Bell X-5

X-5
General information
Type	Experimental aircraft
Manufacturer	Bell Aircraft Corporation
Designer	Robert J. Woods
Primary users	United States Air Force National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
Number built	2
History
First flight	20 June 1951
Retired	December 1958

The Bell X-5 was the first aircraft capable of changing the sweep of its wings in flight. It was inspired by the untested wartime P.1101 design of the German Messerschmitt company. In a further development of the German design, which could only have its wing sweepback angle adjusted on the ground, the Bell engineers devised a system of electric motors to adjust the sweep in flight.