Legacy Notes & Full Historical Record

This section preserves the original unedited Shotline content for this wreck so that no historical detail is lost as we transition to the new logbook format.

AIRCRAFT CRASH REPORT – BELL X-2 #2 (46-675)

IDENTIFICATION & SITE INFORMATION

• Aircraft Name: Bell X-2 No. 2
• Type: Experimental Rocketplane (Captive Flight Test Vehicle)
• Role: Supersonic and high-altitude research
• Location: Lake Ontario – between Trenton, Ontario, and Rochester, New York
• Coordinates (Estimated): Approx. 43°55′N, 77°35′W (general search area)
• Depth: Unknown – presumed unrecoverable, likely 200+ ft (61+ m)
• Date of Loss: May 12, 1953
• Discovered: Not recovered – declared lost
• Accessibility: Inaccessible; presumed deep lakebed site in international waters
• Incident Classification: Explosion / Flight Test Accident / High-altitude Experimental Loss
• Casualties: 2 fatalities (Jean Leroy “Skip” Ziegler, Bell; Frank Wolko, USAF), 1 injured (Robert F. Walters, USAF)

AIRCRAFT TYPE DESCRIPTION

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.

• Crew: 1 (pilot, internal cockpit during flight)
• Length: 37 ft 10 in (11.5 m)
• Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.8 m)
• Height: 11 ft 10 in (3.6 m)
• Max Takeoff Weight: 24,910 lb (11,300 kg)
• Engine: 1× Curtiss-Wright XLR25 (15,000 lbf thrust)

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 AND MISSION PROFILE

• First Flight (X-2 Program): June 27, 1952
• Purpose: Supersonic research in the Mach 2–3+ regime and altitudes exceeding 100,000 ft
• Sponsor: U.S. Air Force, with test operations conducted by Bell Aircraft
• Final Flight Goal: Captive flight test to verify liquid oxygen (LOX) top-off system while mated to B-50A mothership

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.

INCIDENT SUMMARY

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.

Investigation Findings:

• Immediate cause: Explosion of LOX system onboard X-2
• Probable root cause: Faulty Ulmer leather gaskets used in LOX systems; these released tricresyl phosphate, a chemical that caused detonation when exposed to supercooled oxygen environments
• The same issue was later linked to other X-series explosions (X-1 #3, X-1A, and X-1D)

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

WRECK SITE & SEARCH EFFORTS

• 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.

LEGACY & HERITAGE

The loss of X-2 #2 was a major setback in the supersonic flight program but contributed to a better understanding of the extreme challenges in LOX-based propulsion. The program:

• Pioneered aerodynamic heating mitigation via advanced steel alloys
• Led to design and safety reforms in high-Mach aircraft
• Influenced designs for the X-15, lifting bodies, and early spaceplane concepts

Bell Aircraft and the USAF continued the X-2 program, culminating in a record-setting flight in 1956, when Captain Milburn Apt reached Mach 3.196 in X-2 #1 (he too was lost shortly after that flight).

This incident, like many of the X-series, pushed aviation forward at immense personal cost—highlighting the human toll behind cutting-edge aerospace milestones.

RESOURCES & LINKS

• NASA Dryden Photo Archive – X-2 Program
• This Day in Aviation – X-2 #2 Incident
• Edwards AFB History – Bell X-2 Program Overview
• Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum – Experimental Aircraft
• County Magazine (Winter 1979), “Bomber Disaster over Lake Ontario” – Eyewitness account, Stanley Rankin interview

CONCLUSION

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.

x-2-46-675-77 1953-05-12 07:52:00