In this historic photo from the U.S. space agency, this mid-1950s photograph shows the Douglas D-558-2 and the North American F-86 Sabre chase aircraft in flight. Both aircraft display early examples of swept wing airfoils.
The National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) was a precursor to NASA. NACA was created by Congress in 1915.
Each weekday, SPACE.com looks back at the history of spaceflight through photos (archive).