The Bell X-9 Shrike was a prototype surface-to-air, liquid-fueled guided missile designed by Bell Aircraft as a testbed for the nuclear-armed GAM-63 RASCAL. It is named after the shrike, a family of birds.
Testing
editThirty-one X-9 rockets were delivered, flying from April 1949 to January 1953. The program was used to gather aerodynamic and stability data, and to test guidance and propulsion systems for the RASCAL.[1]
None of the missiles survived testing. The only known remaining fragment of an X-9 is part of a vertical stabilizer, at the Larry Bell Museum in Mentone, Indiana.[2]
Specifications (X-9)
editGeneral characteristics:
- Length: 22 ft 9 in (6.9 m)
- Wingspan: 7 ft 10 in (2.4 m)
- Diameter: 1 ft 10 in (0.56 m)
- Wing area: 70 ft2 (6.5 m2)
- Weight (empty): 2,125 lb (964 kg)
- Weight (loaded): 3,500 lb (1,588 kg)
- Propulsion: Bell XLR65-BA-1 liquid-fuel rocket engine, 3,000 lbf (13.3 kN) thrust
Performance:
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
- Range: 50 mi (80 km)
- Service ceiling: 12.3 mi (19.8 km)
- Rate of climb: m/min (ft/min)
- Wing loading: kg/m2 ( lb/ft2)
- Thrust/weight:
See also
edit- Bell GAM-63, a related development
- List of experimental aircraft
References
edit- ^ Yenne, Bill (2018). A Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles. Forest Lake, MN: Specialty Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-58007-256-4.
- ^ Jenkins, Dennis R.; Landis, Tony; Miller, Jay. "AMERICAN X-VEHICLES Centennial of Flight Edition SP-2003-4531 An Inventory—X-1 to X-50" (PDF). p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- American X-Vehicles (PDF)
External links
edit
Media related to Bell X-9 at Wikimedia Commons
