Editing Bell XP-83

{{short description|Prototype escort fighter}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
<!-- This article is a part of [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft]]. Please see [[Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content]] for recommended layout. -->
{{Infobox aircraft
  |name= XP-83
  |image= File:XP83 01.jpg
  |caption= S/n ''44-84990'' in test flight over Wright Field, May 1945
  |type= [[Escort fighter]]
  |manufacturer = [[Bell Aircraft]]
  |designer= 
  |first_flight= 25 February 1945
  |introduction=
  |retired=
  |status= Project cancelled [[1947 in aviation|1947]]
  |primary_user= [[United States Army Air Forces]] (intended)
  |more_users=
  |produced=
  |number_built=2
  |program cost={{US$|link=yes}}4.2 million<ref name="knaack">Knaack 1978, p.&nbsp;311.</ref>
  |unit cost = <!--Incremental or flyaway cost for military or retail price for commercial aircraft-->
  |developed_from=
  |variants =
}}

The '''Bell XP-83''' (later redesignated '''XF-83''')<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bell XF-83 |url=https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Photos/igphoto/2000547279/ |access-date=2023-12-04 |website=www.nationalmuseum.af.mil}}</ref> was a United States prototype [[jet aircraft|jet]] [[escort fighter]] designed by [[Bell Aircraft]] during [[World War II]]. It first flew in 1945. As with most early [[first generation jet fighter|first generation jet fighters]], the design was hampered by a relative lack of power. With the rapid advancements in jet technology post-WWII, the XP-83 was soon eclipsed by more advanced designs and it never entered production.

==Design and development==
The early [[jet aircraft|jet]] [[fighter aircraft|fighter]]s consumed [[Jet fuel|fuel]] at a prodigious rate which severely limited their [[Range (aircraft)|range]] and [[Combat endurance|endurance]]. In March 1944, the [[United States Army Air Forces]] requested Bell to design a fighter with increased endurance and formally awarded a contract for two prototypes on 31 July 1944.

Bell had been working on its "Model 40" interceptor design since 1943. It was redesigned as a long-range escort fighter while retaining the general layout of the [[Bell P-59 Airacomet|P-59 Airacomet]]. The two [[Allison J33|General Electric J33]]-GE-5 [[turbojet]] engines were located in each wing root which left the large and bulky [[fuselage]] free for fuel tanks and armament. The fuselage was an all-metal [[semimonocoque]] capable of carrying 1,150&nbsp;gal (4,350&nbsp;L) of fuel. In addition, two 250&nbsp;gal (950&nbsp;L) [[drop tank]]s could be carried. The cabin was [[Cabin pressurization|pressurized]] and used a small and low bubble style canopy. The armament was to be six [[.50 BMG|0.5&nbsp;in]] (12.7&nbsp;mm) [[machine gun]]s in the nose.

==Testing==
Early wind tunnel reports had pinpointed directional instability but the "fix" of a larger [[Vertical stabilizer|tail]] would not be ready in time for flight testing.<ref>Koehnen 1982, p. 24.</ref> 

The first prototype was flown on 25 February 1945, by Bell's chief test pilot, [[Jack Woolams]]. He found it to have satisfactory flight characteristics, although it was under-powered. The expected instability was confirmed – spins were avoided (until a larger tail fin was installed). The second prototype did incorporate a modified tail and an [[aileron]] boost system.<ref>Koehnen 1982, pp. 44, 48.</ref> One unusual characteristic was extremely high landing speeds, due to factors including the XP-83's lack of drag brakes – in addition to the sleek aerodynamics and relatively high minimum thrust settings common to early jet aircraft, and necessary to prevent unintended flame-outs. This meant that test pilots were forced to fly "stabilized approaches" (i.e. very long and flat landing approaches).<ref>Koehnen 1982, p. 48.</ref>

The first prototype was used in 1946 as a [[ramjet]] test-bed with an engineer's station located in the fuselage behind the pilot. On 14 September 1946, one of the ramjets caught fire forcing pilot, [[Chalmers Goodlin|"Slick" Goodlin]] and engineer [[Charles Fay (engineer)|Charles Fay]], to bail out. The second prototype flew on 19 October and was later scrapped in 1947. Apart from range, the XP-83 was inferior to the [[Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star]] and this led to the cancellation of the XP-83 project in 1947.

==Specifications (XP-83)==
[[File:Bell XP-83 drawing.jpg|thumb|XP-83 (first prototype)]]
{{Aircraft specs
|ref=''War Planes of the Second World War''<ref name="Green">Green 1961, p. 24.</ref>
|prime units?=imp
<!--
        General characteristics
-->
|crew=1 (engineer's station fitted to first prototype, with an entrance door under the fuselage) 
|length ft=44
|length in=10
|length note=
|span ft=53
|span in=0
|span note=
|height ft=15
|height in=3
|height note=
|wing area sqft=431
|wing area note=
|aspect ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|airfoil=<!--'''root:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA ]]; '''tip:''' [[NACA airfoil|NACA ]]<ref name="Selig">{{cite web |last1=Lednicer |first1=David |title=The Incomplete Guide to Airfoil Usage |url=https://m-selig.ae.illinois.edu/ads/aircraft.html |website=m-selig.ae.illinois.edu |accessdate=16 April 2019}}</ref>-->
|empty weight lb=14105
|empty weight note=
|gross weight lb=24090
|gross weight note=
|max takeoff weight lb=27500
|max takeoff weight note=
|fuel capacity={{cvt|1154|USgal|impgal l}} + 2x {{cvt|300|USgal|impgal l}} drop tanks
|more general=
<!--
        Powerplant
-->
|eng1 number=2
|eng1 name= [[General Electric XJ33-GE-5]]
|eng1 type=centrifugal-flow compressor turbojet engines
|eng1 hp=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 shp=<!-- prop engines -->
|eng1 lbf=4000
|eng1 note=for take-off at 11,500 rpm
<!--
        Performance
-->
|max speed mph=522
|max speed note=at {{cvt|15660|ft}}
|max speed mach=<!-- supersonic aircraft -->
|cruise speed mph=
|cruise speed note=
|stall speed mph=
|stall speed note=
|never exceed speed mph=
|never exceed speed note=
|minimum control speed mph=
|minimum control speed note=
|range miles=1730
|range note=on internals
|combat range miles=
|combat range note=
|ferry range miles=2050
|ferry range note=with drop tanks
|endurance=<!-- if range unknown -->
|ceiling ft=45000
|ceiling note=
|g limits=<!-- aerobatic -->
|roll rate=<!-- aerobatic -->
|glide ratio=<!-- sailplanes -->
|climb rate ftmin=5650
|climb rate note=
|time to altitude= {{cvt|30000|ft}} in 11 minutes 30 seconds
|sink rate ftmin=<!-- sailplanes -->
|sink rate note=
|lift to drag=
|wing loading lb/sqft=56
|wing loading note=
|fuel consumption lb/mi=
|thrust/weight=0.33

|more performance=
<!--
        Armament
-->
|guns=<br/>
**6 × [[.50 BMG|.50 in]] (12.7 mm) [[M2 Browning machine gun|M2 machine gun]]s ''or''
**6 × .60 in (15.2 mm) T17E3 machine guns (prototypes) ''or''
**4 × [[20 mm caliber|20 mm]] (0.79 in) [[Hispano-Suiza HS.404|Hispano]] cannons ''or''
**1 × 37 mm (1.46 in) [[Autocannon|cannon]] in the nose
|bombs= 2 × {{cvt|1000|lb|0}} bombs
|rockets= 
|missiles= 
|hardpoints=
|hardpoint capacity=
|hardpoint rockets=
|hardpoint missiles=
|hardpoint bombs=
|hardpoint other=2 × {{cvt|300|USgal|impgal l|1}} / {{cvt|l774|kg|1}} [[drop tank]]s

|avionics=
}}

==See also==
{{Aircontent
|related=
* [[Bell P-59 Airacomet]]
|similar aircraft=
|lists=
* [[List of fighter aircraft]]
* [[List of military aircraft of the United States]]
}}

==References==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Carpenter, David M. ''Flame Powered: The Bell XP-59A Airacomet and the General Electric I-A Engine''. Boston: Jet Pioneers of America, 1982. {{ISBN|0-9633387-0-6}}. (Page 59 is about the XP-83.)
* Green, William. ''War Planes of the Second World War: Fighters, Volume Four''. London: Macdonald, 1961 (6th impression 1969). {{ISBN|0-356-01448-7}}. 
* Green, William and Gordon Swanborough. ''WW2 Aircraft Fact Files: US Army Air Force Fighters, Part 1''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1977. {{ISBN|0-356-08218-0}}.
* Knaack, Marcelle Size. ''Encyclopedia of US Air Force Aircraft and Missile Systems: Volume 1 Post-World War II Fighters 1945-1973''. Washington, DC: Office of Air Force History, 1978. {{ISBN|0-912799-59-5}}.
* Koehnen, Richard C. "Bell's No Name Fighter." ''Airpower'', Vol. 12, no. 1. January 1982.
* Pelletier, Alain J. ''Bell Aircraft Since 1935''. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1992. {{ISBN|1-55750-056-8}}.  

==External links==
{{commons category|Bell XP-83}}
* [http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p83.html Joe Baugher's XP-83 page]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110710162717/http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2329 USAF Museum page]
* [http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p83.html]
* [http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p83.html]
* [http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/URG/xp83.html Warbirds Resource Group page, with photos]

{{Bell Aircraft}}
{{USAF fighters}}

[[Category:Bell aircraft|P-083]]
[[Category:1940s United States fighter aircraft|Bell P-83]]
[[Category:Twinjets]]
[[Category:Cancelled military aircraft projects of the United States]]
[[Category:Aircraft first flown in 1945]]
[[Category:World War II jet aircraft of the United States]]
[[Category:Mid-wing aircraft]]
[[Category:Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear]]