Bail-out at 555 mph. from a Lockheed TF-80C | Aviation Week, August 8, 1949

 

Capt. Vincent Mazza, USAF Materiel Command, shoots out of the rear seat of a Lockheed TF-80C at 555 mph. in a demonstration of a new ejection seat blown clear by a 37-mm. cartridge. When free of the plane, the seat is stabilized by fins and a small drag chute. After the seat decelerated, Capt. Mazza was automatically disconnected, and his own chute opened. The TF-80C's canopy had rear portion removed for the test. No ill effects were said to have been caused by the ejection.