On April 29, 1945, US troops discovered a prototype of the Messerschmitt P.1101 in a tunnel at Messerschmitt’s Bavarian Oberammergau Complex in Germany. The prototype was for a jet aircraft that was being built in response to the 1944 Emergency Fighter Program that was put into action by the Third Reich. This prototype was unique in that it had the ability to change it’s wing sweep on the ground, making it one of the first “swing-wing” aircraft. There was talk of finishing the aircraft as it was, but it was too damaged to be repaired, so in 1948 it was shipped to Bell Aircraft Works in Buffalo, New York, where it was dismantled and studied.
The lessons learned from the Me P.1101 prototype gave birth to the Bell X-5. The X-5 took the variable wing-sweep design to a new level and was the first aircraft in history to be able to change the angle of it’s wings in-flight. Two were built, and they provided a wealth of knowledge about variable-geometry wing designs. Although they had inherent stability problems, the concept was later successfully implemented on such aircraft as the F-111, F-14 Tomcat and B-1 Lancer.
Images Courtesy: NASA
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