Douglas D558-1 Skystreak

In December 1944, after NACA launched the rocket engine powered XS-1 (X-1) with U.S.A.A.F for the supersonic flight research, NACA and U.S. Navy preferred other aircraft that could able to fly transonic speed for a long time with turbojet power. Douglas was selected to propose the design as Douglas was conceived some high performance planes for Navy at that time. In February 1945, Douglas offered the Model D-558 design and was received contract for six testbeds but later changed to three. The first D-558-1 was rolled out in February 1947 and was made it first flight in April. During its ninth flight in August, the D-558-1 set a new world speed record at Mach 0.85. After it reached its max speed at Mach 1.01 in September 1948, the first D-558-1 was served as spare for the third D-558-1 while the second D-558-1 was crashed during test by NACA. From April 1949 to June 1953, the third D-558-1 carried out an intensive research programs that allowed NACA to perfect its knowledge in aerodynamics