# Joseph F. Ware Jr.

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{{Short description|American engineer}}
{{Infobox engineer
| name = Joseph F. Ware Jr.
| image = Joseph F. Ware, Jr..jpg
| caption = Joe Ware opening the Joseph F. Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Laboratory, the "Ware Lab," at Virginia Tech
| birth_name = Joseph Fulton Ware Jr.
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|11|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [Blacksburg, Virginia](/source/Blacksburg%2C_Virginia), US
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|4|23|1916|11|8|mf=y}}
| resting_place = Westview Cemetery, Blacksburg, VA
| discipline = Aerospace Engineering
| education = [Virginia Tech](/source/Virginia_Tech) <small>([BS](/source/Bachelor_of_Science), 1937)</small><br>[Caltech](/source/California_Institute_of_Technology) <small>([MSE](/source/Master_of_Science_in_Engineering), 1938)</small>
}}
 
thumb|Jack Real, left; Willis Hawkins, center; Joseph Ware Jr., right
thumb|Ware Lab Plaque at Virginia Tech
thumb|Joseph F. Ware Jr., left; Gil Cefaratt, right

'''Joseph Fulton "Joe" Ware Jr.''' (November 8, 1916 &ndash; April 23, 2012)<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.eng.vt.edu/warelab/about_joe_ware|title=About Joseph F Ware Jr|publisher=VirginiaTech College of Engineering|accessdate=13 June 2014|archive-date=2 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702082002/http://www.eng.vt.edu/warelab/about_joe_ware|url-status=dead}}</ref> was a flight test engineer at [Clarence "Kelly" Johnson](/source/Clarence_Johnson)'s famed [Skunk Works](/source/Skunk_Works) in the [Lockheed Corporation](/source/Lockheed_Corporation) on the first two [Air Force One](/source/Air_Force_One)'s, the [U-2](/source/Lockheed_U-2), the [SR-71 Blackbird](/source/SR-71_Blackbird), and many others from [World War II](/source/World_War_II) and the [Cold War](/source/Cold_War), becoming Department Manager of Engineering Flight Test. He was the son of [Joseph F. Ware Sr.](/source/Joseph_F._Ware_Sr.)

==Family history==
Joe Ware was from the South, Virginia, and had family who fought in the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) as well as the [American Revolutionary War](/source/American_Revolutionary_War).<ref>{{cite book|last=Howe|first=Daniel Dunbar|year=1961|title=Listen to the Mocking Bird: The Life and Times of a Pioneer Virginia Family|publisher=Carr Publishing Co., Inc., Boyce Virginia, Limited Edition, 240 of 1,000|asin=B0007EP5LS|page=295}}</ref> 

Ware was the son of [Joseph F. Ware Sr.](/source/Joseph_F._Ware_Sr.), professor at Virginia Tech, [U.S. Army](/source/United_States_Army) officer, Commandant of the [Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets](/source/Virginia_Tech_Corps_of_Cadets), and football player.

== Early life and education ==
Ware was born in [Blacksburg, Virginia](/source/Blacksburg%2C_Virginia). He enrolled in Virginia Polytechnic (now [Virginia Tech](/source/Virginia_Tech)) at age 15 and attended the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the [California Institute of Technology](/source/California_Institute_of_Technology) aged 20, graduating with a Master's in Aeronautical Engineering a year later in 1938.<ref name="backstory" />

== Early career ==

Ware worked as a test engineer at the Wright engine test facility at [Paterson, New Jersey](/source/Paterson%2C_New_Jersey), then instructed mathematics at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute until he was hired as a flight test engineer at [Lockheed](/source/Lockheed_Corporation) in 1941,<ref>{{cite book|title=A Need to Know: UFOs, the Military and Intelligence|first=Timothy|last=Good|page=195|publisher=Pan Macmillan|year=2012|isbn=978-0-330-54349-1}}</ref> a few months before the [attack on Pearl Harbor](/source/attack_on_Pearl_Harbor) in December of that year. During [World War II](/source/World_War_II), as well as working in his career at Lockheed, he served in the [Civil Air Patrol](/source/Civil_Air_Patrol) with [Robert Cummings](/source/Robert_Cummings).

== Career at Lockheed ==

Ware was the flight test engineer in charge of numerous advanced military and reconnaissance aircraft at the [Skunk Works](/source/Skunk_Works), Lockheed, from 1941 to 1974, including but not limited to the [Hudson Bomber](/source/Lockheed_Hudson), the [P-38 Lightning](/source/Lockheed_P-38_Lightning), the [AT-22](/source/Consolidated_B-24_Liberator) (Flight Engineer Trainer, Sheppard Field, TX) during WWII, the [YP-80A](/source/Lockheed_P-80_Shooting_Star), all radial-engined and turbo-prop variants of the [Constellation](/source/Lockheed_Constellation), including (serial number) "1961" ([Howard Hughes](/source/Howard_Hughes)' former personal airplane which was used at Lockheed as an engine and prototype testbed) and the [WV-2](/source/Lockheed_EC-121_Warning_Star) (as well as the WV-2E roto-dome prototype), [Columbines II and III](/source/Air_Force_One) (which were the first Air Force Ones for [President Dwight D. Eisenhower](/source/Dwight_D._Eisenhower)), the [P-2](/source/Lockheed_P-2_Neptune) series, the [YP-3V1 Orion](/source/Lockheed_P-3_Orion) prototype and series including the P-3A&B, the [YC-130 Hercules](/source/Lockheed_C-130_Hercules), the Model 286, Lockheed's [XH-51](/source/Lockheed_XH-51) and [AH-56 Cheyenne](/source/Lockheed_AH-56_Cheyenne) helicopters, the [F-104 Starfighter](/source/Lockheed_F-104_Starfighter), Lockheed's space shuttle proposal, and was also Department Manager of Engineering Flight Test for the [U-2](/source/Lockheed_U-2) and the [SR-71 Blackbird](/source/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird).<ref>{{cite book|last=Cefaratt|first=Gill|title=Lockheed: The People Behind the Story|publisher=Turner Publishing Company|year=2002|isbn=978-1-56311-847-0|pages=78,158}}</ref> [Area 51](/source/Area_51) was made a test base for the U-2 and was later used for flight testing the [A-12](/source/Lockheed_A-12) and the [SR-71](/source/Lockheed_SR-71_Blackbird).<ref>{{cite book|last=Jacobsen|first=Annie|title=Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base|publisher=Back Bay Books|year=2011|isbn=978-0-316-13294-7|pages=45–62, 124–139}}</ref>

== In retirement ==

After retiring from Lockheed in 1974, Ware engaged in an active career in the [United States Coast Guard Auxiliary](/source/United_States_Coast_Guard_Auxiliary) attaining the rank of commander. A lifelong pilot, and holding a commercial certificate, he flew flag officers of the Coast Guard in his personal aircraft, such as a [Beechcraft Duke](/source/Beechcraft_Duke) and engaged in [search and rescue](/source/search_and_rescue) operations with same, as well as his [T-28](/source/North_American_T-28_Trojan), and also in [counter terrorist](/source/Counter-terrorism) activities with the Coast Guard on his boat. He and his third wife, Jenna, owned numerous airplanes, including but not limited to the [T-28 Fennec](/source/North_American_T-28_Trojan) and an award-winning 1937 [SR-9B](/source/Stinson_Reliant)  Stinson "Gullwing" Reliant.{{cn|date=July 2019}} 

On September 4, 1998, Ware, his wife Jenna Ware (social worker and transsexual), <!-- the subject has requested this wording --> and Hayden Griffin, Ph.D. (Virginia Tech professor of engineering), co-founded the [Joseph F. Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Laboratory](/source/Campus_of_Virginia_Tech) at [Virginia Tech](/source/Virginia_Tech).<ref name="backstory">{{cite web|url=https://eng.vt.edu/magazine/stories/winter-2017/jennaware.html|title=The Little Known Backstory of One of Virginia Tech's Most Popular Labs|publisher=VirginiaTech College of Engineering|accessdate=18 Jul 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://eng.vt.edu/warelab/about-the-ware-lab/friends-of-the-ware-lab.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907213940/https://eng.vt.edu/warelab/about-the-ware-lab/friends-of-the-ware-lab.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 7, 2017|title=Friends of the Ware Lab|publisher=VirginiaTech College of Engineering|accessdate=17 July 2019}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Joseph F. Jr.}}
Category:1916 births
Category:2012 deaths
Category:People of the Civil Air Patrol
Category:Virginia Tech alumni
Category:California Institute of Technology alumni
Category:Lockheed people
Category:American aerospace engineers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joseph F. Ware Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_F._Ware_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_F._Ware_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.