Col Stapp was a real human crash test dummy who advanced aerospace safety. He then went on to advocate for seatbelts. Oh, and he coined the term “Murphy’s Law”!
Over the decades, a lot of research has been conducted by the USAF to understand the affects and limits of G-forces on aircrews. Not just the flying itself, but also understanding how extreme Gs during an ejection affects the person(s) ejecting. What’s the point if they will die on ejection anyway?
To get the data, someone had to become a real-life test dummy. And the man who stepped up to the plate not only withstood more Gs than any human being (voluntarily) in history, but also became the fastest man on Earth.
Meet USAF Col and Dr, John Stapp
Retired USAF Col and Dr John Stapp joined the service in 1944. After completing Medical Field Service School and medical residency, he became a General duty medical officer and received his Aviation Medical Examiner designation. He became a project officer and medical consultant in Bio-Physics at the Aero Medical Laboratory, Wright Air Development Center in Dayton, Ohio.
Col Stapp was a risk taker. One of his first jobs was flying in un-pressurized aircraft to 40,000 ft with new proposed oxygen systems. He stepped in to fly the mission himself. If something went wrong, he didn’t want anyone else to get hurt. Stapp was also studying altitude and decompression sickness (“the bends”), flying a bare bones B-17 with an open cockpit and unpressurized cabin at 45,000 feet for 65 hours. A solid guy for sure! This somewhat extreme experience was just a warmup for what was to come.
The need for Gs, but not looking forward to it
His next assignment was a bit more extreme. Col Stapp was tasked with studying the ability to withstand extreme Gs during extreme de-acceleration. Stapp went to Edwards AFB to conduct the research, again volunteering to be the test subject. Strapping onto the rocket sled named “G-Whiz” for the first time, he said “I assure you, I am not looking forward to this.”
Strapping onto the rocket sled named “G-Whiz” for the first time, he said “I assure you, I am not looking forward to this.”
Col John Stapp
He was launched on 16 tests from 1947 – 1948, taking a punishing beating from up to 35Gs and suffering numerous injuries. But, he was still just warming up.
Stapp conducted additional sled tests, was promoted to USAF Major, and was sent to Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico in 1953, to continue leading further research on extreme deceleration and G-forces. It was there, in 1954, that he would solidify his place in the history of aviation, speed and basically all things cool.
The Fastest Man on Earth
The USAF had many unknowns about ejection in flight: at what speed a pilot could safely eject? How much force can someone take when they are slapped by supersonic wind and slow from 700 mph to an immediate full stop? These were all questions that needed to be answered as jet aircraft evolved into machines that could fly faster and higher than previous aircraft.
Stapp’s rocket sled was named Sonic Wind No. 1. It was equipped with 9 solid fuel rockets. Combined, they produced 40,000 pounds of thrust for 5 seconds. Plenty of time to get the data needed and, hopefully, he wouldn’t die in the process.
On Dec 10, 1954, Stapp boarded his 2,000 pound sled, which was mounted on rails set in concrete. After an hour of preparation, he was launched 3,000 feet, accelerating from 0 to 632 mph in just 5 seconds, as fast as the acceleration of a 45 caliber bullet from a pistol.
He shot past a T-33 that was flying alongside the track, hitting 20 Gs! This alone gave him the land speed record and title as the fastest man on Earth.
Once the rockets burned out, the water brakes kicked in and Stapp came to a sudden stop in just 1.4 seconds. Such force is equivalent to hitting a brick wall at 50 mph. Stapp withstood over 46 Gs in the stop, which is a force equivalent of about 4 tons exerted on the human body.
Beaten up, but alive and well
Incredibly, Stapp walked away without any permanent injuries. He suffered temporary blindness for about an hour and was bruised all over. He suffered broken ribs and burns from dust hitting his skin at 600 mph, and his eyes were bleeding a bit. And somehow this man of steel still had a smile on his face.
“I felt a sensation in the eyes, somewhat like the extraction of a molar without anesthetic,” said Stapp after the test. “The effects of that run were relatively negligible, but the data obtained was invaluable.”
– Col Stapp on his 46G deceleration from the rocket sled test
Once the his medical exam was over, he ate a sandwich and got to work analyzing the data his test collected. Yes, really! Just another day for Dr Stapp.
He still wanted to go further in a future test. Stepp wanted to break 1,000 mph. His superiors saw it as suicide and denied his request.
Stapp’s research opened up more possibilities in aviation and other industries
Stapp proved that a pilot flying at 35,000 feet at twice the speed of sound could survive the wind blast if they had to eject based on extrapolated data. Further research by Stapp also proved it was safe to build faster fighter jets without worrying about aircrews being killed by the deceleration, Gs and wind during ejection.
Some of his other research led to him inventing a new harness for paratroopers, so they could survive crash impacts if their planes went down. He also developed a better harness for combat pilots, which surely saved lives.
His contribution to the wider public, is perhaps his greatest legacy. His insane tests proved how much a person could withstand if properly restrained. He went on to conduct similar research with car crashes, strapping into test vehicles and slamming into objects himself to prove his theories.
He became an advocate for seatbelts in cars. Manufacturers could care less back then, it was just an added expense to their bottom line. In 1966, Stapp was key in convincing President Lyndon B. Johnson to sign a law forcing auto makers to include seat belts in every car. Millions of lives have been saved since, on a daily basis, even today. Perhaps, his work even saved your life at one time or another?
Stapp invented Murphy’s Law…really!
Stapp even invented the now household term “Murphy’s Law”, the idea that anything that can go wrong, will. Murphy was a Captain that Stapp worked with on the rocket sled tests. Poor Murphy kept having bad things happen to him, and so Stapp called it “Murphy’s Law”. It stuck.
Pulled over for speeding
Stapp was a bit of a local hero after all of his research. One day, Stapp was pulled over by a police officer for speeding, doing 40 in a 25. At court, the judge recognized Stapp, then dismissed the charge against him. He issued a new ticket to a fictitious police “captain” and the judge paid the fine himself.
Stapp retired from the USAF in 1970 as a colonel. He passed away in 1999 at his home in New Mexico from natural causes. His history-making sled, Sonic Wind No. 1, is on display at the in Nation of Speed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
Legend Joe Kittinger once said, “I hope St. Peter has his seat belt on when Dr. Stapp shows up.”
