Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket Transonic Research Aircraft Family
The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket was a three-aircraft swept-wing research family flown from 1948 to 1956 in a joint Navy, NACA, and Douglas program. The aircraft investigated swept-wing pitch-up, stability, structural loads, and the relationship between wind-tunnel predictions and flight behavior. On November 20, 1953, Scott Crossfield flew the second Skyrocket to Mach 2.005, the first flight above twice the speed of sound. Turbojet, combined jet-and-rocket, and all-rocket configurations served different phases of the research.
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Identity
- Aliases
- D-558-IID-558-2SkyrocketDouglas D-558-IID-558-II Skyrocket
- Family Name
- Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket
- Full Name
- Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket Transonic Research Aircraft Family
- Roles
- researchexperimentaltechnology_demonstrator
- Status
- retired
- Type
- aircraft
Details
- Aircraft Specs
- Configuration
- fixed_wing
- Operating Modes
- land
- Takeoff Landing Capabilities
- conventional
- Description
- The Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket was a three-aircraft swept-wing research family flown from 1948 to 1956 in a joint Navy, NACA, and Douglas program. The aircraft investigated swept-wing pitch-up, stability, structural loads, and the relationship between wind-tunnel predictions and flight behavior. On November 20, 1953, Scott Crossfield flew the second Skyrocket to Mach 2.005, the first flight above twice the speed of sound. Turbojet, combined jet-and-rocket, and all-rocket configurations served different phases of the research.
- Dimensions
- Height
- …
- Length
- …
- Wingspan
- …
- First Flight Year
- 1,948
- Last Flight Year
- 1,956
- Manufacturer
Links
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 6, 2026 at 22:48:33 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 13:13:53 UTC