The Messerschmitt P.1101 was a single-seat, single-jet fighter project of World War II, developed as part of the 15 July 1944 Emergency Fighter Program which sought a second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich.
A prominent feature of the P.1101 prototype was that the sweep angle of the wings could be changed before flight, a feature further developed in later variable-sweep aircraft such as the Bell X-5 and Grumman XF10F Jaguar.
The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of its wings in flight.
It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of the German Messerschmitt Company.
In contrast with the German design, which could only have its wing sweepback angle adjusted on the ground, the Bell engineers devised a system of electric motors to adjust the sweep in flight.
Variants
Me P.1101 First Design
The 24 July 1944 design by Hans Hornung of a single-seat jet fighter.
It was powered by one Heinkel He S 011 turbojet.
This was the shortest of all versions with a blunt nose and a v-tail. It had a wingspan of 7.15 m and a length of 6.85 m.
The armament was two MK 108 cannon.
Me P.1101 Second Design
A sleeker design, dating from 30 August 1944.
Also a v-tailed single-seat jet fighter with a more pointed nose and wings swept back at 40 degrees. It had a wingspan of 8.16 m and a length of 9.37 m.
Me P.1101 Third Design
Full-scale prototype design of a flying test single-seat jet fighter with a wingspan of 8.06 m and a length of 8.98 m.
It had a conventional tail and swept wings designed to be set at different angles while on the ground.
Test flights were first intended to be undertaken with a 35-degree wing sweep, followed by a 45-degree sweep.
The first test flight was to take place in June 1945.
Me P.1101 Fourth Design
The final single-seat jet fighter design that went into production with a wingspan of 8.25 m, a length of 9.175 m and a weight of 1250 kg.
Me P.1101 L
A ramjet-powered single-seat fighter that would have eight additional small rocket engines for takeoff.
This design would have a much wider fuselage covering the large Lorin ramjet located to the back of the cockpit, as well as a conventional tail.
Me P.1101/92
A different design of a two-seat v-tailed heavy fighter and destroyer.
It was an all-metal aircraft armed with a large 7.5 cm Pak 40 cannon and was powered by two Heinkel He S 011 turbojets.
It had a wingspan of 13.28 m and a length of 13.1 m.
Me P.1101/99
Another very different variant altogether.
Two-seat attack/destroyer all-metal aircraft powered by four Heinkel He S 011 turbojets.
It had the cockpit at the front end of the fuselage and was armed with a 7.5 cm Pak 40 cannon and one MK 112 55 mm auto-cannon in the nose, and four additional MK 112 in Schräge Musik configuration behind the cockpit. Its tail was of the conventional type and it had a wingspan of 15.4 m and a length of 15.2 m.
Bell X-5
Two X-5s were built (serial numbers 50-1838 and 50-1839).
The first was completed 15 February 1951, and the two aircraft made their first flights on 20 June and 10 December 1951.
Almost 200 flights were made at speeds up to Mach 0.9 and altitudes of 40,000 ft (12,000 m).
One aircraft was lost on 14 October 1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60° sweepback.
Air Force Captain Ray Popson died in the crash at Edwards Air Force Base.
The other X-5 remained at Edwards and continued active testing until 1955, and remained in service as a chase plane until 1958.
Specifications
X-5
Crew
1
Length
33 ft 4 in (10.16 m)
Wingspan
30 ft 6 in (9.30 m)
Lower wingspan
20 ft 9 in (6.32 m) swept at 60° sweep
Height
12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)
Wing area
175 sq ft (16.3 m2)
Airfoil
Root
NACA 64A011
Tip
NACA 64A08
Empty weight
6,350 lb (2,880 kg)
Gross weight
9,875 lb (4,479 kg)
Powerplant
1 × Allison J35-A-17A turbojet engine,
4,900 lbf (22 kN) thrust at sea level
Performance
Maximum speed
705 mph (1,135 km/h, 613 kn)
Range
750 mi (1,210 km, 650 nmi)
Service ceiling
42,000 ft (13,000 m)
Thrust/weight
0.5.
Messerschmitt P.1101
Crew
1
Length
9.18 m (30 ft 1 in)
Wingspan
8.25 m (27 ft 1 in)
Height
3.71 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area
15.9 m2 (171 sq ft)
Aspect ratio
4.29
Airfoil
Root
NACA 00011.41-1.1-40
Tip
NACA 00009-1.1-40
Empty weight
2,594 kg (5,719 lb)
Gross weight
4,065 kg (8,962 lb)
Max take-off weight
4,500 kg (9,921 lb)
Fuel capacity
1,250 kg (2,756 lb) / 1,432 l (378 US gal; 315 imp gal)
