First Flight: November 18, 1955
Mission: Determine affects of supersonic and subsonic speed on winged aircraft
Major Accomplishments: First aircraft to exceed Mach 3, on flight which resulted in
fatal accident with pilot Captain Milburn Apt. Also had throttleable rocket engine.
Power Source: One (1) Curtis-Wright XLR25-CW-1 rocket motor. 15,000 lb
thrust (6,804 kb).
Wing Span: 32 ft. (9.75 m)
Length: 44 ft. (13.41 m)
Maximum Achieved Speed: Mach 3.196 (2,094 mph)
Additional Information: Two X-2's were built by Bell Aircraft Corporation. They were assigned USAF serial numbers 46-674 and 46-675 (the airframe for 46-675 was completed before 46-674). The planes were constructed at Bell Aircraft's Niagara Falls, NY facility. The airframes were composed primarily of stainless steel and "K-Monel", a steel alloy.
Like the X-1, the X-2 was dropped from a B-50 bomber. The first X-2 (46-675) was lost in an explosion over Lake Ontario before it was able to conduct its first powered flight. The pilot (who was in the B-50 bomb bay, but not in the X-2) was killed and the X-2 fell into Lake Ontario and was not recovered. It was later found that the explosion was due to a faulty Ulmer leather gasket (which was also found responsible for explosions and failures on other X-Plane rocket engines, including X-1, X-1A, X-1C .)
The second X-2 (46-674) was lost in a crash on Sept. 27, 1956. The crash occurred during a flight which set an unofficial world speed record at Mach 3.196. The plane experienced "inertia coupling" resulting in complete loss of control of the aircraft. Pilot Milburn Apt was killed in the accident. No examples of the X-2 survive.
The X-2 pilots were Col. Frank Everest, Capt. Iven Kincheloe, Jean Ziegler (Bell test pilot), and Col. Milburn Apt.
