Bell X2 (#2-46-675 – Lake Ontario Aircraft Shipwreck (1953)

Shotline Diving Wreck Profile

• Name: Bell X-2 No. 2
• Type: Experimental Rocketplane
• Year Built:
• Builder: Bell Aircraft Corporation
• Dimensions: Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.5 m); Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.8 m); Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
• Registered Tonnage:
• Depth at Wreck Site: 61 m / 200 ft
• Location: Lake Ontario – between Trenton, Ontario, and Rochester, New York
• Coordinates: Approx. 43°55′N, 77°35′W (general search area)
• Official Number: 46-675

Wreck Location Map

Vessel Type

The Bell X-2 was a U.S. Air Force/NACA experimental rocket plane designed to explore Mach 2–3 flight and extremely high altitudes beyond those achieved by the earlier Bell X-1. Built by Bell Aircraft Corporation in Niagara Falls, New York, the X-2 featured a stainless steel and K-Monel alloy airframe, necessary to endure aerodynamic heating at hypersonic speeds.

Description

The aircraft was designed to be air-launched from a modified Boeing B-50A Superfortress, rather than take off under its own power. Two were constructed: Aircraft #1 (46-674), and #2 (46-675 – subject of this report).

History

On May 12, 1953, the Bell X-2 #2 was undergoing a captive carry test, meaning it remained attached in the bomb bay of the EB-50A to evaluate the mid-air LOX replenishment system—critical for its high-performance flight missions.

Significant Incidents

• At an altitude of approximately 30,000 feet, during this captive flight over Lake Ontario, a violent explosion occurred in the B-50A’s bomb bay.
• The X-2 #2 (46-675), still secured in the bomb bay, detonated, likely from a LOX-related fire or pressure event.
• The explosion ejected the X-2 from the bay, sending it plummeting into the lake where it was completely lost.
• The B-50 mothership suffered severe damage.
• Jean “Skip” Ziegler, Bell’s Chief of Flight Research, was in the bomb bay area during the explosion and was killed instantly.
• USAF engineer Frank Wolko, stationed in the aft section of the B-50, was also killed.
• Robert F. Walters, another technician, was badly burned and permanently injured.
• The B-50 was miraculously landed at Niagara Falls Airport (Bell facility) by Captains William J. Leyshon and David Howe. The aircraft never flew again.

Final Disposition

• Aircraft Status: Lost, unrecovered
• Human Remains: Never recovered; presumed perished in lake
• Debris: Minimal, if any, surface wreckage located
• Salvage Attempts: None successful; heavy fog and weather conditions hampered searches

Current Condition & Accessibility

• Search Area: Between Trenton, Ontario and Rochester, NY
• Depth Estimate: 200–400 feet (Lake Ontario max depth in region ~800 ft)
• Search Conducted: Canadian and U.S. military personnel responded; limited to aerial and surface grid sweeps
• Wreck Status: Unlocated. The explosion and high descent velocity suggest deep burial or dispersion across the lakebed.

Resources & Links

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The Bell X-2 #2 remains a silent, sunken relic of the space age’s infancy, hidden somewhere beneath Lake Ontario. Its story is one of brilliance, bravery, and tragic loss, deeply interwoven with the ambitions of Cold War aerospace development.

This record is preserved in Shotline Diving’s Aircraft Wrecks archive not only as a matter of historical fact but as a tribute to Ziegler, Wolko, and all who flew at the edge of the envelope.