Even confronted with the sad remains of the P1101, engineer Robert Wood of Bell Aircraft was able to see the possibilities of its swing-wing configuration. With that conviction he went to persuade its company jointly with NACA to fund a research project around that idea. Getting their hand on the German prototype, it was precisely an evolution of the Messerschmitt basic design which became the X-5. Two prototypes were eventually built, the maiden flight of the first took place in June 1951. Contrary to the P1101, the X-5s wing could be changed in flight (from 20º to 60º). Despite the sad loss of one of the X-5s, the whole program proved to be very productive, generating considerable data about the matter.
Superbly descriptive time-lapse photo.
Aviation Rapture 