330-PSA-230-60 (USN 710806):  Speed Record Breaking Navy Pilot Receives Distinguished Flying Cross.  Secretary of the Navy William B. Franke pins the Distinguished Flying Cross on Commander John F. Davis, USN, during a brief ceremony in the Pentagon, October 4, 1960.  Commander Davis succeeded in establishing a world aircraft speed record, pending certification by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale, which betters a Russian claim for the same record made three months ago.  The Navy’s record flight was made on September 25 in a McDonnell F4H-1 Phantom II fighter averaging 1390.21 miles an hour over a 100 kilometer closed circuit course 45,000 feet above the Mojave Desert.  His plane banked in a near vertical altitude, Commander Davis sped around the exacting 62-mile circular course at Edwards Air Force Base, California, in two minutes, 40.9 seconds.  The citation reads in part, “For extraordinary achievement in aerial flight on September 25, 1960, as pilot of a Navy All-Weather Fighter Aircraft, F4H-1, Phantom II, Commander John F. Davis, succeeded in establishing a new world record, and a world class record for class “c” jet aircraft on a 100 kilometer closed course.  In the preparation for and execution of this flight, he exercised brilliant airmanship, initiative, foresight and planning ability beyond expectations of normal duty.  Through his exceptional feat, he clearly demonstrated the inherent capabilities and the maximum performance of a most important aircraft of the U.S. Navy and focused world attention on the continued significant development of the science of aviation in the U.S. and the superiority of her aircraft and pilots, October 5, 1960.  (9/9/2015).
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