List of rocket aircraft
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. This list of rocket planes is an incomplete listing, sorted by type of launch used, and date of aircraft that used rocket propulsion as a primary means of sustaining flight:
Contents
Conventional take-off
Rocket propelled aircraft that use a runway to takeoff.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1928 |  Germany |
Lippisch Ente | first rocket-powered aircraft |
| 1929 | Germany |
Opel RAK.1 | first purpose-built rocket-powered aircraft |
| 1939 |  Germany |
He 176 | liquid-fuel rocket-powered testbed |
| 1940 |  Soviet Union |
Korolyov RP-318 | powered by Glushko and Dushkin engines, unmanned tests in 1938. |
| 1940 | Germany |
DFS 194 | rocket-powered glider test plane |
| 1942 | Soviet Union |
Bereznyak-Isayev BI-1 | short-range interceptor powered by Dushkin and Isaev engines |
| 1944 | Germany |
Me 163 | tailless rocket-powered interceptor used in World War II |
| 1944 | Germany |
Me 263 | also known as Ju 248, development of Me 163 |
| 1944 | Germany |
He P.1077 Julia | proposed rocket-powered interceptor, not built. |
| 1944 | Germany |
Focke-Wulf Volksjäger | three units under construction at the time of the Surrender of Nazi Germany.[1] |
| 1944 | Germany |
Ju EF.127 Walli | proposed rocket-powered interceptor, not built |
| 1944 |  United States |
Northrop XP-79 | Experimental point defense interceptor flying wing. Converted to jet engines before first and only flight. |
| 1945 |  Japan |
Mitsubishi J8M | was to have been a licensed Messerschmitt Me 163 but the plans were lost so was only similar. |
| 1945 | Japan |
Rikugun Ki-202 | Improved version of the J8M/Ki-200 with the fuselage elongated for longer flight endurance. |
| 1945 | Japan |
Mizuno Shinryu II | Second aircraft developed in Japan to use a canard design after the J7W1. The end of the war stopped further development with none being built. |
| 1948 | Soviet Union |
Bisnovat 5 | Russian design based from earlier captured DFS 346, cancelled (never flew under power) |
| 2001 | United States |
EZ-Rocket | experimental Rutan Long-EZ with rocket replacing piston engine |
| 2006 | United States |
Mark I X-racer | Customized Velocity SE, prototype for Rocket Racing League.[2][3] |
| 2010 | United States |
Mark-III X-racer | from Rocket Racing League[4] |
Mixed power
Aircraft that used rockets as well as another type of powerplant (usually either jet engines or a piston engine). All are manned aircraft unless stated otherwise. Does not include aircraft temporarily fitted with external booster rockets (such as JATO, RATO or RATOG). All are conventionally launched.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Germany |
Heinkel He 112R | flown with both Walther and von Braun rockets, piston engine used to achieve flight for test. |
| 1944 | Soviet Union |
Sukhoi Su-7 | Sukhoi Su-6 with RD-1 kHz (chemical ignition RD-1) engine and piston engine. |
| 1945 | Soviet Union |
Yak-3RD | Modified Yakovlev Yak-3 with Glushko RD-1 kHz engine and piston engine. |
| 1945 | Soviet Union |
Lavochkin La-7R | Glushko RD-1 kHz engine and piston engine. |
| 1949 |  United Kingdom |
Hawker P.1072 | test bed with Armstrong Siddeley Snarler rocket booster mounted in the tail |
| 1949 | United States |
Republic XF-91 Thunderceptor | rocket and jet engines |
| 1953 |  France |
SNCASO Trident | rocket mounted in tail and turbojet engines on wingtips |
| 1956 | France |
SNCASE SE-212 Durandal | prototype interceptor |
| 1956 | United Kingdom |
Avro 720 | mixed power cancelled before flight |
| 1957 | United Kingdom |
Saunders-Roe SR.53 | prototype interceptor, first flew 1957, cancelled 1960. |
| 1957 | United Kingdom |
Saunders-Roe SR.177 | development of SR.53, cancelled 1958 |
| 1963 | United States |
Lockheed NF-104A | rocket and jet engine powered spaceflight trainer |
Air-launched
Aircraft that are dropped from a mothership, usually at altitude. All are manned unless noted otherwise.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Germany |
Sombold So 344 | bomber box buster with a detachable explosive nose (Project only). |
| 1944 | Germany |
Fliegende Panzerfaust | towed behind a Messerschmitt Me 109G |
| 1944 | Germany |
Zeppelin Rammer | designed to use the aerial ramming technique against Allied bombers (Concept only.) |
| 1944 | Germany |
Arado E.381Kleinstjäger | carried by an Arado Ar 234(Not built.) |
| 1944 | Germany |
Me P.1104 | short-range interceptor (Not built.) |
| 1945 | Japan |
Ohka | air-launched kamikaze aircraft |
| 1947 | United States |
Bell X-1 | first aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight (Also conventional take off on one occasion) |
| 1953 | United States |
Douglas D-588-II Skyrocket | supersonic research aircraft |
| 1955 | United States |
Bell X-2 | supersonic research aircraft |
| 1959 | United States |
North American X-15 | hypersonic research aircraft |
| 1969 | United States |
Martin Marietta X-24A | re-entry/lifting body research aircraft |
| 1973 | United States |
Martin Marietta X-24B | re-entry/lifting body research aircraft |
Vertically launched
Aircraft that are launched vertically as a rocket but which use conventional aerodynamic controls during flight.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Germany |
Bachem Ba 349 "Natter" | Point defence interceptor. breaks apart in flight for pilot to parachute to land. Single launch resulted in fatality. |
| 1963 | United States |
ASSET | unmanned atmospheric reentry test vehicle |
| 1966 | United States |
X-23 PRIME | unmanned atmospheric reentry test vehicle |
| 1982 | Soviet Union |
BOR-4 | unmanned atmospheric reentry test vehicle |
Spaceplanes
Spaceplanes are aircraft that are able of reaching the edge of space where conventional aerodynamic controls lose their effectiveness. Must use aerodynamic surfaces at some stage of flight and be manned.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Germany |
Silbervogel | sub orbital bomber project, mock up and wind tunnel models only. |
| 1959 | United States |
X-15 | carried to altitude by B-52, made numerous supersonic and hypersonic flights |
| 1981 | United States |
Space Shuttle | rocket assisted vertical take-off/unpowered landing |
| 1988 | Soviet Union |
Buran Shuttle | normally manned but fully automated. One unmanned flight made. Payload of Erergia rocket, Buran's own engines only used for final boost to orbit |
| 2004 | United States |
Scaled Composites SpaceShipOne | first civilian-funded reusable spacecraft, lifted by White Knight to about 14 km |
| 2008 | United States |
XCOR Lynx | suborbital horizontal takeoff and landing, rocket-powered spaceplane, unflown. |
| 2010 | United States |
Scaled Composites SpaceShipTwo | prototype for Virgin Galactic commercial spaceplane in flight testing. |
See also
References
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- ↑ Luft'46 - Focke-Wulf Volksjäger
- ↑ X-Racers, Start Your Rockets! : The creators of the X prize offer a sensational vision of rocket-powered airplanes speeding through the sky. But can their new racing league steal a bit of Nascar's thunder?, Michael Belfiore, Popular Science (feature cover story), 2006-02-15, accessed 2010-09-02.
- ↑ XCOR X-Racer, by Nancy Atkinson, Universe Today, 2009-08-06, accessed 2010-12-11.
- ↑ Flying inside the groove: the latest rocket-powered test aircraft take just four seconds to get into the air from ignition. The brink of take-off for the RRL, Aerospace Testing International, June 2010, pp. 50-54, accessed 2010-09-06.
