Northrop XP-79 | Military Wiki - Fandom

XP-79
The sole prototype XP-79B.
Role	Interceptor
Manufacturer	Northrop Corporation
Designer	Jack Northrop
First flight	12 September 1945
Retired	12 September 1945
Status	Prototype
Primary user	United States Army Air Forces
Number built	1

The Northrop XP-79 was an ambitious design for a flying wing fighter aircraft, designed by Northrop. It had several notable design features; among these, the pilot would operate the aircraft from a prone position, permitting the pilot to withstand much greater g-forces in the upward and downward direction with respect to the plane – and welded magnesium monocoque structure instead of riveted aluminum.

Contents

• 1 Design and development
• 2 Testing
• 3 Specifications (XP-79B)
• 4 See also
• 5 References
• 6 External links

Design and development[]

In 1942, John K. Northrop conceived the XP-79 as a high-speed rocket-powered flying-wing fighter aircraft.

In January 1943, a contract for three prototypes designation XP-79 was issued by the United States Army Air Forces.

To test the radical design, glider prototypes were built. One designated MX-324 was towed into the air on 5 July 1944 by a P-38 making it the first US-built rocket-powered aircraft to fly.[1]

Originally, it was planned to use a 2,000 lbf (9 kN) thrust XCALR-2000A-1 "rotojet" rocket motor supplied by Aerojet that used monoethyl aniline and red fuming nitric acid; because of the corrosive and toxic nature of the liquids, the XP-79 was built using a welded magnesium alloy monocoque structure (to protect the pilot if the aircraft was damaged in combat) with a ⅛ in (3 mm) skin thickness at the trailing edge and a ¾ in (19 mm) thickness at the leading edge. However, the rocket motor configuration using canted rockets to drive the turbopumps was unsatisfactory and the aircraft was subsequently fitted with two Westinghouse 19-B (J30) turbojets instead. This led to changing the designation to XP-79B. After the failure of the rocket motor, further development of the first two prototypes ended.

The pilot controlled the XP-79 through a tiller bar and rudders mounted below; intakes mounted at the wingtips supplied air for the unusual bellows-boosted ailerons.[2]

Testing[]

The XP-79B (after delays because of bursting tires and brake problems on taxiing trials on the Muroc dry lake) was lost on its first flight 12 September 1945. While performing a slow roll 15 minutes into the flight, control was lost for unknown reasons. The nose dropped and the roll continued with the aircraft impacting in a vertical spin. Test pilot Harry Crosby attempted to bail out but was struck by the aircraft and fell to his death. Shortly thereafter, the project was cancelled.

Specifications (XP-79B)[]

Data from[citation needed]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)
• Wingspan: 38 ft 0 in (11.58 m)
• Height: 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)
• Wing area: 278 ft² (25.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 5,840 lb (2,650 kg)
• Loaded weight: 8,669 lb (3,932 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse 19B turbojet, 1,150 lbf (5.1kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 547 mph (880 km/h)
• Range: 993 mi (1,598 km)
• Service ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,200 m)
• Rate of climb: 4,000 ft/min (1,220 m/min)
• Wing loading: 31 lb/ft² (153 kg/m²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.27

Armament

• Guns: 4 × .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns (never fitted)

See also[]

• Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52
• de Havilland DH 108
• Gloster Meteor F8 "Prone Pilot"
• Horten Ho 229
• Messerschmitt Me 163
• List of military aircraft of the United States
• List of jet aircraft of World War II

References[]

Notes

1. ↑ Winchester 2005, p. 150.
2. ↑ Winchester 2005, p. 151.

Bibliography

• Jenkins, Dennis R. and Tony R. Landis. Experimental and Prototype U.S. Air Force Jet Fighters. North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press, 2008. ISBN 978-1-58007-111-6.
• Pape, Garry and John Campbell. Northrop Flying Wings. Atglen, Pennsylvania, Schiffer Publications, 1995, ISBN 0-88740-689-0.
• Winchester, Jim. The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters. London: Amber Books Ltd., 2005. ISBN 1-904687-34-2.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northrop XP-79.

• National Museum of the USAF Fact Sheet: Northrop XP-79B
• Northrop XP-79

v t e USAAS/USAAC/USAAF/USAF fighter designations 1924–1962 Pursuit (pre-1948)Fighter (post-1948) P-1 P-2 P-3 XP-4 P-5 P-6 XP-7 XP-8 XP-9 XP-10 P-11 P-12 XP-13 XP-14 XP-15 P-16 P-17 YP-18 YP-19 YP-20 P-21 XP-22 P-23 YP-24 P-25 P-26 P-27 P-28 P-29 P-30 XP-31 P-32 P-33 XP-34 P-35 P-36 P-37 P-38 P-39 P-40 XP-41 P-42 P-43 P-44 P-45 XP-46 P-47 XP-48 XP-49 XP-50 P-51 XP-52 P-53 XP-54 XP-55 XP-56 XP-57 XP-58 P-59 P-60 P-61/C XP-62 P-63 P-64 P-65 P-66 XP-67 XP-68 P-69 P-70 XP-71 XP-72 P-73 P-741 P-75 XP-76 XP-77 P-78 XP-79 P-80 XP-81 P-82 XP-83 P-84 XP-85 P-86/D XP-87 P-88 P-89 XF-90 XF-91 XF-92 YF-93 F-94 F-95 F-96 F-97 F-98 F-99 F-100 F-101 F-102 XF-103 F-104 F-105 F-106 F-107 XF-108 XF-109 F-110 F-111/B Pursuit, Biplace PB-1 PB-2 PB-3 Fighter, Multiplace FM-1 FM-2 1 Not assignedSee also: F-24  • F-117  • P-400  • post-1962 sequence

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