Northrop XP-79B - The Flying Chainsaw

[Nostalgistic]

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Northrop XP-79B

   Hello everybody. I’d like to suggest the Northrop XP-79B for US aviation in War Thunder. The XP-79B was a jet-powered, prone-piloted flying wing interceptor. “Flying Ram” was one of the nicknames for this aircraft. Contrary to popular urban myth, the XP-79B was never intended to ram other aircraft since it was planned to have armament. Hence, I feel the “Flying Chainsaw” is a much more appropriate unofficial nickname for such aircraft due to the shape of its wings, which resemble an old-fashioned chainsaw. Anyways, the aircraft was designed and developed by Jack Northrop as a purely jet-powered interceptor for the US Army Air Forces, where the pilot would operate the aircraft in a prone position, supposedly to withstand much greater g-forces in pitch. The aircraft’s wings were reinforced with a welded aluminum structure to protect the fuel tanks from the enemy gunfire of the bombers. However, the project was canceled after the XP-79B was involved in a tragic accident.

Key Characteristics

• Flying wing interceptor aircraft
• Pilot operating in a prone position
• Fully retractable quadricycle landing gear
• Planned armament of four M2 Browning machine guns

History

As early as 1942, the US Army Air Forces was keen on getting high-speed interceptors powered by a rocket-fueled powerplant. Aware of this, the designer, Jack Northrop, personally approached and proposed a tailless rocket plane on September 15, 1942, in an unsolicited way. The design of his proposal, namely NS-14, was to have been an all-magnesium, rocket-powered, prone pilot interceptor projected to achieve 540 mph and take 6.1 minutes to reach 40,000 feet, with a 454-mile range. The design was so radical and intriguing in the era that it had interested the Army enough to order three mockups for wind tunnel and flight testing to collect data for risk reduction. This was to begin in November 1942.

In January 1943, the Army offered a contract for three prototypes with the designations MX-324 or XP-79. Testing of the prototypes was planned to include glides and flights with a rocket motor. Upon the results of the wind tunnel testing completed in the spring of 1943, the MX-324 was required to have a stabilizing vertical surface for high-speed stability.

On August 27, 1943, two MX-324 prototypes were towed into the air by a P-38 from dry lakes in the Mojave Desert, California. These aircraft were redesignated MX-334 as the pure glider and later installed with a fixed tricycle landing gear. During the flights, the gliders were evaluated and found to have stability and controllability problems. These problems were addressed through several design changes, with three different fin sizes being flight-tested. By May 19, 1944, the MX-334 gliders had completed 13 flights with speeds reaching 300 mph in dives and sustained test maneuvers.

By the summer of 1944, the aircraft was again modified and powered by a 2,009 lbf (8.94 kN) Aerojet XCAL-200 rocket motor. These aircraft were redesignated MX-324 to represent being powered by a rocket motor. On July 5, 1944, these aircraft became America’s first rocket aircraft to launch and fly with the rocket motor in flight after a tow to 15,000 feet. Eight glide and seven powered flights were later conducted through July. These were towed aloft on each flight.

However, because of the development issues related to Aerojet rocket engines, the USAAF canceled two MX-324 prototypes in September 1944. It left Northrop only one last prototype to develop as a new design that was to be powered by two Westinghouse 19B turbojet engines instead. This design had been in the works since March 1943 and was designated XP-79B or MX-365.

The XP-79B was changed to a more conventional aluminum structure and retained the general layout of the MX-324. Its engine nacelles were buried in the wing roots, with the pilot compartment between these. It was fitted with a quadricycle landing gear, which could be retracted into the nacelles. After incorporating several changes into the XP-79B, it was expected to have a top speed of 547 mph at sea level, 508 mph at 25,000 feet, and a 993-mile range. The armament was planned to be four 0.50-cal. machine guns with 200 to 250 rounds per gun in the wing leading edge.

The XP-79B was completed in June 1945 without guns installed and transported to Muroc Army Airfield, California, where it was sent to the Northrop facility for fitting the turbojet engines by the middle of August. After the Japanese surrender in the Pacific Theater and delays caused by burst tires and brake problems during taxiing, the XP-57B had completed taxi trials and was prepared for the maiden flight.

On September 12, 1945, the aircraft took off into the air and flew for 15 minutes. However, when it entered a slow roll, the aircraft somehow fell into an irrecoverable vertical spin toward Earth from 10,000 feet. The test pilot, Harry Crosby, bailed out at 2,000 feet but did not open his parachute and was killed after being allegedly struck by the spiraling aircraft during descent. The airframe was so badly burned that it left almost nothing of its traces, making an accident investigation impossible to find conclusive evidence. It was believed that a trim tab failure was attributed to the violent maneuver that resulted in Crosby’s death and loss of the airframe. The XP-79B’s maiden flight became its last flight.

Following this tragedy, the Army halted and terminated the XP-79B project, accompanying the second prototype in the works. No production plans were carried out as the Army moved on to other first-generation jet aircraft.

Specifications

Northrop XP-79B

General Characteristics

• Crew: 1 (Pilot)
• Dimensions:
  • Length: 14 ft (4.26 m)
  • Height: 7 ft (2.13 m)
  • Span: 38 ft (11.58 m)
  • Wing Area: 278 sq ft (25.82 sq m)
• Powerplant: 2 x Westinghouse 19B axial flow turbojet engines
  • Output: 2,730 lbf (12.14 kN) thrust
• Internal Fuel: 308 US gal. (1,130 L)
• Weights:
  • Empty: 5,840 lb (2,649 kg)
  • Gross: 8,669 lb (3,932 kg)

Performance (Estimates)

• Power-to-Weight Ratio: 0.31
• Wing Loading: 31.18 lb/sq ft (152.2 kg/sq m)
• Airspeeds:
  • Cruising: 480 mph (772 km/h)
  • Sea Level: 547 mph (880 km/h)
  • Critical Altitude: 508 mph @ 25,000 ft (818 km/h @ 25,000 ft)
• Climb Performance:
  • Time to Altitude: 4.7 minutes to 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
  • Service Ceiling: 40,000 ft (12,192 m)
• Combat Range: 993 miles (1,598 km)

Armament

• Guns:
  • 4 x 0.50-cal. M2 Browning machine guns (200-250 rpg; 800-1,000 rounds)

Artist’s impression of several production P-79Bs in their wartime service.

Diagrams

Cockpit

Images

Yes, I know this is a staged photograph with some photoshops.

Conclusion | Why it should be in the game

   The Northrop XP-79B was the USAAF’s jet-powered flying-wing fighter prototype, developed for the bomber-interceptor role. Unfortunately, it never entered production and service after a tragic accident, which led to the cancellation of the entire project.

   I feel the XP-79B would be a highly unique addition to War Thunder as either a premium or event aircraft. Gameplay-wise, it would behave like Horton or heavier Me-163/BI, which would undoubtedly have a higher BR than 7.0. It was supposed to be exceptionally maneuverable and fast in a zoom climb, although its four 0.50-cal. machine guns would likely struggle to hit anything that is also fast and maneuverable.

Sources

• The American Fighter: The Definitive Guide to American Fighter Aircraft from 1917 to the Present (1987)
• Fighters of the United States Air Force: From World War I Pursuits to the F-117 (1990)
• US Experimental & Prototype Aircraft Projects: Fighters 1939-1945 (2008)
• Northrop Flying Wings (2013)
• Northrop Flying Wings (X-Planes) (2019)
• Northrop XP-79 Bomber-Rammer / Bomber-Interceptor
• Northrop P-79
• Northrop XP-79 - Wikipedia

Thank you for taking the time to read my suggestion! 😃

[bbbdddaaa]

Looks so funny. +1

[jon_man1199]

Oh yes, please. This gets my absolute +1! It would make for a neat Premium Event or BP thingy or even just a normal premium!

[Tonedbasil69-live]

+1. Looks really silly so i likey

[MuccoPazzino-psn]

crazy design

[Pangolin_Fan]

Need

[foxtrot19673]

the american ho-229 is not real, it cannot hurt you
the american ho-229:

[BasherBenDawg8]

US flying wing?

[RunaDacino]

Love me some flying wings.

[HolmanTheHorror]

+1 from me, actually made a suggestion for it in the old forums. Honestly think it should go into the US TT on the basis that US the US suffers from a lot of it’s vehicles popping up in other tech trees, so it can certainly do with more prototypes in the TT to give more of a reason to grind it out.

[Pale_Horse_Rider]

Adorable. Especially the checker paint intakes.

What’s going on with the wing tips?

[Nostalgistic]

@Pale_Horse_Rider

What’s going on with the wing tips?

These are wingtip aero boost ducts to provide ram air pressure power for drag rudders. Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet used these same wing tips.