Jack Real, left; Willis Hawkins, center; Joseph Ware, Jr

Joseph Fulton "Joe" Ware Jr. (November 8, 1916 – April 23, 2012) was a flight test engineer at Clarence "Kelly" Johnson's famed Skunk Works in the Lockheed Corporation on the first two

Air Force One Air Force One is the official air traffic control designated call sign for a United States Air Force aircraft carrying the president of the United States. In common parlance, the term is used to denote U.S. Air Force aircraft modified and used ...

's, the U-2, the

SR-71 Blackbird The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a long-range, high-altitude, Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporation. It was operated by the United States Air Force ...

, and many others from World War II and the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, becoming Department Manager of Engineering Flight Test. He was the son of Joseph F. Ware Sr.

Family history

Joe Ware was from the South, Virginia, and had family who fought in the American Civil War as well as the American Revolutionary War. Ware was the son of Joseph F. Ware Sr., professor at Virginia Tech, U.S. Army officer, Commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets, and football player.

Early life and education

Ware was born in Blacksburg, Virginia. He enrolled in Virginia Polytechnic (now Virginia Tech) at age 15 and attended the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology aged 20, graduating with a Master's in Aeronautical Engineering a year later in 1938.

Early career

Ware worked as a test engineer at the Wright engine test facility at

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Lockheed in 1941, a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor in December of that year. During World War II, as well as working in his career at Lockheed, he served in the

Civil Air Patrol Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...

with Robert Cummings.

Career at Lockheed

Ware was the flight test engineer in charge of numerous advanced military and reconnaissance aircraft at the Skunk Works, Lockheed, from 1941 to 1974, including but not limited to the Hudson Bomber, the P-38 Lightning, the AT-22 (Flight Engineer Trainer, Sheppard Field, TX) during WWII, the YP-80A, all radial-engined and turbo-prop variants of the

Constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

, including (serial number) "1961" ( Howard Hughes' former personal airplane which was used at Lockheed as an engine and prototype testbed) and the WV-2 (as well as the WV-2E roto-dome prototype), Columbines II and III (which were the first Air Force Ones for

President Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

), the P-2 series, the YP-3V1 Orion prototype and series including the P-3A&B, the

YC-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally design ...

, the Model 286, Lockheed's XH-51 and AH-56 Cheyenne helicopters, the

F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

, Lockheed's space shuttle proposal, and was also Department Manager of Engineering Flight Test for the U-2 and the

. Area 51 was made a test base for the U-2 and was later used for flight testing the A-12 and the

SR-71 The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" is a Range (aeronautics), long-range, high-altitude, Mach number, Mach 3+ military strategy, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed and manufactured by the American aerospace company Lockheed Corporati ...

In retirement

After retiring from Lockheed in 1974, Ware engaged in an active career in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary attaining the rank of commander. A lifelong pilot, and holding a commercial certificate, he flew flag officers of the Coast Guard in his personal aircraft, such as a Beechcraft Duke and engaged in

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

operations with same, as well as his T-28, and also in counter terrorist activities with the Coast Guard on his boat. He and his third wife, Jenna, owned numerous airplanes, including but not limited to the T-28 Fennec and an award-winning 1937 SR-9B Stinson "Gullwing" Reliant. On September 4, 1998, Ware, his wife Jenna Ware (social worker and transsexual), and Hayden Griffin, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech professor of engineering), co-founded the Joseph F. Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Laboratory at Virginia Tech.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Joseph F. Jr. 1916 births 2012 deaths People of the Civil Air Patrol Virginia Tech alumni California Institute of Technology alumni Lockheed people American aerospace engineers