The Bell D-188A (unofficial military designations XF-109/XF3L) was a proposed eight-engine Mach 2–capable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tiltjet fighter that never proceeded past the mock-up stage.

Aug 21, 2020 · The D-188A was a pretty bold VTOL design when it showed up in 1955. Bell was confident in its development prospects and touted the design as “the high water mark in high performance VTOL aircraft development in the United States.”

Dec 9, 2024 · The Bell D-188A was intended to be a new generation of fighter aircraft. It would have been equipped with eight General Electric J85-GE-5 turbojet engines – four mounted on swivelling pods on the aircraft’s wingtips, two in the rear fuselage and two behind the cockpit – that would allow it to reach speeds of over Mach 2.

Nov 27, 2006 · The Bell designation for this was the D-188 (Navy) and D-188A (Air Force). To make it seem more authentic, Bell called the Navy version the "F3L-1" as this would have been the next designation in line.

Jun 13, 2023 · The Bell D-188A was among many bold VTOL design projects appearing at the time. It was designed to the US Air Force requirement for an all-weather supersonic fighter-bomber that would also act in the defense interceptor role and have a VTOL capability.

Aug 2, 2011 · The second report, dating from February 1957, describes a revised version of the D188A powered by six J85 engines. The gallery features 72 images reproducing the reports and includes several high resolution drawings.

The Bell D-188A (unofficial military designations XF-109/XF3L [citation needed]) was a proposed eight-engine Mach 2-capable vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) tiltjet fighter that never proceeded past the mock-up stage.

Dec 7, 2011 · Check out the latest article on RetroMechanix.com presenting some early reports on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter (also known as the XF-109/XF3L, both designations invented by Bell): The first report, dating from December 1956, presents the earliest known D188A configuration (at least as presented to the Navy), along with a pair of other designs ...

Aug 3, 2011 · The seventh installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com: The article reproduces a pair of Bell reports from December 1957 along with a Navy Bureau of Aeronautics memorandum critiquing the design.

Aug 3, 2011 · The seventh installment in a series on the Bell D188A VTOL fighter is now up at RetroMechanix.com: The article reproduces a pair of Bell reports from December 1957 along with a Navy Bureau of Aeronautics memorandum critiquing the design.