Title: National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Designer: Unknown
Year it was designed: circa 1946
Explanation or story behind the patch: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was the predecessor to NASA. In 1946, Walter C. Williams arrived at Muroc Army Air Base (one day destined to become Edwards Air Force Base) to take charge of the newly established NACA Muroc Unit on 30 September 1946 in support of the X-1 research program. NACA director Hugh L. Dryden officially established the NACA Muroc Flight Test Unit as a permanent facility, managed by NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory (LMAL) on 7 September 1947. It became independent of LMAL on 14 November 1949 as the NACA High-Speed Flight Research Station. The facility moved from South Base to the northwest shore of Rogers Dry Lake in July 1954 as the NACA High-Speed Flight Station. Employees received a patch with the NACA wings. Several examples of this patch include names (this one belonged to Betty Scott) and the date 1950 (although Betty joined the NACA in 1952).