×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024)
HOME
AVIATION INDEX
MODERN AIR FORCES
AIRCRAFT BY COUNTRY
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE AIRCRAFT
AIRCRAFT BY CONFLICT
AIRCRAFT BY TYPE
AIRCRAFT BY DECADE
COLD WAR AIRCRAFT
WWII AIRCRAFT
X-PLANE AIRCRAFT
Aviation / Aerospace

Bell D-35


Rocket-Powered Bomber-Interceptor Proposal [ 1946 ]



The Bell D-35 was drawn up as a possible counter to the emerging Soviet nuclear-capable bomber threat following World War 2.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 05/19/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
The Bell D-35 was conceived of as a potential bomber-interceptor for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) towards the close of World War 2 (1939-1945). With the dismantling of the Italian, German, and Japanese war machines, the United States would now concentrate of airspace deterrence / defense from the Soviet threat in the East. Various design competitions were had in 1945 for just a solution - resulting in the ultimately-abandoned D-35.

The USAAF requirement called for an interceptor capable of reaching 700 miles-per-hour, achieving short-term supersonic performance through both aerodynamic design and powerplant. This aircraft would be capable of flying upwards of 50,000 of altitude to meet the threat head-on and rate-of-climb would have the system reach this in just four minutes under full power. In keeping with USAAF wartime tradition, the proposed armament fit would center on multiple machine guns, in this case 4 x 12.7mm air-cooled Browning heavies.

Bell was one of six respondents to this requirement, joining competitors Consolidated Vultee, Douglas, North American, Northrop, and Republic Aviation.

Because turbojet technology of the time would not allow for the needed thrust / power / speed output to get the aircraft up to altitude at-speed, it was decided that a rocket motor would be the best fit for the requirement. For the Bell submission, this would include a pairing of two rocket boosters for maximum performance set to output 12,000lb.

The resulting Bell design of October 1945 was centered on a delta-wing planform (45-degree sweep along the leading edges) with the single-seat cockpit over the nose and the vertical tail fins set at each wingtip. The mainplanes were shoulder-mounted along the sides of the fuselage with the propulsion system buried within. This unit would exhaust through a circular opening at the rear of the fuselage between the two mainplane trailing edges. The four machine guns were to be installed under the nose, beneath the cockpit floor, to give the aircraft an appropriate offensive punch against enemy bombers.

Like other rocket-driven developments of the day, the Bell proposal would be launched unconventionally, most likely by launch rail under its own booster power. This is assumed as only a pair of main landing gear legs were planned for ground-running actions along with skids added to each wingtip fin to allow the aircraft to land in an open field under its own weight and drag.

As drawn up, the fighter was to have an overall length of 28 feet, a wingspan of 26.5 feet, and a gross weight nearing 17,000lb - this ballooning to 29,100lb when fully laden.

Despite the work, the D-35 was not evolved beyond the paper stage - the requirement moving along the lines of the Consolidated Vultee and Republic Aviation submissions, leaving the D-35 with no further purpose. The two x-planes to come from this decision were the Republic XP-91/XF-91 and the CONVAIR XP-92, both detailed elsewhere on this site.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



Service Year
1946

Origin
United States national flag graphic
United States

Status
CANCELLED
Development Ended.
Crew
1

Production
0
UNITS


National flag of the United States United States (cancelled)
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Air-to-Air Combat, Fighter
General ability to actively engage other aircraft of similar form and function, typically through guns, missiles, and/or aerial rockets.
Interception
Ability to intercept inbound aerial threats by way of high-performance, typically speed and rate-of-climb.
X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.


MULTI-ENGINE
Incorporates two or more engines, enhancing survivability and / or performance.
WING SWEEPBACK
Mainplanes, or leading edges, features swept-back lines for enhanced high-speed performance and handling.
WINGLETS
Mainplanes capped with winglets, providing improved fuel efficiency and enhanced handling.
RUGGED AIRFRAME
Inherent ability of airframe to take considerable damage.
HIGH-SPEED PERFORMANCE
Can accelerate to higher speeds than average aircraft of its time.
HIGH-ALTITUDE PERFORMANCE
Can reach and operate at higher altitudes than average aircraft of its time.
PILOT / CREW EJECTION SYSTEM
Assisted process of allowing its pilot and / or crew to eject in the event of an airborne emergency.
ENCLOSED CREWSPACE(S)
Features partially- or wholly-enclosed crew workspaces.
RETRACTABLE UNDERCARRIAGE
Features retracting / retractable undercarriage to preserve aerodynamic efficiency.


Length
28.1 ft
(8.55 m)
Width/Span
29.2 ft
(8.90 m)
Empty Wgt
17,196 lb
(7,800 kg)
MTOW
29,101 lb
(13,200 kg)
Wgt Diff
+11,905 lb
(+5,400 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the base Bell D-35 production variant)
monoplane / shoulder-mounted / delta, tailless
Monoplane
Design utilizes a single primary wing mainplane; this represent the most popular mainplane arrangement.
Shoulder-Mounted
Mainplanes are mounted at the upper section of the fuselage, generally at the imaginary line intersecting the pilot's shoulders.
Delta, Tailless
The delta planform lacks a conventional tailplane arrangement with all wing surface area taken up by the delta planform.
(Structural descriptors pertain to the base Bell D-35 production variant)
Installed: 2 x Rocket booster motors generating 12,000lb of thrust each for high-speed, short-term flight.
Max Speed
699 mph
(1,125 kph | 607 kts)
Cruise Speed
600 mph
(965 kph | 521 kts)
Max. Speed Diff
+99 mph
(+160 kph | 86 kts)
Ceiling
50,033 ft
(15,250 m | 9 mi)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the base Bell D-35 production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
PROPOSED:
4 x 0.50 caliber (12.7mm) Browning air-cooled Heavy Machine Guns (HMGs).


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft medium machine gun
Graphical image of an aircraft heavy machine gun


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 0


D-35 - Base Series Designation.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the Bell D-35
Image copyright www.MilitaryFactory.com; No Reproduction Permitted.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)