From: Air Force Times
By: Diana Stancy Correll, August 31, 2019
Col. Charles C. “Charlie” Bock Jr. — who piloted the first flight of the B-1 bomber as chief test pilot for Rockwell International Corp. in December 1974 — died Aug. 22 at Tahoe Forest Hospital in Nevada, the Tahoe Daily Tribune reported. He was 93.
Born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Nov. 24, 1925, Bock served in the Air Force for 30 years as a bomber pilot, fighter pilot, test pilot and a military astronaut designee. Bock joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 after he graduated high school and served for two years before heading to Purdue University, where he graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering.
The B-1A makes its first flight Dec. 23, 1974, from Rockwell International's plant in Palmdale, California, to Edwards Air Force Base. Retired Col. Charles Bock, a Rockwell test pilot, was the commander. He was accompanied by Col. Emil “Ted” Sturmthal, a pilot and the B-1 Joint Test Force director, and flight test engineer Richard Abrams. (Edwards AFB History Office)
After graduating from pilot training in 1951, Bock flew 51 combat missions in the Korean War with the 90th Bomb Squadron, according to the Iowa Aviation Museum. Following the war, he attended the Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, graduating in 1954. He was assigned to Flight Test Operations at Edwards for the next six years and flew and tested many of the new airplanes coming into the Air Force fleet.
Bock again went into combat during the Vietnam War, flying 52 combat missions with the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, according to the museum’s web site. Afterward, he returned to flight testing at Edwards, where he flew and tested new aircraft including the SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1973, Bock joined Rockwell International Corp. as chief test pilot for the B-1 bomber program
Among his many accomplishments, he brought a Convair B-58 Hustler — the first operational jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight — from the factory to Edward’s Flight Test Center for a year of testing. He served as a B-50 launch pilot for the Bell X-2 “Starbuster” and as the B-52 launch pilot for all of the first captive and launch flights of the X-15, according to the museum’s web site.
With the arrival of Lockheed’s YF-12 — a twin-seat version of the top-secret A-12 reconnaissance aircraft — at the center, Bock became the operations officer for a YF-12/SR-71 Test Force, which aimed to expand the Blackbird’s operating envelope.
Altogether, Bock flew 105 different types of aircraft and booked 10,000 flying hours, according to the Iowa Flying Museum.
After retiring from Rockwell in 1981, he served as a consultant to Northrop Corp. on the B-2 stealth bomber from 1982 to 1984.
Bock earned multiple awards for his service, including earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses, six Air Medals and the Legion of Honor. The Aerospace Walk of Honor recognized him in 1994, and the Iowa Aviation Museum inducted Bock into its hall of fame in 2006.
Bock was married for 40 years
to his high school sweetheart, Geraldine Chandler, and they had a son and two
daughters. She died in 1986. He remarried in 1997 and is survived by his wife,
Joyce, his children, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
From: https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/news/obituaries/colonel-charles-c-charlie-bock/
Colonel
Charles C. “Charlie” Bock 24 November 1925 ~ 22 August 2019
Colonel Charles C. “Charlie” Bock was born on 24 November 1925 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He passed away on 22 August 2019 at the Tahoe Forest Hospital. He served two years in the Army Air Corps following graduation from high school in 1943. After the end of WWII he earned a degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue University.
Charlie married his high school sweetheart, Geraldine Chandler, in 1946. She was a perfect and supporting partner through their forty years of marriage. Together they produced a son and two daughters. She lost a two-year battle with cancer in 1986.
A strong passion for flying led to a thirty-year career in the United States Air Force. He graduated from pilot training in 1951, flew a combat tour in Korea and was then selected to attend the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 1954. He remained at EAFB for six years in Flight Test Operations, where he flew and tested many of the new airplanes coming into the AF inventory. After a combat tour in Vietnam, circumstances led to a second assignment in flight test at EAFB and the testing of new airplanes including the SR-71. He retired from the USAF in 1973 to accept a position with Rockwell International as a Chief Test Pilot on the B-1 program. He and his crew made the first flight of the B-1 on 23 December 1974. He accumulated 600 flying hours in that airplane before retiring in 1981.
In retirement Charlie moved to Incline Village, NV where he met Joyce Anderson and after a beautiful courtship, convinced her to marry him. They were wed in 1997 and enjoyed a happy and active life together.
Charlie logged over 10,000 flying hours and flew 105 different types of aircraft during his flying days. He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and six Air Medals. A Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, he served on the Board of Directors for several years and was a past Vice President of the Society. He received the Society’s Tenhoff Award in 1975 for the best technical paper presented at that year’s symposium and was honored with the Kinchloe Award in 1976 as that year’s Outstanding Test Pilot. He was named to the Lancaster, California Aerospace Walk of Honor in 1994. Charlie was inducted into the Iowa Aviation Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2006 and was presented with an Outstanding Aerospace Engineer recognition from Purdue University the same year.
He is survived by wife Joyce, son Charles, daughters Susan and Beverly, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.