EWR VJ 101 C Supersonic VTOL Fighter Research Aircraft Family

The EWR VJ 101 C was a West German experimental VTOL interceptor developed by the Bölkow, Heinkel, and Messerschmitt consortium. Engines in swivelling wingtip nacelles supplied lift and forward thrust, while fixed lift engines behind the cockpit contributed to hovering. The X-1 prototype first hovered at Manching on April 10, 1963, and exceeded Mach 1 in 1964. After X-1 was lost, testing continued with X-2 from 1965 through 1971. The two prototypes explored transition and jet-lift control, but changing military requirements prevented series production. The surviving X-2 is preserved at the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleißheim.