The Northrop YB-35 an aircraft which was designed by the Northrop Corporation towards the end of the 1940s occupies an important position in the history of aviation. This particular bomber is best recalled for its unconventional flying wing and as an instrument of pushing the course of aviation history forward. While the YB-35 never progressed to a full production model, its very existence played an important role in the development of both military and civilian aircraft that were to follow.
In this article, we will discuss the development of Northrop YB-35, certain specific characteristics of its design, and significant technologies used within the aircraft, as well as the further evolution of these concepts..
What is Northrop YB-35?
The Northrop YB-35 was developed during the Second World War period, during which air forces of different countries developed rapidly. The aircraft was in the developmental project organized by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) to build long-range strategic bombers capable of undertaking missions over large distances. The major underlying feature of the YB-35 design was the flying wing concept; this was a radical innovation from other bombers that included a fuselage and tail.
The design was done following aerodynamics and stealth qualities in the car. When stripped of its tail and fuselage; the YB-35 was to theoretically carry less drag, improved stability and higher efficiency. It would later be used in the model of the bombers like the B-2 Spirit bomber.
The Northrop YB-35 had several problems on its way – both, technical and political – and was cancelled after that. However, it played a most significant role in evolution of modern stealth bombers and long range aircraft.
Function of the Northrop YB-35
Flying Wing Configuration
The Northrop YB-35 was a unique aircraft because of its flying wing design that focused on a streamlined shape of the aircraft during its development stage. The more conventional aircraft designs employ fuselage and tail as stabilizing and control devices. The flying wing, however, is a blended wing-body type in which the whole wing has to generate both lift and stability. This design was revolutionary and offered several advantages:
Reduced Drag: The lack of fuselage and tail whereby, extensively reduced the level of drag thereby enabling higher speeds and better fuel efficiency.
Increased Lift: The fact that the wing had such a large surface area offered a high L/D ratio in relation to its weight.
Stealth Potential: The flying wing shape would be beneficial in avoiding detection because of its low radar section; a factor the military later optimized centuries.
The difficulty of flying wing design was associated with controlling and stability, especially with low speed. To counter this, the YB-35 introduced a few design elements, such as the flight control mechanisms.
Powerplant and Performance
The Northrop YB-35 was equipped with 8 turbojet engines, each of which was located on the wings of the aircraft. These engines supplied adequate power for these types of ranges, velocity, and productivity of activities. Group 1 aircraft had a wing span of 172 feet thus considered as one of the biggest aircraft in use at that time. However, because of its small dimensions, the YB-35 offered rather efficient characteristics – its maximum flight rate was higher than 500 mph (805 km/h) and the maximum range was 6000 miles (9664 km).
The YB-35 model was designed to handle the greatest number of bombs and to deliver these to enemy targets from significant throws away. It was an innovative aircraft which provided blueprint to several modern long-range bombers including the B-52 Stratofortress.
Advanced Control Systems
Another compelling problem that was established about the YB-35 was that of turbulence. Since the flying wing lacks a tail and fuselage of a conventional aircraft, it demanded an extraordinary flight control system. That is why, The Northrop Corporation equipped the aircraft with a complex of the control surfaces such as elevons – the elevators and ailerons that allowed the necessary stability and control at different flight speeds of the M-21.
These control surfaces in combination with the YB-35’s avionic and autopilot systems enabled the aircraft to be flown with higher accuracy than most of the aircraft of the time. Such a level of technology was hardly expected; all the more when built at the end of the 1940s.
Northrop YB-35: Operational History and Challenges
However, the YB-35 was initially developed to act as a long-range bomber aircraft. Its function was to perform operations where the airplane flew for great distances, unloaded its bombs on the enemy, and then fly back. Still, the design of YB-35 was promising, yet, the model was to meet severe technical and political problems on its way.
Development Timeline
The YB-35 flying wing was first designed in 1941 and was the project of its creator Jack Northrop who had started developing the idea several years before. Following early design work, a production contract of the plane was tendered by the U.S. Army Air Forces in 1944. The first experiment plane, the YB-35, was ready in 1946, and the plane first flew the following year.
However, some other problems were realized, and the aircraft development was characterized by several delays and poor performance, mostly, in aspects of aircraft stability and control. To a large extent, these problems arose due to the progress in Jet formation technologies and the shift in the military requirements after the war.
In 1949, the development of the YB-35 was again step down, when the USAF decided that funding should also be provided to other programs such as B-36 and B-52 bombers. Therefore the YB-35 was later dropped and more conventional flying wings were proposed but hence proved influential.
Stability and control
It received some attention in the literature, though problems in these areas have not aroused as much concern as problems that relate to the speed of learning.
Of all the problems that contributed to the scrapping of the Northrop YB-35 project,one of the most important was the problem of stability. The flying wing structure had its benefits as far as its stability was concerned, but it had more issues with handling particularly on issues to do with taking off and landing of the plane.
Due to the elimination of the tail, the drone employed advanced flight control systems in order to gain stability. However, the YB-35′s control surfaces were state of the art for the period which was however still not enough to compensate for the inherent design bounding of this aircraft.
The aircraft had a reduced low-speed maneuverability, and the early models were associated with several accidents of instability that increased the crash rates. These technical problems together with the enhanced rate of technological development contributed to the cancellation of the program.
What was left to the world after the development of the Northrop YB-35?
Ending its production even before completion, the Northrop YB-35 nevertheless gave a powerful impetus to the development of aircraft with the flying wing design. However, the development of the YB-35 did not progress to mass production of the aircraft, the design can be seen in other several aircraft.
The B-2 Spirit Bomber: Taking Down the WTC and Pentagon
The YB-35 was followed by the much more successful Northrop B-2 Spirit, a technical stealth bomber fielded in the early Nineties. The B-2 has rather similar design features with references to the YB-35; the flying wing design reduces its radar visibility level and increases its stability and control.
Many of the basic flight and stability principles first implemented in the YB-35 were incorporated into the B-2 Spirit The B-2 Spirit, the first operational stealth bomber is a peer of the YB-35. Lessons that were given from YB-35 on controls surfaces,m aterial, and flight systems where taken into consideration when designing B-2 RA which is still the major force of United States air Force long strike aircraft.
Flying Wing Technology:
Its buying is associated with different phases including Technology Foresight, venture capital investment, Advanced Technology Applications, and other associated technologies.
The Northrop YB-35 also helped in the analysis of the flying wing concept in general. Despite these difficulties experienced in the 1940s and 1950s, it served as the foundation for future developments in aerodynamics, stealth, and control.
Flying wing concept would go on to influence other aircraft; one of which is the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider that’s currently in production. These next-generation bombers are said to carry even more features thus invigorating from the groundwork set by the YB-35.
The Consequences Of The Northrop YB-35
The Northrop YB-35 was one of the first aircraft that, irrespective of a brief operational career, left a great mark on the development of aviation technology. These features include its flying wing design, new control systems, not forgetting the bomber and the stealth capability laid down basis of modern bomber aircraft. In this way, although the YB-35 eventually met the same fate as many designs of the pre-war/beginning-of-war world, getting left behind in the rush for newer, improved designs, the lessons learned from this aircraft continue to echo through the designs of modern military aircraft, thus keeping the YB-35 alive.
FAQs
What was the purpose of flying the Northrop YB-35?
The Northrop YB-35 was developed as a long range, strategic bomber aircraft with the flying wing concept. It was designed to carry a large number of bombs to its targets and range, but since it did not go into mass production, it never reached full production because of the technical problems with the lateral stability and control mechanisms.
Why the YB-35 program was stopped?
The main reasons that led YB-35 program being was stopped because of stability and control troubles of the airplane, especially at low speeds. It also vanishes into the background beside other less unconventional bombers, B-36 and B-52, and in the context of a breakthrough development of military aviation in the post-war period.
How helped or influence the post World War II modern bombers by the example of YB-35?
While the YB-35 never came into operational service, its flying wing concept was later used in many stealth bombers such as the B-2 Spirit and the B-21 Raider.The YB-35 was the follow-on to, and greatly influenced by the original XB-35. As successors to the YB-35, many of the aerodynamic and control systems used in subsequent bombers were incorporated into these aircraft.
Was the YB-35 ever used during either World War II or the Korean War?
These will have to remain questions on paper because the YB-35 never saw any operational use. However, due to various technical problems and changes in military requirements, the programme was completed with only a few prototypes.
