X-1D
Aircraft · USA
Original archive entry. The text, images and links below are kept as they were written.
American manned rocketplane. Study 1953. The X-1A, B, and D were essentially identical rocketplanes intended to reach speeds above Mach 2.
The X-1A and X-1D were destroyed in in-flight explosions; the X-1B survived, training future moon lander Neil Armstrong on its last flights in 1958.
Related
- Family
- Rocketplane, Suborbital, US Rocketplanes
- Country
- USA
- Engines
- XLR11
- Propellants
- Lox/Alcohol
- Agency
- Bell
Chronology
2 events
1951 July 24
- X-1D Flight 1 - . Crew: Ziegler. Payload: X-1D flight 1. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Ziegler. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: XS-1. Spacecraft: X-1D. Bell flight 1. Glide flight for familiarization. Nose landing gear broken on landing. Following repairs, plane turned over to the Air Force..
1951 August 22
- X-1D Flight 2 - . Crew: Everest. Payload: X-1D flight 2. Nation: USA. Related Persons: Everest. Class: Manned. Type: Manned rocketplane. Spacecraft Bus: XS-1. Spacecraft: X-1D. AF flight 1. Launch aborted, but X-1D suffered low-order explosion during pressurization for fuel jettison. Plane jettisoned from B-50. X-1D exploded on impact with desert. Everest managed to get into B-50 bomb bay before drop..