James W. Wood

James Wayne Wood ( born August 9, 1924 in Paragould, Arkansas, USA, † 1 January 1990 in Melbourne, Florida, United States) was a colonel in the United States Air Force and USAF astronaut.

Wood flew ten combat missions in World War II and more than 100 in the Korean War.

He received in 1954 a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Air Force Institute of Technology and became a test pilot of the. At Edwards Air Force Base In 1959 he applied unsuccessfully for the first group of NASA astronauts.

In April 1960, however, Wood was selected by the Air Force for the Dyna- Soar military program, the public was, however, given this astronaut group known only in September 1962. Wood was assigned as crew for the first manned flight. In December 1963, the Dyna- Soar program was terminated. Wood was a test pilot with the USAF until 1978, most recently as a Commander and subsequently held the position of Director of Operations of Tracor Flight Systems in Newport Beach