![]() ![]() The military said that the YB-49 was not stable enough to be a good bombing platform and, despite its 500-mph speed, was not fast enough to compete in the dawning supersonic age. #DOUGLAS M2 MAILPLANE LICENSE#Ultimately, the Air Force awarded Northrop a contract for 300 B-49s, although 270 of those were to be built under license by Convair.Įxactly what happened next is the subject of much controversy. The jets solved a lot of the wing's performance problems, although they reduced its range and put it in more direct competition with the massive Convair B-36 bomber. Consequently, two of the prototypes were outfitted with eight jet engines and redesignated the YB-49. The XB-35 flew in 1946 but was plagued by delays and problems with its contrarotating propellers. The last of the four models, designated the N9M-B, incorporated the final design characteristics for the full-scale XB-35. Because the four-engine bomber involved such large jumps forward in many design areas, the contract also included the building of four one-third scale models to develop and flight test different critical technologies. aircraft manufacturers to submit bids for a long-range bomber capable of carrying 10,000 pounds of bombs 10,000 miles, unrefueled.īased on its N-1M results, Northrop proposed a large flying wing design and was awarded the contract for what became known as the XB-35. That aircraft, designated the N-1M, now sits in the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum's Garber restoration facility next door to the Silver Hill Fire Department in Suitland, Maryland.Īt the same time, the Battle of Britain was raging and military leaders realized that if England were lost, the United States would have no air bases from which to launch bombing raids on German territory. In 1940, the Northrop company finally built and flight tested a proof-of-concept wing with its own funds. Jack Northrop, founder and president of Northrop Aircraft, began working on a flying wing design in the late 1920s. To have one of the lost aircraft fly again would not only preserve an important piece of history it might also help to undo what many felt was a great wrong inflicted on the Northrop employees at the end of the flying wing program. ![]() Provost had worked on all the Northrop flying wing projects, and he knew of both their historical significance and the controversial saga of their rise and fall. Maybe this one could be brought back to life, as well. The museum had a tradition of restoring aircraft to flying status. It was a flying wing - the legacy and dream of Jack Northrop, and a piece of history Northrop employees thought had been destroyed forever.ĭumbfounded, Provost stared at the tattered aircraft, and then his enthusiasm began to soar. But Provost would have known the aircraft anywhere. To many, the decaying wood structure beneath the tarp would have been unrecognizable. He walked over to a corner and pulled back a tarpaulin. Wilson took Provost to the museum's "backyard," an area filled with old engines, parts, and derelict aircraft waiting to be restored. Wilson smiled and said, "I have something to show you." While at the museum, Provost mentioned his Northrop experience to Howard Wilson, who ran the museum's front office. But after hearing it mentioned on a television show one night, he decided to go take a look. Former Northrop engineer Bion Provost had never even heard of The Air Museum "Planes of Fame" at the Chino, California, airport before the summer of 1980. ![]()
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