose gear by use of a legal-style paper clip.
Air Force Commendation Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
 National Defense Service Medal with star
Air Force Longevity Service Ribbon

Other achievements

Post-military career

Cotton was hired as an engineering flight test pilot for United after his military retirement. In total, he flew more than 16,000 flight hours in 80 different military bombers, fighters, transports, and civilian aircraft.[5]

Cotton died on May 5, 2016, survived by his wife Rema, and three children.[2]

gollark: One of the very few good things about Intel is that their graphics drivers are fully open source.
gollark: I found a stackexchange question answering my problem... WHY ARE THE ANSWERS SO BAD
gollark: Really should have bought an AMD one.
gollark: I wonder what happens if I use wayland.
gollark: User agent probably.

References
  1. Farbstein, Michael. "Atherton couple celebrates 70th anniversary". TheAlmanac. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  2. Gulker, Linda (14 May 2016). "Aviation pioneer Col. Joe F. Cotton "takes his last flight" at age 94". InMenlo. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  3. Wood, Barbara. "Hometown names bridge after longtime Atherton resident Joe Cotton". The Almanac.
  4. "Afternoon with a Flight Test Legend". Check-Six.com.
  5. "Joe Cotton" (PDF). Pine Mountain Lake Aviation Associatio.
  6. "House Resolution 3" (PDF). Indiana General Assembly. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
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