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American Combat Planes of the 20th Century is an incredible reference for anyone who is interested in any American Combat Plane History. There are 758 pages and 1700 b/w photos in this substantial labor of love by Ray Wagner, who has been passionately researching and writing about aircraft for over 50 years. Whether you are already familiar with his past works, or just discovering this accomplished author for the first time... This is the book that you've been waiting for!

If you'd like to see the book's Table of Contents ... Click here. You can also browse the entire Index Section to get an idea of the extensive amount of information that is covered within this book.

Search our site for other combat planes. A- 1 Eaton A- 4 Skyhawk A- 6 & A- 7 Air Weapons AV- 8 to A- 10 A- 20 Havoc A- 22 Martin Maryland A- 23 Martin Baltimore A- 24 Douglas A- 26 Douglas Invader Attack Planes B- 2A, F-111, F-117 Stealth B- 17 Flying Fortress B- 24 Liberator B- 25 North American B- 26 Marauder B- 29 Superfortress B- 32 Dominator B- 35 Flying Wing B- 36 B- 47 Stratojet B- 50 Boeing B- 52 Stratofortress B- 57 Canberra B- 58 Hustler Biplanes Biplanes, Army Pursuits Bombers, B- 70 to Stealth Bombers, First Big Curtiss Falcon CO- 1 DH- 4 De Havilland F3D- Douglas Skyknight F3H- McDonnell Demon F4D- 1 Skyray F4F Grumman Wildcats F- 4U Corsair F6F Grumman F7F Grumman F7U Vought F9F G. Cougar F9F G. Panther F- 16 Fighting Falcon F- 84 F- 86 Sabre F- 89 to F-94 F- 100 to F-108 First Fighters Flying Boats GAX Iraq to Afghanistan Martin Bombers Missile Era Fighters Navy Fighers Navy Flying Boats O- 2 Douglas P- 35 Seversky P- 36 to 42 Curtiss P- 38 Lightning P- 39 Airacobra P- 40 Line P- 47 Thunderbolt P- 51 Mustang Fighter P- 61 Black Widow P- 63 Kingcobra P- 79 to P-81 P- 82 Twin Mustang SB2C Helldiver TBF-TBM Avenger Thomas-Morse Torpedo Planes V- 11 Vultee XB -28 XP -48 / 77

B-35 Flying Wing

Page 1

Northrop’s Flying Wing

Strategic Air Command (SAC) inherited a trio of bomber projects developed during World War II period. A radical Northrop flying wing, a six-engine Consolidated giant, and a more conventional Boeing all took advantage of the 3,000-hp Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major. NORTHROP YB-35

The most unconventional bomber of this era was the XB-35 flying wing, designed by John K. Northrop. His light wooden experimental twin-engine N-1M, first flown in July 1940, had demonstrated the possibilities of aircraft carrying all loads and controls within the wing and dispensing with fuselage and tail sections. The larger the aircraft, the greater the savings in weight and drag reduction, so an Air Force request on April ll, 1941, for bomber designs that could carry a 10,000-pound load halfway across a 10,000-mile range gave Northrop a chance for a bold step.

Encouraged by Air Force leaders, his company proposed a four-engine flying wing bomber, design NS-9E, and procurement was endorsed in a September 9 conference with General Oliver P. Echols, AMD Chief. A contract for a 1/3-scale flying model (N-9M) was approved October 3, 1941, to test the configuration’s characteristics before XB-35 construction actually began. The prototype contract approved November 22, 1941, ordered an XB-35 to be delivered in two years. A second XB-35 prototype added to that contract on January 2, 1942, was expected to be delivered in April 1944.

Engineers of Northrop’s small new factory at Hawthorne, California, began 1942 with three quite radical projects: the single-engine XP-56 interceptor, the twin-engine XP-61 night fighter, and the four-engine XB-35. Although Northrop would not guarantee any performance levels before the small-scale model was flight tested, the AAF was confidant enough to order 13 YB-35 service-test aircraft on December 17, 1942.

The first N-9M flew on December 27, 1942, powered by two Menasco engines. Although it crashed on its 45th flight, three more were built, resuming the flight program on June 24, 1943. Optimism about the early results led to a June 30, 1943, contract to have Martin engineer and build 200 B-35Bs at the Omaha plant, but this was canceled May 26, 1944, when it was realized that the flying wing could not be ready in time for that war. Despite many technical delays, the radical design’s potential continued to spark Air Force interest.

The XB-35 was first flown by Max R. Stanley from Hawthorne to Muroc on June 25, 1946, 55 months after the contract was approved. The power plant consisted of Pratt & Whitney Wasp Majors (two R-4360-17s outboard and two R-4360-21s inboard) with double turbosuperchargers and extended drive shafts for co-axial counterrotating Hamilton four-bladed pusher propellers. These dual propellers proved unsatisfactory, and after 3 flights, the XB-35 was grounded until March 1947.

The second XB-35 began test flights on June 26, 1947, but after only 11 flights by the first prototype and four by the second, the big Northrops were grounded in August 1947 to replace the dual-rotation system with Curtiss single-rotation propellers. Seven more flights were made by the first XB-35 from February 12 to April 1, 1948, but it wasn’t flown again until its return to the factory on October 7 for scrapping after less than 24 flight hours. NORTHROP XB-35

Single-rotation propellers were also fitted to the second XB-35 and to the first YB-35 flown May 12, 1948, which was the only flying wing actually fitted with gun turrets. The crew consisted of nine men in the pressurized center section (two pilots, with a bombardier, engineer, navigator, radioman, and three gunners), plus accommodations for six relief men. Northrop’s control system was the first fully-powered hydraulic system on an American airplane, and the NACA 65 wing section was thick enough (seven feet at the apex) to enclose the retracted double-wheel landing gear and all of the equipment.

The eight bomb bays held from 10,498 to 51,200 (thirty-two 1,600-pound) pounds of bombs, but none of those bays was large enough for an atomic bomb. Twenty .50-caliber M-2 guns were in seven remote-controlled turrets aimed from central sighting stations behind the pilot, on top and beneath a cone protruding from the trailing edge. Four-gun turrets were spotted above and below the center section, two-gun turrets were visible outboard of the engines, one pair on top, another below, and four guns could be placed in the tail cone.

All test flights had been made from Muroc, now Edwards Air Force Base, by company pilots, and the pre-test performance estimates were not verified. Jet propulsion had rendered the original concept obsolete, but interest in the flying-wing principle with jet propulsion continued. To save enough funds for that YB-49 program, both XB-35s and the YB-35 were scrapped in August 1949.

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