Bell X-5
The X-5 was the first aircraft to vary the sweepback
of its wings in flight. It was built to prove the theory that by
increasing the sweepback of an airplane’s wings after takeoff,
a higher maximum speed could be obtained while still retaining low
takeoff and landing speed and higher rate of climb with the wings
swept forward.
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Two X-5s were built and flown. One crashed and was destroyed on
October 13, 1953, when it failed to recover from a spin at 60
degrees sweepback. The other was delivered to the National Museum
of the United States Air Force in March 1958.
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