Bell X-2 "Starbuster" on the Lakebed with Pete Everest Jr. - 8" x 10" Photo

Bell X-2 "Starbuster" on the Lakebed with Pete Everest Jr. 

Color Photo: 8" x 10" 
Plane Type: Bell X-2 Starbuster

The Bell X-2 was a rocket-powered, swept-wing research aircraft designed to investigate the structural effects of aerodynamic heating as well as stability and control effectiveness at high speeds and altitudes. The program was developed jointly in 1945 by Bell Aircraft Corporation, the U.S. Air Force and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to explore aerodynamic problems of supersonic flight and to expand the speed and altitude regimes obtained with the earlier X-1 series of research aircraft. Two X-2 airframes, nicknamed "Starbuster," were built at Bell's plant in Wheatfield, NY, using stainless steel and K-monel (a copper-nickel alloy). The vehicles were designed to employ a two-chamber Curtiss-Wright XLR25 throttleable liquid-fueled rocket engine. It had a variable thrust rating from 2,500 to 15,000 pounds.