The Rocket Plane That Broke The Sound Barrier | Bell X-1 [Aircraft Overview #51]

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Today we're looking at the Bell X-1. Piloted by Chuck Yeager on 14th of October 1947, it became the first plane to exceed the speed of sound in flight. Not only was it significant for this achievement, but the X-1 started a new generation of aircraft designed solely for experimental research" the "X-Planes".
0:00 Intro
2:05 Development
9:44 X-1 Service History & Record Setting Flights
16:03 X-1A & Other Iterations
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***
Producing these videos is a hobby of mine - and apparently its now a full-time job too! I have a passion for history, and personally own a large collection of books, journals and other texts, and endeavor to do as much research as possible. However if there are any mistakes, please don't hesitate to reach out and correct anything :)
Sources:
Pelletier.A.J (1992). Bell Aircraft Since 1935.
Winchester. J. (2005). Concept Aircraft, Prototypes, X-Planes, and Experimental Aircraft.
Miller.J (2001) The X-Planes: X-1 to X-45.

[@RexsHangar]

I made an error and mispronounced Bell's test pilot's surname as Woolmans instead of Woolams, this mistake slipped through the editing checks and now I am not at the office to correct it. Apologies. Edit: I also stuffed up Herbert's last name. Note to self: don't make videos when you are sick. F.A.Q Section Q: Do you take aircraft requests? A: I have a list of aircraft I plan to cover, but feel free to add to it with suggestions:) Q: Why do you use imperial measurements for some videos, and metric for others? A: I do this based on country of manufacture. Imperial measurements for Britain and the U.S, metric for the rest of the world, but I include text in my videos that convert it for both. Q: Will you include video footage in your videos, or just photos? A: Video footage is very expensive to licence, if I can find footage in the public domain I will try to use it, but a lot of it is hoarded by licencing studies (British Pathe, Periscope films etc). In the future I may be able to afford clips :) Q: Why do you sometimes feature images/screenshots from flight simulators? A: Sometimes there are not a lot of photos available for certain aircraft, so I substitute this with digital images that are as accurate as possible. Feel free to leave you questions below - I may not be able to answer all of them, but I will keep my eyes open :)

[@maxschell8823]

Thanks. Great video. Woolams would have continued testing the XS-1 but was killed while testing a P-39 in preparation for an air race.

[@GrummanTiger1]

And you called it "Glorious Glennis" at 13:24, but we won't get nit-picky. 🙂 Hope you get to feeling better soon!

[@pythosdegothos6181]

Sorry to pile on, but you also refereneced Bob (Robert) Hoover as "Herbert Hoover", but that said, great video of a legendary plane.

[@pythosdegothos6181]

Nevermind this. I was wrong. There was a Herbert Hoover flying for NACA.

[@TalkernateHistory]

At the office? Is this an idiom? Or are you talking about a literal office?

[@rockyraab8290]

Many memories here. I had lunch with Yeager at Edwards AFB during the Space Shuttle Enterprise's first drop test, and have flown the attack version of the T-33 chase aircraft. Dittos to your fabulous opening scene and sounds. Please, NEVER change that. It hooked me on your channel the very first time I clicked.

[@klausschwabshubris]

Thank you for your fearlessness if you were involved in testing new technologies.

[@TeenWithACarrotIDK]

@@klausschwabshubris I prefer the word bravery.

[@klausschwabshubris]

@@TeenWithACarrotIDK that works too👍

[@unscentednapalm8547]

Was Yeager as arrogant in real life as he appeared on twitter? Especially about you yanks basically stealing the Brits' designs and belittling their involvement in WW2 that you turned up late for?

[@coleparker]

Wow, that is interesting. I worked at Edwards in 1988 and later from 1993 to 2012 as an Archaeologist/ Historian. In 2011 I met Chuck Yeager went out to the old Pancho Barnes site, where he showed me the place he injured himself prior to the flight. The only thing I really wish I could have asked him, was his experience flying the ME-262 and the P-80.

[@154Kilroy]

The guys that flew in WW2, then in these test programs, and then later in the space program I think it's fair to say lived some of the most interesting lives in all of history. It's crazy these events really weren't that long ago.

[@kooperativekrohn819]

80 odd years ago

[@lunatic_nebula9542]

@@kooperativekrohn819 it is big for 1 human life but considering how long some things have taken it is short, like you could live through all those events

[@kooperativekrohn819]

@@lunatic_nebula9542 yea its like the colour sergeant in the movie ‘zulu’ he fought against the zulus , ww1 and then ww2 …he pasted away on VE day . The man was born to defend and keep the UK safe ! Super soldiering

[@brianhiles8164]

The first _manned_ aircraft that was _intentionally_ made to _continuously_ travel faster than the speed of -light- sound, and not need be in a _dive_ to do so.

[@AndrewGivens]

The interesting thing about continuous supersonic flight in a dive, is that you arrive at your destination really quickly.

[@brianhiles8164]

​@@AndrewGivens I was primarily thinking of aircraft, even today, capable of (continuous) supersonic flight, but exigencies of weight and range (being mission and/or fuel load and/or weapons load) made it efficacious to cross the Mach barrier by effecting a _shallow_ dive to minimize the time it spent in this highest-drag flight regime. Both the F-100 _Super Sabre_ and the SR-71 _Blackbird_ were such crafts. The counter-intuitive nature of high Mach drag is manifest in the fact that the B-58 _Hustler_ had a commensurate fuel efficiency at Mach 2 (its maximum continuous velocity) than at Mach 1.

[@AdjutantReflex0]

I have a scale model of this aircraft signed by Cpt Yeager himself. Got me into aviation at a young age

[@11hitmanDagenius]

that neager named yeager?

[@papakilo-2750]

@@11hitmanDagenius what

[@Supatsu]

@@11hitmanDagenius lets not ruin things by being a terrible racist pos

[@RaisedbyaWildPackofCigarettes]

@@11hitmanDagenius I'm genuinely jealous of the autograph but then you really just did that. Son, liiiiiiiiined it up, and took that killshot. My fucking God. The gravity of this name game is probably enough to bring humanity back into the light.

[@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24]

Aviation is a rubbish career tho

[@jonmcgee6987]

Interesting that Yeager broke the sound barrier with broken ribs from a riding accident not long before the flight. And of course Hoover who escaped from a POW camp and stole a German fighter to fly to safety.

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Now that's a story to tell.

[@calvingreene90]

@bcooper The lies people tell.

[@WarblesOnALot]

@bcooper ALL Jet, Test, and Fighter Pilots in the 1950s were High Functioning Alcoholics. Especially the Combat Veterans. 3 standard Drunks before bedtime, after a hard day of working while sober, prevents DREAMING while asleep. PTSD generates Nightmares, so Alcohol is known as Warrior Juice. Get used to it. HOWEVER... Yeager broke his Ribs the night before the Mach-1 Flight, when he fell off a Horse, riding in the Moonlight, with his wife on another Horse, racing among the "Joshua Trees" in the Desert. He got the Horses at "Pancho" Barnes' "Happy Bottom Riding Club" a Riding Stable which she operated in conjunction with a Motel, Bar, and Steak-Restaurant...., catering to the Flying Fraternity posted through (what became) Edwards AFB. Open a History Book, you might learn something. ;-p Ciao !

[@ZacLowing]

@@WarblesOnALot I recall something about a piece of broom stick tied to a lever in the cockpit because of the pain from pulling it.

[@WarblesOnALot]

@@ZacLowing G'day, Yes, indeed, a length of Broomhandle stashed in the X-1 Cockpit so Yeager could close the Door Latches on the Cockpit Hatch. Jack Ridley cut off and trimmed the end of the Broomhandle. A celebrated bit of Supersonic Backwoods Hillbilly Engineering...(!). Such is life, Have a good one... Stay safe. ;-p Ciao !

[@SephirothRyu]

And thus, the channel breaks the interwar barrier.

[@Jonathan.D]

The P38 Lightning was notorious for "Mach tuck" due to compressibility. They believed it was tail flutter causing the issue. They tried multiple fixes until they finally figured out what the true cause was. That's when they installed the dive flaps that cured the problem. That period in time saw so many innovations due to a better understanding. The P38 was one of the few planes that stayed relevant during the whole war.

[@garrington120]

P 38 was an unmitigated DISASTER of an aircraft with a Mack limit of 0.86 FFS !!!

[@Jonathan.D]

@@garrington120 Your reply is the opposite of what all the historians have said. It had an issue with compressibility but that was fixed with the speed flaps. It had more speed, a better climb rate, and was more maneuverable than most every enemy plane. It was used as a fighter, a fighter bomber, and it was one of the first that could do long-range escorts. Lindbergh flew the P38 and had no issue with it. Not only was it fast it was also the best gun platform because the guns aimed straight ahead. Your reply makes no sense.

[@FallenPhoenix86]

@@garrington120 Why comment on a subject you clearly know nothing about?

[@jamesbarca7229]

@@garrington120 Tell that to Yamamoto.

[@garrington120]

@@jamesbarca7229 Ohh right the P 38 raid on an unarmed Military Transport plane

[@mikepette4422]

the postwar period was amazing because of all the innovations that the war brought were finally being able to be put together in actual designs. the world spent about 5 years trying find out what worked and what didn't. The Bell-X -1 was necessary, they needed to know what really happens after Mach 1 because some speculated it was impossible to control an aircraft after the sound barrier was broken. I'd love to see you do a series of the X Planes all the way to the X-15.

[@henryfleischer404]

I'd like to see them go up to the x-29.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

You mean Germany designed... the explosion of technological advances made after the war were driven by research and development by the Germans during WW2. Operation Paperclip and Operation Lusty captured a vast treasure trove of supersonic aerospace technology and relocating the German laboratories, factories and thousands of engineers and scientists enmasse to the U.S. and other Allied countries.

[@randallriley]

In addition to the errors Rex pointed out below, at 13:24, you call the X-1 the "Glorious Glennis" whereas it was the "Glamorous Glennis."

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

It's hard to believe there are only two decades between this and the aircraft you usually share on this channel.

[@spacecadet35]

What gets me is that it was only seven years between the introduction of the Gloster Gladiator and the Gloster Meteor.

[@X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X8X]

@@spacecadet35 Holy moly!

[@donjones4719]

OK, let's "dive" in. The fascinating thing about the pace of airplane development is that the F-86 Sabre, a fully functioning combat jet that could get itself from A to B, was flying at the same time the X-1 was. Yes, the X-1 broke the sound barrier first, but the F-86 prototype did it a couple of months later, and that exact Mach 1 capable airframe was flying during the X-1 tests. The F-86 needed a shallow dive to go above Mach 1, so it doesn't set any official level speed record. *BUT* breaking the sound barrier is not a speed record, it was an aerodynamic "barrier" to the advancement of speed. The common assumption for a long time had been that it would be broken in a dive.

[@darrinslack1269]

all with nice nazi engineering

[@steveh1792]

The XF-86, flown by George Welch, might have actually exceeded Mach 1 in a dive (the only way the aircraft could manage the trick) a few days *before* the XS-1's supersonic flight. Welch was tracked by NACA equipment at Mach 1.02 on October 19 and 21, five and seven days after Yeager's flight. This was done using the same flight profiles he'd flown before October 14. (The XF-86 was later officially credited with exceeding Mach 1 by the air force when a British pilot evaluating the aircraft inadvertently spilled the beans on an open radio channel.) Whether or not George Welch beat the XS-1 to supersonic flight, Chuck Yeager certainly was the first to exceed Mach 1 in level flight (or in his case, a slight climb).

[@donjones4719]

@@steveh1792 I've found the idea that George Welch beat Yeager to the barrier a fascinating one. I've read a number of articles arguing both sides of the case over the years and, although an initial believer, have sadly concluded the evidence/deductions that he did to be unconvincing. I'm pretty sure Welch wasn't flying the same profiles, as I recall it the plane still had some regular flying and mechanical glitches that hadn't been worked out yet. But, I'll settle for it being not completely impossible. To me it's enough that the airframe was capable of it. One detail *is* convincing - that North American knew it would be very embarrassing to NASA and the government if they beat them to the punch with an "ordinary" airplane developed by a private company. or even came close. NA valued their relationship to the government and would have kept a lid on it either way. And yes, the other slight impediment to announcing it was the program was top-secret. :) Those Brits, they're such scamps.

[@TheIndianalain]

@@steveh1792 For me Welch will always be the one who broke the sound barrier. But maybe I have a soft spot for the Pearl Harbor hero since I watched Tora! Tora! Tora!...

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The F-86 Sabre was an absolutely brilliant design by German Fokker engineer *Edgar Schmüd* and a team of Messerschmitt engineers brought over to America by Operation Paperclip and Operation Lusty. The Sabre' s wings were designed by the _Luftfahrfohrschaltstung_ the World's only supersonic wind tunnel facility in Braunschweig Germany.

[@VikingTeddy]

Early cold war is my favorite. It's so exciting! Jet propulsion, though still relatively new has moved on from being a mere curiosity, and designers are trying out all kinds of crazy ideas. There's no optimum shape yet and the planes are futuristic looking and varied. The best looking jets are all pre 70's. Everything is being thrown at the wall to see if it sticks.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Several optimum shapes were developed by the Germans during WW2 at _Luftfahrfohrschaltstung_ supersonic aircraft wind tunnel laboratory in Braunschweig Germany. The only large diameter supersonic aircraft wind tunnels to exist in the world until 1947. The most notable design produced by the _Luftfahrfohrschaltstung_ was the Boeing B-47 which was the basis for the Boeing 707 series and every successful jet airliner to follow.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Looking at the history and collective achievements of the X planes, that certainly is one serious heritage. Not just the X-1, but several of them wrote their names into history. The X-15 still hold the official speed record to this day, as far as i´m aware.

[@argon7624]

Speed records for aircraft get a bit iffy thanks to the Space Shuttle. You'd have to go to great lengths in order to define the semantics which separate it from the X-15, as both are human controlled rocket powered aircraft.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@argon7624 X-15 is not meant for space flight. One is a PLANE, the other a space craft.

[@argon7624]

@@sim.frischh9781 Both are planes, both are capable of aerodynamic flight using their own aerodynamic capabilities, both were controlled like planes during their unpowered descent, and both achieved high atmosphere near-vacuum flight. If anything, the space shuttle is a spaceplane, being both a plane as well as a spacecraft.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@argon7624 Because in order to reach space, or the surface when coming FROM space, you need to cross the atmosphere. However you will reach with one regions the other will never get to.

[@argon7624]

@@sim.frischh9781 Space isn't a hard defined thing though, as the space shuttle still operates comfortably within the thermosphere. It never crosses any boundaries because no boundaries inherently exist within our earth.

[@grrlpurpleable]

Awesome episode Rex. While I love your other favourite era, this early Cold War era in aviation really grabs my attention. Awesome start with the X-1 too! :) Looking forward to more.

[@bencaffarel2343]

Ah, yes, the Miles M-52, or, in Metric, the Kilometers M-83.6859

[@gswombat]

😂

[@MOTV88]

Another great video! Thank you for focusing on the details and technical aspects of the Bell X-1 and including all the other pilots and engineers who were just as important in X-1 project. Can't wait for more!!!

[@somerandomguy___]

Oh how nice! The only thing I knew about this plane beforehand was that it was the plane to reach mach 1 I also love that this plane was made for the virtuous purpose of gaining more knowledge rather than another war machine

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

More knowledge in order to make faster war machines lol

[@MrRandomcommentguy]

The scene in The Right Stuff where Yeager spun the X-1A is just a masterpiece of movie making

[@wrightflyer7855]

New subscriber here, but big time aviation buff since the early 1950s. Thank you for the excellent, thoughtfully researched presentations and choice of relatively obscure subjects. Thanks sgain Rex. Wright Flyer, USAF (1968-1972).

[@thegodofhellfire]

Great video. Shaped like a .50 cal bullet, never knew!

[@motorTranz]

Excellent documentary! Thank you!

[@kooperativekrohn819]

Another great video ! Loving the longer length content ❤️

[@1944GPW]

Another fabulous video! Also it should be noted that the X-1 did a single ground takeoff on 5th January 1949 with Chuck Yeager at the controls. The film is here on YT.

[@mausermann7918]

The first plane to break the sound barrier was indeed a rocket powered aircraft: the German Messerschmit ME163. It was by accident though and not an official record and as the Germans lost the war it was "forgotten in history".

[@robertoroberto9798]

It has to be verifiable though. The X-1 was able to be verified. The Me-163 not so much, for all we know, it could have went 750mph, or 690mph.

[@nicomeier8098]

@@robertoroberto9798 I know, I know.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Adolf Busemann was the world's leader in supersonic aircraft technology and designed the Messerschmitt Me-262 and Me-163 using data from the RLMs _Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt_ The World's only supersonic aircraft wind tunnel laboratory to exist during WW2. Busemann developed very accurate large scale models that were tested to speeds up to Mach 1.4 The Messerschmitt Me-262 and Me-163 have the highest critical Mach performance of any aircraft to fly during WW2.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

​@@robertoroberto9798The Bell X1s Supersonic flight is not a official FAI record either.. so technically it's not verified.. Just accepted.

[@jihadthat777]

I've heard the story of the X1 various times, and even now this video presented new info I never heard about before. It would be nice to see a video centered around a bird or birds which had a severe issue with that roll coupling ordeal.

[@isaactuuri6488]

thank you for your information, top notch to be sure.

[@aiaardvark]

VO error at 13:24. "Glorious Glennis" instead of "Glamorous Glennis".

[@flemmingaaberg4457]

Another great show - thanks

[@rudywoodcraft9553]

Enjoyable video! I've always enjoyed seeing the X-1 at the Dayton Air Force Museum, where you can see wooden triangles glued on the trailing edges of the wings...experimentation and human ingenuity!

[@maxschell8823]

Glamorous Glennis hangs in the atrium at the National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.

[@c.caecilius8791]

I just saw the X-1 at the Smithsonian a few weeks ago. Thanks for the background!

[@HammerOn-bu7gx]

The Bell X-1 was not the first aircraft to break the speed of sound. All previous attemps ended in crashes or midair breakups; See the discussions on British attempts. It was the first purpose build vehicle that successfully broke Mach 1 and sucessfully returned.

[@rubiconnn]

Didn't one of those super sketchy WW2 German peroxide propelled aircraft break the sound barrier before crashing and exploding?

[@braininavatnow9197]

The first person to break the speed of sound was Zhang Li Wu who was shot out of a cannon in 1548 in Shaanxi province, China....he died upon impacting the ground....but with a smile on his face.

[@papakilo-2750]

@@braininavatnow9197 mf they didn't even have speedometers back then

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

​@@rubiconnn Hans Mutke was the first person to reach supersonic in a dive in a Messerschmitt Me-262 and was the first person to discribe the effects of "Mach Tuck" Mutke used the Me-262s fly-by-wire Stabilator trim control system to recover effective pitch control of the aircraft and land safely.

[@colinschaeffer3940]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 So he claimed. Not verified!

[@tisdude8955]

This is such a cool aircraft! I just was in DC and saw it at the Udvar-Hazy center

[@boris1932]

I remember reading that "Slick" Goodlin (Bell company test pilot) wanted $100,000 to break the sound barrier and with Yeager at the side, an agreement about money couldn't be reached, so Chuck was given the chance to attempt breaking the barrier.

[@maxschell8823]

Goodlin's bonus negotiations of $150,000 over a five year period were based on the assumption that Bell would be successful in obtaining phase two (2) of the contract i.e. meeting and exceeding Mach 1.0. Remember the contract for phase one (1) was transonic i.e. Mach 0.80. Bell and Goodlin meet the requirements of phase one (1).

[@boris1932]

@@maxschell8823 Thanks for the details Max.

[@electrolytics]

Yeah, Wheatfield, NY(Niagara Falls) right down the road. The Bell Hangars are still there. It's a subdivided industrial park now. Air Force Reserve Base right next to it.

[@paulhaynes8045]

This really resonated for me, from a purely personal perspective - this programme got going a few years before I was born, and ended a few years afterwards. It's a strange feeling to know I'm roughly as old as supersonic flight!

[@Kurgutt]

I'd love to see a X-15 overview from yours thank you for this video ❤

[@fast_richard]

I got a chuckle out of the slips of the tongue "Glorious" Glennis and "Herbert" Hoover. Prior to the book and movie "The Right Stuff" Bob Hoover was by far the most famous of the X-1 test pilots, because of his decades of exhibition and airshow flying. Hoover and Yeager were lifelong close friends and friendly aerial rivals after first meeting as young test pilots.

[@glennpettersson9002]

Thank you great video👍

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Great video

[@tedsmith6137]

Very interesting, as usual.

[@pikminfan6778]

This plane was seen and mentioned in the infamous Arthur episode, Arthur's Big Hit.

[@bummer6]

I have a request! I would love to see a video on the Granville Gee Bee Model Z. I know it's a bit later than the stuff you usually cover, but it's only of my favorite aircraft of all time and I'd love to see you cover its' history

[@vumba1331]

Yep, the stabilator was the trick that made the transonic flight possible without the aircraft 'tucking'. The British were most unimpressed with the septics taking their info and design secrets without reciprocating, par for the course with the septics but not the best way to build up trust. They also never acknowledged the contribution of the English Spitfire designers made in the design of the North American P51, the poms were years ahead in the streamlining and contouring to integrate the wing to the fuselage.

[@benwilson6145]

The Septics did the same with the Atomic bomb research, not to be trusted.

[@vumba1331]

@@benwilson6145 Indeed, turbojet engine another example, British and German technology.

[@allangibson2408]

The Americans did the same thing with the British contribution to the Manhattan Project…

[@michaelpielorz9283]

A variable horizontal stabilizer was done years before on a jet.for nearly the same reason.

[@vumba1331]

Forgot about boeing copying the Trident design to produce the 727. Said they were interested so came over the England to look at the design, features, plans etc, then went back and backed out of the deal, announced the 727 some time later. Someone also pointed out that the 737 just looks like a scaled up Me 262, no surprises there.

[@lewiskemp5893]

First time seeing your videos. So I subscribed

[@alt5494]

It's worth mentioning that the British had just provided dozens of Nene engines that would be directly developed into the Vk-1 engine that would power the Mig-15. The quote from Stalin "what fool would sell us his secrets". Perfectly drives home why the USA rethought sharing information with the UK.

[@stephenremington8448]

Also, the De Havilland Trident, all the info was given to Boeing who made rhe 727.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

The reasons include trying to maintain the frendship with the Soviet Union to reduce the chance of war with them. Stalin had already stolen the atom bomb secrets from the Americans.

[@alt5494]

@@neiloflongbeck5705 At the time the spy's in the Manhattan project where unknown. Though of the two major information transfers one was by a British citizen. One would hope all those involved knew the massive number of victims they harmed though the Soviet nuclear program.

[@richardvernon317]

@@alt5494 There were five major soviet spies in the Manhattan Project. Three British (though of the three one actually a German and another an Italian) and two Americans (Theodore Hall and David Greenglass). Three of them, the German and two Americans worked at Los Alamos.

[@tihspidtherekciltilc5469]

Would doing some videos on wind tunnels be too far off topic as I find those just as interesting and you're the best person I can think of to cover them. Again, thanks for everything you do.

[@Inpreesme]

Thank you

[@davidrivero7943]

As always , splendid. ! Lots of Aviation History does my appendage shaped State , has. I live 4 miles away from Glenn Curtis 1900 Aviation School in Miami Springs. Lets not forget NASA .

[@jongason660]

Great thank you

[@Plainview200]

Yep, those post WW 2 designs are particularly interesting. New approaches to utilizing a new method of propulsion...

[@Ob1sdarkside]

When aircraft developed at an amazing rate. Great period

[@RonJohn63]

1:15 Your "bad old" thumbnails are quite nice. They're less colorful than the newer thumbnails, but have a higher contrast than the new thumbnails; I find the high contrast most helpful.

[@1i8m]

I can’t believe how interesting your videos are. You could keep my attention for 45 minutes talking about table cloths.

[@nomaambundy9989]

I read somewhere that the leather used to seal to junctions on the liquid oxygen lines had a habit of becoming explosive in the presence of oil and oxygen.

[@bobsakamanos4469]

RAE test pilot Eric Brown reported successful tests in October and November 1944 in a Spitfire with the M.52 flying tail, reaching Mach 0.86 in a high-altitude dive. In 1944, Miles nearly finished the M.52’s design and started building three prototypes. That year, the Air Ministry agreed or was forced to share high-speed research with the United States. Dennis Bancroft, Miles’ Chief Aerodynamicist, revealed they shared the M.52’s plans with Bell Aircraft.

[@stephenrickstrew7237]

Thanks Rex … that’s Such a Great Opening Scene … I’m trying to guess what type of motor it is …Merlin …? And this episode has the bonus lesson of HyperSonic Dynamics …Did Germany lead the world in Wind tunnel design and Schlering Photography…

[@johnladuke6475]

"...but that will be covered in another video." Oh Rex, you dirty tease, just like all the others with your enormous list of future video ideas for later. Don't change.

[@GeneralJackRipper]

Yeah, I think I just clicked the 'Like' button before the video started playing. The manliest aircraft to ever be piloted. Bar none.

[@noname2490]

I love the sarcasm with certain words in certain videos with leaders that have small mustaches and "the aircraft decided to explode"

[@Assassine0606]

I think I share your love for the aviation design in the early cold war. Air-to-Air Missle aren´t that prominent and bonkers yet, so we get jets that go into dog fighting, I really like that

[@nickdanger3802]

HMG had sufficient funds for the Bristol Brabazon luxury air liner, Saunders Roe luxury flying boat, DH Comet jet air liner, Avro Tudor liner and Blackburn Beverly military transport. And the 1948 Olympics, free health care and subsidized housing. And hold on to the Empire. M52 was designed around a jet engine that had not yet been built. As I understand it.

[@robertdragoff6909]

And don’t forget, Churchill lost the election

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Most of what you seems to be complaining about were intended to bring money into the country and that includes the Olympics and the NHS. The fact that they didn't is irrelevant at this point in history that this film covers. The country needed housing and surprisingly we still need cheap housing. We also needed better health provision, there some social healthcare provision but it was limited in scope. The NHS increased productivity in industry by reducing sick days. The M52 had no commercial potential as there was no evidence that it would work. Nor was there any evidence to suggest that it had any practical use.

[@adriancash7063]

Brabazon.

[@nickdanger3802]

@@adriancash7063 My missnake. 130 - Ton Colossus Takes The Air (1949) kzbin.info/www/bejne/joSxqIR5hL2GpdE

[@rafchris]

Indeed an amazing era. I woukd have loved to be a test pilot back then with for insrance the high speed flight in the RAF or a company man. Lighning's, hunters, sea vixens, vulcans, victors, etc etc. And how different history could be if only the UK had abit more will. The sound barrier, nuclear energy, rockets. For a while the future was occuring in Nissen huts in English country lanes in the 50s and 60s, a dar cry from the glamour of working in the states, which of course alot of British engineers did from the likes of the Miles programme for instance when they found themselves unemployed!

[@commonnerfer]

Any chance of you covering the XP-50 and the XF5F naval version?

[@soppdrake]

15:50 Wait, what? Was the stratofortress lifted up? Wow, just wow! Pure Gerry Andersen

[@SMichaelDeHart]

General Chuck Yeager...Mountaineer Proud!! A West Virginia farm boy made the big time!!

[@timothystark5986]

Bob hoover, not Herbert hoover lol

[@midnightrambler8866]

I didn't know the president was a pilot.

[@jonmcgee6987]

Bob Hoover has a bit of an interesting back story before these flights.

[@bobcoats2708]

Bob Hoover did not fly the X1

[@ducksoff7236]

He said Robert. Bob is short for Robert in the English language.

[@ducksoff7236]

@@bobcoats2708 And where does anyone say he did? No one here did. Though he was Yeager's back up pilot and he flew chase for the Mach 1 fight.

[@fionnhall8530]

Great video helps me go to sleep

[@fasold2164]

As far as I know the first aircraft to break through the sound barrier was a Me 163 A, piloted by Heini Dittmar, on October 2nd 1941. When attaining a speed of 1004 km/h he sudddenly lost control and was barely able to recover and return to the airfield. Even US-testpilots who flew captured Me 262 stated in a report of 1946, that during a shallow dive the 262 could achiev a top speed of 950 km/h. At about 1000 km/h the controls failed but once beyond the sound barrier the controls worked normally again.

[@richardoakley8800]

P 51 and mosquitos were known to go past the sound barrier in a steep dive

[@trooperdgb9722]

@@richardoakley8800 No, they weren't.

[@trooperdgb9722]

Both 950 and 1004 kmh are well UNDER the speed of sound (1235kmh at 20 degrees C) Neither the 163 nor the 262 achieved Mach 1. The 163 reportedly reached a speed of 1130 kmh in July 1944 - flown by Dittmar.. ..but that is still well under Mach 1. If you have convincing actual evidence otherwise please provide a link.

[@richardoakley8800]

@@trooperdgb9722 shame you have quoted the speed of sound at sea level.. a 15000 feet its 660mph. The Me 163 could reach 680 mph in a steep dive.. last time I was at skool 680 was faster than 660 mph.

[@trooperdgb9722]

@@richardoakley8800 At 15000 ft it is 626 Knots..or 720 mph. (1160 kmh) Your turn.

[@delliardo583]

The X-1B can be found in the Research and Development section of the National Museum of the United States Airforce. I hope to visit it soon when I can find time.

[@maxschell8823]

17 January 1947 Chalmers Goodlin, Forth powered flight. Obtains 0.828 Mach. Slight buffeting experience. For those interested in the detailed X-1 story read "Into the unknown" by Louis Rotundo.

[@huwzebediahthomas9193]

Look up Bill Frost from Saundersfoot, Wales, UK. First man to fly in UK apparently, in 1896. Just a glider, with the help of hydrogen filled bags. Unpowered. That was the stumbling block, taking a heavy engine with you, with enough power to fly itself and the rest, that the Wright brothers overcome a few years later.

[@Skyliner04s]

Hello Rex! I discovered your channel just maybe 10 days ago. I love your videos. Since I am from Germany I just have one request: Could you please announce heights, speeds and other numbers in metric units, too? I found myself pausing the video and grabbing my phone to convert. This would be highly appreciated. Thank you for the high quality videos! Videos like yours get harder and harder to find on YT.

[@jamesbarca7229]

I oftentimes find myself doing the same thing but the other way. The windows calculator has a convenient speed converter. Just click on the upper left corner and it gives you a drop-down box with numerous different converters. I use it so much I just pinned it to my taskbar.

[@Skyliner04s]

@@jamesbarca7229 Yes, that is a solution, but it could be easier if the source covered both units, right?

[@jamesbarca7229]

@@Skyliner04s Sure it would. But, as aggravating as it is, the world doesn't revolve around me and not everyone is going to do it the way I want, so I work with what I have.

[@Skyliner04s]

@@jamesbarca7229 Yes you are right.

[@EmyrDerfel]

Including both units as overlay text should be possible, while the script refers to the units used by the designers.

[@DiaperBaby1]

Can you do one on the SBD-3?

[@rubbernuke1234]

I hate videos about the Bell X1, simply as it highlights how screwed over Miles and UK engineers were regarding the M.52, squandering a commanding lead in the field. The M.52 would have been flown by the legend Eric Brown, would have (IIRC) taken of and landed conventionally, had an F111 like escape capsule, used an engine with reheat / afterburn, and would have been faster than the X1 (going by how well the scale model M.52 did later on). It also shows how useless the UK civil service was at the time having so little faith in the science and engineering as well as the naivety of sharing technology. Beyond this old man grumbling, I love your videos Rex.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

My condolences to you, but the truth is the Miles M.52 never existed and there was never any exchange of supersonic aircraft data from Britian or Miles Aircraft that contributed to the success of the Bell X1 program. The commonly accepted version of the cancellation of M.52 is pure British fiction. The M.52 scandal is a truly shameful chapter in British history... so damaging to British national pride the story has been completely rewritten and the real villains replaced with by the Americans. The M.52 was doomed to failure, the Miles Aircraft company lack the knowledge and experience needed to build a supersonic jet aircraft and no aircraft powered by a centrifugal turbojet has ever reached Mach 1 in level flight. The centrifugal turbojet is simply too inefficient for the thrust-to drag ratio required for supersonic flight.

[@rubbernuke1234]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 "Miles Aircraft company lack the knowledge and experience needed to build a supersonic jet aircraft"......I mean.....wut? Up until this point supersonic flight did not exist! LOL. I think you need to actually read up on the subject before commenting really because your statement is totally wrong and does not fit historical record. The M52 did exist and was being made when it was cancelled, had years of experimental data on all moving tailplanes via the "Gillette Falcon" testbed (what the US needed and got to fix X1 issues), aerodynamics (which were all validated which were based on bullets- the only supersonic object known at that point) and engines. If you had actually read about the plane you'd know the initial flights would be with a subsonic engine, with the afterburner later (and that several engine types were considered, including rockets as well as axial flow engines). While the powerplant would be the issue for the M52 I imagine it would have beaten the X1 to M1 in a shallow dive and that it would have been level flight where the real race would be. Go and read 'The Miles M.52: Gateway to Supersonic Flight by Eric M. Brown' (the guy who was to fly it) to know its true history.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@rubbernuke1234 You are very confused and misinformed. Miles Aircraft never a jet aircraft that flew faster than 228mph. The Miles M.52 never existed, when the program was cancelled only partially completed drawings and a partially constructed wooden mock-up of the cockpit was all there was. NO AIRCRAFT POWERED BY A CENTRIFUGAL TURBOJET EVER REACHED MACH 1 IN LEVEL FLIGHT.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

@@rubbernuke1234 *British didn't not invent the horizontal stabilator.*

[@rubbernuke1234]

@@sandervanderkammen9230 So all this is wrong then? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.52 Seems someone needs to do some research, or post some sources of their own. From your other post "Sander Van der Kammen Sander Van der Kammen 25 minutes ago @rubbernuke1234 You are very confused and misinformed. Miles Aircraft never a jet aircraft that flew faster than 228mph. The Miles M.52 never existed, when the program was cancelled only partially completed drawings and a partially constructed wooden mock-up of the cockpit was all there was" Hmmmm.... (from the wikipedia page): "By August 1945, the design of the M.52 had been firmly established and development had proceeded to an advanced stage.[10] By early 1946, 90 per cent of the detailed design work had been finished, the component assembly programme was well underway, while the jigs and innovative augmentor fan had been manufactured; a maiden flight of the first M-52 prototype had been anticipated to occur that summer.[12]" This included testing of the all moving tailplane, aerodynamics etc tested on other aircraft. The X1 was flown in Feb 1946, but took over a year to go supersonic due to control issues that the British had solved.

[@Mucdaba]

hello. i cant seem to be able to connect to your discord server. no link works, the server just does not load on discord (im already in the server). is there a problem?

[@drstevenrey]

I admire the balls of these pilots, not being put off by the fact that this thing might just spontaneously blow up at any time.

[@WhitzWolf92]

20:40 From that specific angle, the X-1E look eerily similar to the SR-71, despite being totally unrelated. Although both were designed to break speed records... Actually, think about it! Humanity went from just (intentionally and continuously) breaking the sound barrier in 1947 to producing the fastest air-breathing aircraft on record in 1964. Just 17 years from one to the other, starting 75 years ago! Maybe I’m just sleep-deprived, but that realization just blew my mind.

[@Iowa599]

I imagine the take-off is scary, in the X1, when strapped to the bottom of a B29.

[@Maddog3060]

Fun Fact: Pinecastle Airfield was later renamed Michael McCoy AFB some time after being handed over to the USAF. (Named for a bomber commander who diverted his crashing aircraft away from civilian neighborhoods while approaching Pinecastle.) Michael McCoy was later decommissioned and now is known as Orlando International Airport (MCO). So if you've flown into Orlando you've probably landed at the same place they initially tested the X-1. I mean, yanno, unless you flew into Sanford. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[@WarmongerSmurfOnXbox]

Hahaha! Little did you know I already have a crippling caffeine addiction.

[@airmakay1961]

Oh, yeah! Bring on the X-planes! When pilots were bold, engineers creative, and budgets fat.

[@louisavondart9178]

. I grew up in New Zealand and when I was ten years old ( 1967 ) it was quite common to hear sonic booms over my school. Kiwi pilots playing with their Venom jet fighters from the nearby Ohakea airbase. They didn't need no steeeenking rocket.....

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The Venom was not supersonic. Its very sad New Zealand no longer has an Air Force

[@sw653j]

Wow never saw a Ercoupe with RATO...way cool...

[@Exodus26.13Pi]

Met the Gen. back in 85. Told me to do what I want and do it well.

[@brianperry]

I remember Chuck Yeager, when speaking about his record breaking flight, that Bell had developed the 'all flying elevator,' this is what gave him the advantage. Whether he was aware, or not, of the Pentagons reneging on the USA/UK agreement I guess we will never know. I believe the F86 had a dummy looking normal elevator to fool, presumable the Russians. It sure was a time of espionage and counter espionage. Well documented interesting video. Thanks for your research .

[@peteranderson037]

Considering how compartmentalized such secret information would have been, it is likely that nobody in the X-1 program knew where the information came from. This would explain why Yeager was very adamant about the X-1 being all American till the day he died. As far as he, Jack Ridley, Bob Hoover, and everyone else on the team knew, it was. As far as I'm aware, the X-1 didn't have an all flying elevator. Maybe later models, but not the original ones. The original X-1s had a jack screw trim system that moved the entire horizontal stabilizer up and down for pitch trim. The basic concept was fairly common back then, even the Piper J-3 Cub has this kind of trim system. If memory serves me correctly, the system in the X-1 was electromechanically actuated using a switch on the control yoke. When info about the solution to the pitch stability problem trickled down to their ranks, Ridley figured that the trim system could be used as an ad-hoc all flying elevator. Yeager and Hoover would prove this theory in flight. This eliminated the need to have a true all flying elevator installed, saving time and money.

[@maxschell8823]

@@peteranderson037 The NACA was conducting tests on a Curtiss "test bed" XP-42 which was the modified Curtiss P-36 . The test report was on-line. Dated about 1946.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The Bell X1 used a electric Stabilator trim control system nearly identical to the one found on the *Messerschmitt Me-262* Germany was years ahead of the Americans and British in high speed research and in particular in the understanding of Compressibility and critical Mach number of various flight control surfaces. The Me-262 was developed the data from the Luftfahrtforschungsanstalt, the world's only large diameter supersonic aircraft wind tunnel facility. The Me-262 was The first aircraft to be designed with a horizontal stabilator to counteract the effects of Compressibility.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The NACA Technical Note no.1139 with wind tunnel and flight tests data on the XP-42 horizontal stabilator was made available to the RAE... That false propaganda myth won't fly here.. Dennis Bancrofts claims that the U.S. reneged on sharing research is a total fabrication, Bancroft is not a credible source, he was implicated in the M.52 scandal in which Miles Aircraft was charged by the Crown with 24 counts of fraud and embezzlement.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The F-86 Sabre was designed by a team of German engineers from Messerschmitt led by Edgar Shmud. The A model used the electric horizontal stabilator trim system from the Me-262, later versions had an upgraded hydraulically controlled slab stabilator.

[@steveh1792]

*Herbert* Hoover? (14:50) That would be Bob Hoover, one of the best test and demonstration pilots ever, also a friend of Chuck Yeager's.

[@bobcoats2708]

Nobody bothered to look this up apparently. Herb Hoover, not Bob Hoover, flew the X1

[@steveh1792]

@@bobcoats2708 Learn something new every day; almost nobody remembers the second guy to do something new, although Herb was the first civilian to fly the X-1 supersonically. (Bob Hoover did, however, fly chase on the X-1 in a P-80. Injuries he sustained while test flying an F-84 made it impossible to fly the X-1 himself. He and Yeager were also involved with evaluating a MiG-15 flown to South Korea by a defecting North Korean pilot.)

[@marcusbrooks2118]

The plural of “incident” is “incidents,” not “incidentses.” This differs from incidence (as in angle of) with plural incidences (as in variable geometry). Or instance (for instance) with plural instances. Pardon my OCD.

[@dave8599]

14:49 Herbert Hoover....Would that be President Hoover, or perhaps it is really Robert (Bob) Hoover!

[@bobcoats2708]

Nope, he’s right. There was a NACA test pilot named Herb Hoover that flew the X1

[@Jonathan.D]

Really cool video Rex! 👍 Why did the Bell X-1 have double tapered straight wings instead of swept wings? Was the taper all that was needed to reduce the turbulence? The Germans had swept wings on the 262 but that was supposedly done to fix an issue with the planes center of gravity.

[@wojciechbogdan3361]

AFAIK it was by the Air Force request. Bell considered swept wings as well but in the end the AF said that all their operational and planned fighter planes have straight wings, so straight wing research was of more value to them at the time.

[@Jonathan.D]

@@wojciechbogdan3361 I've read that before but it doesn't make sense because the F-86 Sabre was developed at almost the same time and it had swept wings. By 1950 almost every military aircraft was being developed with swept wings.

[@wojciechbogdan3361]

@@Jonathan.D XP-86 had straight wings too initially. I've just read a chapter on X-1 in Engineer In Charge by J.R. Hansen and it seems that the swept wing concept came just a few months too late for X-1. NACA's Robert T. Jones had his report on the swept wing ready by the end of April 1945 and it was experimentally confirmed by the end of May 1945. In March 1945, when the contract for X-1 was awarded to Bell, swept wing was considered a risky, unproved concept, which would add another headache to the already risky project. So there may be some truth to this story, that in March 1945 and earlier no one in the AF thought seriously about swept wings airplanes. This definitely changed after May of that year and in October the AF was asking why they weren't informed about the swept wing theory in March (they were). I guess XP-86 got its swept wings after May 1945.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

Although the Messerschmitt Me-262 was wind tunnel tested with various wing sweep angles to speed of up to Mach 1.4, jet engine technology was not progressing as quickly as aerodynamics. The Me-262s wing sweep was optimized for the transonic region, not supersonic.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

​@@Jonathan.D The predecessors to the F-86 had straight wings until engineers and technical data from Messerschmitt was brought in by Operation Paperclip

[@justastrider3252]

cool

[@lauriepocock3066]

I understood we started working on a supersonic aircraft because of a typing error, translating and typing out one od the Stocknolm documents someone typed 1000mph instead of 1000kph.

[@marleegould542]

"1st time I saw a jet, I shot it down." -Chuck Yaeger

[@Dr.K.Wette_BE]

15:43 I see an improvement on the loading system... "Let's lift the 40 tons carrier !" 🤦‍♂

[@xxxYYZxxx]

The X-1 history is quite impressive. I just figured the X1 broke Mach 1 and they quickly moved on to the X2.

[@jimsvideos7201]

14:50 The former President?

[@rkelsey3341]

14:49 Herbert Hoover? Was he related to Bob Hoover?

[@bobcoats2708]

Herbert “Herb” Hoover shares his name with an American president, but was in fact a NACA test pilot that made about 15 flights an an X1 from late 1947 to late 1948

[@martentrudeau6948]

Excellent video, very interesting history, especially the British M.52 contribution to the American effort, which without it, the success of the Bell X-1 would have been difficult. It seems the Principle Powers in the world chose the Americans to be first to go supersonic. -- The nerve and courage of these tests pilots were enormous, Tom Wolf, the author of the Book, "The Right Stuff", wrote pilots such as Chuck Yeager were said to have the Right Stuff. -- If the Miles M.52 had not been canceled it might have been first to go supersonic, and Captain Eric Brown the first man to go supersonic, it's no doubt in my mind that "Winkle" Brown had the Right Stuff. -- This is all most interesting history.

[@ovemunk]

Yeager allways said that it was thanks to the moving tailplane he was able to control the x1 through the barrier. He thought to the end of his days that it was an american invention. It wasnt.😉

[@martentrudeau6948]

@@ovemunk ~ As an American I love our country and people and Yeager was a great test pilot doing the right stuff in the air. -- But there are principle powers behind the scenes that govern what happens in the world, these powers plan world history, including wars, plagues, depressions and etc. This is a conspiracy that has existed since the beginning of time and the head conspirator is the Devil. The leaders of this world serve him.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

The *Horizontal Stabilator* is an *American Invention.* and was first used successfully on the Wright Flyer in 1904, the Fokker Eindecker was a very common aircraft in WW1 that also used a _Stabilator_ Germany conducted the first research into Compressibility Issues related to pitch control surfaces in transonic and supersonic flight. The Messerschmitt Me-262 was revolutionary in that it was the World's first aircraft to feature a Stabilator designed specifically to counteract the effects of supersonic Compressibility and 'Mach Tuck'. The first Allied aircraft to feature a Stabilator for this purpose was the Curtiss XP-42, the plane was tested in 1942 by NACA at the Langley research center. The technical data package was given to the RAE in Britian as NACA Technical Note no.1139 in 1943. The Miles M.52 never existed and contributed nothing to the development or success of the Bell X1 program. The Bell X1 used a nearly identical version of the Messerschmitt Me-262s fly-by-wire horizontal Stabilator system. Please stop spreading misinformation about the Bell X1 program and revisionist propaganda about the Miles M.52.

[@sandervanderkammen9230]

​@@ovemunk Chuck was right, the Stabilator is a *American Invention* and was first perfected by the Germans.

[@WilhelmKarsten]

The Miles M.52 is pure British science fiction, never in history has there been so much discussion about an aircraft that never existed.

[@ducksoff7236]

Robert Hoover who we all know better of course as Bob Hoover. "The greatest stick and rudder man who ever lived" so named by General James who we all know better of course as Jimmy Doolittle.

[@HotelPapa100]

No mention of the broom handle anecdote?