Childs, Stuart Row

American test pilot. Flew the X-1B.

Childs was the son of Theron Arthur Childs and Gertrude Row. His wife, the former Irene Street, predeceased him by 45 years.

Stuart Childs joined the Army Air Corp in World War II at the age of 18. He flew heavily laden transports over the 'hump', delivering supplies from Burma to China. He served as a combat fighter pilot during the Korean Conflict, and ended his military career as chief test pilot for fighter aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base in California. At this time he made several flights in the X-1B rocketplane. He was fondly remembered as a skilled and knowledgeable pilot who would share plum assignments, such as the Paris Air Show, with his subordinates.

After his military service, he attended the University of North Carolina Law School, and then worked as an attorney in Charlotte for over thirty years.