liquid propellant rocket with a four chamber configuration (Von Braun 203). Since throttles to control rocket engine thrust had not yet been perfected, the four chambers would give the pilot a wider choice of power level (Von Braun 203). By cutting in chambers, he could boost the thrust by 1,500 pound increments from 1,500 pounds to 6,000 pounds (Von Braun 203).
On December 27, 1945, the Bell XS 1 #1 was completed. It had a straight wing design and looked something like a long sleek orange bullet with thin knife wings (Hallion 50). These smooth contours hid an extremely crowded fuselage however (Hallion 48). Contained within were 2 propellant tanks, 12 nitrogen spheres, the pilot's pressurized cockpit, 3 pressure regulators, a retractable landing gear, the wing carry through structure, the rocket engine, and the flight engine instrumentation (Hallion 48).
The airplane was constructed of semi monocoque 24ST aluminum construction (Hallion 48). Ahead of its wing was a spherical liquid oxygen tank that could hold 311 gallons. The XS 1's alcohol tank held 293 gallons (Hallion 49).
While 2,100 lbs. of fuel may seem like a lot, the XS 1's propellant supply was very limited (Josephy, Jr. 383). The four rocket motors could gulp their entire supply in two and a half minutes (Josephy, Jr. 383). Thus the rocket plane had to be launched from another aircraft (Von Braun 203). Mother ship's were typically modified B 29s (Von Braun 203).
In 1946, the XS 1 underwent motorless glide trials (Von Braun 203). It wasn't until October 14, 1947, however, that Chuck Yeager made the world's first supersonic flight by a manned aircraft (Yeager & Janos 129). The XS 1 #1 attained Mach 1.06 (or approximately 700 miles per hour) at an altitude of 43,000 feet (Hallion 210).
This single achievement succeeded in eliminating from the minds of aeronautical engineers the myth of the "sound barrier" (Hallion 193). People's thinking...