Bell X-9 Shrike
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 bird shrike.
Bell X-9 on its trailer
Testing
Thirty-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.
Specifications (X-9)
General 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
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Comparable aircraft:
Related Development:
See also:
References
- Yenne, Bill (2018). A Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles. Forest Lake, MN: Specialty Press. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-58007-256-4.
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