Bell XP-83

Infobox Aircraft
name=Bell XP-83
type=Escort fighter
manufacturer =Bell Aircraft Corporation


caption= S/n "44-84990" in test flight over Wright Field, May 1945
designer= Charles Rhodes
first flight=25 February 1945
introduced=
retired=
status=Project cancelled 1947
primary user=United States Army Air Forces (intended)
more users=
produced=
number built=2Program costUS$4.2 Knaack 1978]
developed from=P-59 Airacomet
variants with their own articles =The Bell XP-83 was a United States prototype escort fighter designed by the Bell Aircraft Corporation during World War II. It first flew in 1945. As an early jet fighter, its limitations included a lack of power and it was soon eclipsed by more advanced designs.

Design and development

The early jet fighters consumed fuel at a prodigious rate, which severely limited their range and endurance. In March 1944, the United States Army Air Forces requested Bell to design a fighter with increased endurance, and formally awarded a contract for two prototypes on 31 July.

Bell had been working on its "Model 40" interceptor design since 1943. It was redesigned as a long-range escort fighter, retaining the general layout of the P-59 Airacomet. The two General Electric J33-GE-5 turbojet engines were located in each wing root, which left the large and bulky fuselage free for fuel tanks and armament. The fuselage was an all-metal semimonocoque, capable of carrying 1,150 US gallons (4,350 L) of fuel; in addition, two 250 US gal (950 L) drop tanks could be carried. The cabin was pressurized, and the canopy a small and low bubble type. The armament was to be six 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns in the nose.

Testing

Early wind tunnel reports had pinpointed directional instability but the "fix" of a larger tail would not be ready in time for flight testing. [ Koehnen 1982, p. 24.] The first prototype was flown on 25 February 1945, by Bell's chief test pilot Jack Woolams, who found it to be underpowered and unstable. The limited flight testing provided satisfactory flight characteristics although spins were restricted until the larger tailfin was installed. The second prototype did incorporate the extended tail and an aileron boost system. [ Koehnen 1982, pp. 44, 48.] One unique characteristic was the XP-83's refusal to "slow down" due to its sleek aerodynamic shape and lack of drag brakes; test pilots were forced to fly very long and flat landing approaches. [ Koehnen 1982, p. 48.]

The first prototype was used in 1946 as a ramjet testbed, with an engineer's station located in the fuselage behind the pilot and on 14 September one of the ramjets caught fire - the pilot "Slick" Goodlin and engineer Charles Fay had to parachute out. The second prototype flew on 19 October and was scrapped in 1947. Apart from range, the XP-83 was inferior to Lockheed's P-80 Shooting Star, and the XP-83 project was canceled in 1947.

pecifications (XP-83)

Aircraft specifications

plane or copter?=plane
jet or prop?=jet

ref=War Planes of the Second World War Green 1961]

crew=1 pilot (engineer's station fitted to first prototype, with an entrance door under the fuselage)
span main=53 ft 0 in
span alt=16.15 m
length main=44 ft 10 in
length alt=13.67 m
height main=15 ft 3 in
height alt=4.65 m
area main=431 ft²
area alt=40.0 m²
empty weight main=14,105 lb
empty weight alt=6,400 kg
loaded weight main=24,090 lb
loaded weight alt=10,930 kg
max takeoff weight main=27,500 lb
max takeoff weight alt=12,500 kg

engine (jet)=General Electric J33-GE-5
type of jet=turbojets
number of jets=2
thrust main=4,000 lbf
thrust alt=18 kN

max speed main=522 mph
max speed alt=453 knots, 840 km/h
max speed more=at 15,660 ft (4,775 m)
range main=
** Internal fuel: 1,730 mi
range alt=1,500 nm, 2,785 km
range more=
** With drop tanks 2,050 mi (1,780 nm, 3,300 km)
climb rate main=5,650 ft/min
climb rate alt=28.7 m/s)
*Time to altitude: 11.5 min to 30,000 ft (9,100 m
ceiling main=45,000 ft
ceiling alt=14,000 m
loading main=56 lb/ft²
loading alt=273 kg/m²
thrust/weight=0.33
more performance=

guns=
**6× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 machine guns "or"
**6× .60 in (15.2 mm) T17E3 machine guns "or"
**4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano cannons "or"
**1× 37 mm (1.46 in) cannon in the nose

ee also

aircontent
related=
* P-59 Airacomet

similar aircraft=

lists=
* List of fighter aircraft
* List of military aircraft of the United States

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Carpenter, David M. "Flame Powered: The Bell XP-59A Airacomet and the General Electric I-A Engine". Boston: Jet Pioneers of America, 1982. ISBN 0-9633387-0-6. (Page 59 is about the XP-83.)
* Green, William. "War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters, Volume Four". London: Macdonald, 1961 (6th impression 1969). ISBN 0-356-01448-7.
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. "WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 1". London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1977. ISBN 0-356-08218-0.
* Knaack, Marcelle Size. "Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973". Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. ISBN 0-912799-59-5.
* Koehnen, Richard C. "Bell's No Name Fighter." "Airpower", Vol. 12, no. 1. January 1982.
* Pelletier, Alain J. "Bell Aircraft Since 1935". Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. ISBN 1-55750-056-8.

External links

* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p83.html Joe Baugher's XP-83 page]
* [http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/research/fighter/f83.htm USAF Museum page]
* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p83.html]
* [http://home.att.net/~jbaugher1/p83.html]
* [http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/xp83.html Warbirds Resource Group page, with picture]