Beginning in the 1920s, steady advances in aircraft performance had been produced by improved structures and drag-reduction technologies and by more powerful, supercharged engines, but by the early 1930s it had become apparent to a handful of farsighted engineers that speeds would soon be possible that would exceed the capabilities of reciprocating engines and propellers. The reasons for this were not at first widely appreciated. At velocities approaching Mach 1, or the speed of sound (about 1,190 km [745 miles] per hour at sea level and about 1,055 km [660 miles] per hour at 11,000 metres [36,000 feet]), aerodynamic drag ...(100 of 13955 words)