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By JAMES A. ALLEN wallere. Edt r A Long Beach-born Regy pilot has saved the tax payers millions of dollars In the past three years by “fly ing Regulus missiles at the Pacific Missile Range, Point Mugu. ‘Lt. George: Gregory ‘flies' alongside the missile in a supersonic jet plane, controling the “bird” in its flight by radio command. At the end of the flight he directs the Regulus to p Sefer landing'so it can be used again. In this note, he actually flies the missile. Gregory is recovered more than a dozen Regulus 1 missiles, now operational aboard cruisers and submarines, and is one of three naval officers to recover the double sonic Regulus II which now is being used as a highspeed target. He has controlled more than 50 missiles in flight. “The Navy figures Gregory has saved about four iil lion dolfars. Successful recovery means shorter training periods for the men who will fire the missiles on the fleet and enables scientists to make postflight checks to see if mechanical parts and electronic equipment functioned properly. Gregory's recoveries range from expensive high-per formance missiles to small propeller-driven pilotless tar gets. When the parachute of a KDB-1 target drone failed to open in a recent test, Gregory mdioed altitude, air speed and azimuth to a ground controller at Point Mugu, who directed the target to a perfect belly landing in the sea. Gregory then spotted a Navy crash boat in the area and vectored it into position for a pickup. Gregory is the son of Mr. and Mrs. S. M. Gregory, B850 Olive Ave. He was graduated from Poly High School and attended California Polytechnic before entering the Navy. He received his wings and was commissioned an ensign at Pensacola, Fla., in 1953. The flier and his wife, the former Jerry Rutherford of Long Beach, live with their two children in Oxnard. LT. GEORGE GREGORY STANDS BESIDE REGULUS MISSILE AND A TARGET, DRONE (L)
Newspaper Details
Press Telegram
Long Beach, California, US
Fri, Jan 22, 1960
Page 25
Full Page
Clipped by
Chad K.
USA 23 May 2026
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