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The D-558 program was conceived as a joint NACA/U.S. Navy research program for transonic and supersonic flight. The D-558 Phase One, or D-558-1, was known as the Skystreak while the D-558 Phase Two, or D-558-2, was known as the Skyrocket. A contract for design and construction of six D558-1 aircraft for the first phase was issued on June 22, 1945. The original plan had been for six aircraft with a mixture of nose and side inlets and varying wing airfoil sections. That plan was quickly reduced to three aircraft of a single configuration with a nose inlet. Plans for the second phase with mixed rocket/jet propulsion were also dropped. Instead, a new aircraft, the D-558-2, was designed with mixed rocket and jet propulsion for supersonic flight.
Click on photo to enter D-558-1 Page The Skystreak, or D-558-1, performed an important role in aeronautical research by flying for extended periods of time at transonic speeds, which freed the X-1 to fly for limited periods at supersonic speeds.
Click on photo to enter D-558-2 Page
The Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket was used for transonic study and the vehicle Scott Crossfield used to break Mach 2. This craft had three models. Jet powered,
Jet/Rocket powered, and Rocket powered.
Sources: Toward Mach 2: The Douglas D-558 Program Edited by J. D. Hunley NASA SP-4222 On the Frontier: Experimental Flight at NASA Dryden Richard Hallion and Michael Gorn Smithsonian Books Skystreak, Skyrocket, & Stiletto Scott Libis Specialty Press Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket Scott Libis Ginter Books http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_Skystreak Scott Crossfield |
