military-aircraft-xb-35

John Northrop built his first flying wing in 1929 and was soon the main advocate of such aircraft, which offer lower drag and therefore higher performance on given power. in 1940 Northrop flew his N-1M with two small piston engines buried in the thick wing to drive pusher propellers, and the performance of this little plane did much to persuade the US Army Air Force that a flying wing strategic bomber was feasible. There followed four 60 ft. span N-9M demonstrators, the first of them flying in December 1942. In November 1941 the USAAF had ordered two XB-35 bombers with contra rotating pusher propeller units, an further 13 service test aircraft were ordered early in 1943 as eight YB-35s and five YB-35As. There were many problems to be solved, especially with propellers and the gearboxes, and the first XB-35 did not fly until June 1946. By this time the Convair B-36 was offering greater capability and a new generation of jet powered bombers was in the offing, so the contract for 200 B-35A production aircraft was canceled.

Description	Specifications
Manufacturer: Northrop	Length: 53 ft. 1 in.
First Flight: December 1942	Height: 20 ft. 1 in.
Model:	Wing Span: 172 ft. 0 in.
Crew: Seven.	Wing Area: 4,000.0 sq. ft.
Nickname: Flying Wing	Empty Weight: 89,560 lb.
Basic Role: Strategic heavy bomber prototype.	Max. Weight: 209,000 ft.
Other Versions: XB-35 two prototype, the second with conventional single rotation propellers. YB-35 service test type. YB-35A modified service test type.	Armament: Proposed twenty 0.5-in 12.7-mm machine guns in seven barrettes, and up to 10,000 lb. of bombs.
Principal User: USA	Propulsion
Performance	Power Plant: Pratt & Whitney R-4360-17/25 radial piston engines.
Range: 2,500 miles	Horsepower: 3,000-hp.
Max. Speed: 391 mph. at 35,000 ft.	No. Of Engines: Four
Ceiling: 40,000 ft.
Climb Rate: