Northrop XP-79

History of the Northrop XP-79

The concept of flying wings has been around since the early days of flying and became more interesting in the 1920s and 1930s. Both Germans and Americans tried its development with varying degrees of success before and during World War II.

So it's no secret that John Northrop, a prominent American aircraft engineer, had some sort of innate obsession with developing such viable flying-wing aircraft, until the Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bomber came along. , he did it technically. Northrop saw it before he died. The simple wing shape, which does away with all drag-causing tail surfaces and the lack of a truly defined fuselage of traditional aircraft, is characterized by its one-piece approach, the wing and its integrated fuselage sections allow for a very natural lift mass, fuel , extensive internal storage of systems and weapons, and allows the structure to exert greater forces than conventionally designed airframes.

The XP-79 program represented one of Northrop's failed attempts to fly a wing, which ultimately yielded much valuable information during its development.

The war in Europe exhibited some characteristics in its early stages. Several key metrics include the value of building bomber formations combined with hundreds of strike fighters. During the early to mid-war period, Allied war planners got very little, so any attempt to gain an advantage was taken into account. To deter the enemy from using bomber formations to attack Allied targets, aircraft need to be developed to deal with the threat.

As America's war machine went wild, money flowed to contractors from coast to coast. This process also helps formulate new military requirements and allows engineers to produce on a seemingly blank canvas, resulting in some of the craziest concepts ever created.

In practice, the XP-79 was launched from a nearby Allied air base to counter approaching enemy bombers. It will launch quickly by using a rocket booster (called JATO - "Jet Fuel Assisted Takeoff") and reach a high altitude within minutes.

Since no weapons were designed with this design, XP-79 pilots would make multiple high-speed flights through enemy formations and use the reinforced leading edges of the wings to effectively "sever" the frame of the enemy bomber itself. In theory, since the XP-79 would be moving at such high speeds, enemy gunners wouldn't be able to aim and fire the aircraft in time, so there was little apparent danger to the XP-79 pilot - except for the fact that he was expected to use his special aircraft Crash into the enemy.

Bulletproof glass mounts on the cockpit protect the pilot's head and face during dives, while the front wing edges are reinforced with armor plates to absorb shocks.

In January 1943, the U.S. government awarded Northrop a formal defense contract for three XP-79 aircraft. When the Aerojet rocket engine failed, the military dropped consideration of two of the three planes and turned to Westinghouse to build brand-new turbojets for its new vehicles. Westinghouse supplied a pair of 19-B series axial jet turbojets, each rated at 1,150 pounds of thrust. The flying ram concept also started to lose some momentum, as the XP-79 was then ordered to be modestly equipped with 4x.50 caliber Browning M2 heavy machine gun batteries. Armed with armament, the XP-79's tactical doctrine can be transformed from a flying ram to a powerful interceptor and operated in a more traditional fashion.

The single prototype under consideration was also further defined with the designation "XP-79B". She was built and ready for testing and delivery in June 1945. The aircraft made its first flight at the Northrop factory on September 12, 1945.

Looking at the timing of the war from this moment, Hitler committed suicide and Germany surrendered in late May 1945. In the Pacific, American B-29s surrendered only after the atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In August 1945, the world war was truly over. For now, the XP-79 is gearing up for demand that no longer exists - many post-war projects will soon see a chopping block and eventual demise.

In addition, enemy Luftwaffe bomber formations never appeared in the middle and late stages of the war. Every value of the Hitler bomber was truly honored in the Battle of Britain.

After the failed attempt to capture the British Isles, the German military industry focused more on the production of fighter jets than on the production of new bombers. As a result, the massive formations of German bombers feared by Allied war planners would never materializemaking the development of "bomber-destroyer" such as the XP-79 a contentious issue. Air superiority was eventually achieved over Europe and the Pacific, allowing Allied bombers and fighters to attack mainland Germany and mainland Japan at will.

In both cases, the enemy always deployed only capable light and medium bombers - not on the scale of the Allied Lancasters, Flying Fortresses, Superfortresses and Liberators, which appeared in the thousands.

The XP-79B's first flight will be its last. The XP-79Bs engine took off in the solitude of the Muroc Dry Lakes facility and recovered under the control of test pilot Harry Crosby. However, as Crosby descended the hill, a U.S. Army fire truckfor whatever reasonmanaged to cross his launch path, forcing Crosby to let go of the gas and preventing the truck from passing. Once free, he throttles the XP-79B to full and then explodes.

After about 14 minutes in the air, Crosby attempted his first bank maneuver, and the XP-79B could be seen losing control, beginning an unrecoverable spin toward the ground from an altitude of about 10,000 feet. With all control lost, Crosby exited the plane through an available access hatch in the center section of the fuselage and attempted a traditional parachute rescue - only to be hit by one of the now-unmanned XP-79B's rotating wings.

Then both the pilot and the plane fell to the desert floor, the XP-79B caught fire and exploded, and Crosby was killed (assuming he was either unconscious or dead after being hit in midair. The XP-79 program proved in more than one way) A complete failure, and no more adventures surfaced after that.

The XP-79 went down in history and took away one of the most famous test pilots.

Performance specifications for the XP-79B and its Westinghouse engine include a top speed of 525 mph, a service ceiling of 40,000 feet, and a rate of climb approaching 6,000 feet per minute. The curb weight is 5,840 pounds, while the loaded weight is 8,670 pounds.

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