Bell D188 Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1956)
 

Check out this article at RetroMechanix.com on the Bell D188, a VTOL fighter proposal for the USN that preceded the D188A/XF-109:

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The article is accompanied by an image gallery featuring 160 images reproducing the original proposal brochure and color photos of the desktop model. Many high resolution drawings and illustrations are featured throughout, along with a detailed technical description of every aspect of the aircraft, an unusual beast powered by 11 jet engines(!) More documents on this design will be featured in Part 2 of this article in the near future. Enjoy!

-Jared

Re: Bell D188 Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1956)
 

The second part of the article on the Bell D188 is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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It covers a wind tunnel report on the design and features 18 images, including several nice photos and general arrangement drawings of the model, which differs slightly from the finalized design in the proposal brochure.

Continuing the Bell VTOL aircraft theme, there is an article up on Bell VTOL Aircraft Projects of October 1955:

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This summarizes a brochure highlighting various Bell VTOL aircraft studies and features excellent general arrangement drawings and artist's impressions of several projects, including the Bell D139 shown above.

Finally, there is a short article on the Bell Aircraft Corporation Twenty-First Annual Report of 1956:

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It's accompanied by several nice color photos and illustrations excerpted from the document.

Some improvements have also been made to the site, with several ads being removed and the right hand sidebar being de-cluttered, hopefully improving the load time. I hope you find the material of interest.

-Jared

Bell D188A (XF-109 / XF3L) Jet VTOL Fighter (1957)
 

The second article in a series on the Bell D188A jet VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces a Bell brochure dating from July 1957 which presents a further refinement of the six-jet configuration first illustrated in the February 1957 report covered in Part 1 of the series. The accompanying gallery features 25 images with numerous schematics and illustrations. More installments to follow in the weeks ahead, so please stay tuned!

-Jared

Re: Bell D188 Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1956)
 

Interesting stuff, thanks for sharing.

Re: Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1957)
 

The third article in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6077/...b972e6fe_o.jpg

The article reproduces correspondence and progress reports from September through November 1957. The accompanying gallery features 21 images with many interesting drawings, photos and illustrations. More installments to follow in the weeks ahead, so please stay tuned!

Re: Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1957)
 

The fourth installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6070/...2d2038ae_o.jpg

The article reproduces the first third of a design data summary report submitted by Bell to the Navy on November 15, 1957. The accompanying gallery features 74 images with many interesting high resolution drawings, photos and illustrations. Additional installments to follow in the weeks ahead, so please stay tuned!

Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1957)
 

The fifth installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6174/...ce25d488_o.jpg

The article reproduces the second portion of a November 1957 design data summary submitted by Bell to the US Navy. The accompanying gallery features 65 images with several interesting illustrations, along with a detailed technical analysis of the design. Additional installments to follow in the weeks ahead, so please stay tuned!

Re: Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1957)
 

The sixth installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6188/...31776ea6_o.jpg

The article reproduces the final portion of a November 1957 design data summary submitted by Bell to the US Navy. The accompanying gallery features 63 high resolution schematics of the aircraft, its various components, and alternate configurations. Additional installments on the D188A to follow in the weeks ahead, so please stay tuned!

Re: Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1956)
 

The seventh installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces a pair of Bell reports from December 1957 along with a Navy Bureau of Aeronautics memorandum critiquing the design. The accompanying gallery features 39 images, including many photos and illustrations of this ambitious but ultimately cancelled supersonic VTOL fighter.

-Jared

Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (Part 8)
 

The eighth installment in a series on the Bell D188A is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces Navy correspondence and a report from February-March 1958 describing various possible Sidewinder installations on the aircraft. The accompanying image gallery features several high resolution drawings of the installations and a photo.

-Jared

Re: Bell D188A/Model 2000 Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1958)
 

The ninth installment in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces Bell Progress Reports from April-August 1958 documenting the ongoing evolution of the aircraft. The accompanying image gallery features numerous large photos and illustrations of this ill-fated supersonic VTOL fighter design.

-Jared

Bell D188A/Model 2000 (XF-109/XF3L) Supersonic VTOL Fighter (Part 10)
 

The tenth installment in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces Bell Progress Reports from September-December 1958 documenting the continuing evolution of the aircraft. The accompanying image gallery features numerous large photos of the mock-up under construction and scale test models.

-Jared

Re: Bell D188A Jet VTOL Fighter for the USN (1958)
 

The eleventh installment in a series on the Bell D188A is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

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The article reproduces a mock-up summary report from January 1958 and features numerous large photos of the completed mock-up and its major components.

-Jared

Bell D188A/Model 2000 Supersonic VTOL Fighter (1959)
 

The twelfth installment in a series on the Bell D188A/Model 2000 supersonic VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6...6c5f6793_o.jpg

The article reproduces a pair of reports from early 1959 - a Progress Report from January and a report on aerodynamic and propulsion model testing from February. The accompanying gallery features 43 images, including numerous high resolution photos and illustrations of the aircraft.

-Jared

Bell Model 2000 ("XF-109") VTOL Fighter Mock-up Report 02/06/59
 

A new post is up at RetroMechanix.com reproducing a mock-up report on the Bell Model 2000 dating from February 1959:

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6094/7...ac25843f_o.jpg

The accompanying image gallery features 165 images, including many schematics of the fighter's major components and several nice artist's impressions.

-Jared

Bell XF-109 VTOL Fighter Brochure and Mock-up Inspection Program (1959)
 

A new post is up at RetroMechanix.com presenting a Bell "XF-109" brochure and mock-up inspection program dating from February 1959:

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This is the last article in our series on this ill-fated supersonic VTOL fighter; the profusely illustrated color brochure focuses exclusively on the Air Force variant, while the program provides an interesting overview of the mock-up inspection process and the state of Bell facilities in 1959. The article features 72 images reproducing both documents in full.

-Jared