In mid-1964 Northrop Corporation was contracted by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to produce two allmetal wingless lifting body re-entry research vehicles, based on experience gained with the Northrop M2-F1 glider, which made more than 500 flights in 1963-64. The two new vehicles were designated M2-F2 and HL-10 (Horizontal Landing, 10th concept)…
In 1955, Radioplane developed the Model RP-7l Falconer as a derivative of the OQ-19/MQM-33 series of target drones. The drone was launched by a solid rocket booster from a zero-length launcher, and was recovered by parachute. The RP-7l had onboard still picture (and optional TV) cameras, and was used by the US Army as the…
Designed and flown by Ron Beattie and Walt Fellers, two North American Engineers who came to work for the Northrop Division. The aircraft was built by the Acme Aircraft Company (Sierradyne Inc.) Crawford and Keeney, at the Torrance Airport in late 1948. The first flight was on 23 November 1953. It was built according to…
The YF-23A “Black Widow II” was the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas team’s entry into the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition. The four-way ATF competition pitted the Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A “Black Widow II” team against the Lockheed/Boeing/General Dynamics YF-22A “Lightning II” team. The Pratt & Whitney YF119 engine competed with the General Electric YF120 engine. At the end…
The Northrop KD2R5 “Shelduck” basic training drone was used internationally by the armed forces of at least 18 countries. The KD2R5 was used as a training device for ground-to-air gunnery practice. It was also used as a training target for surface-to-air missiles such as the Seacat, Tigercat, Redeye, Blowpipe, Sparrow, Chaparral, Hawk, Sidewinder and Nike.…
The US Army called it the OQ-2A and OQ-2B, while the US Navy called it the TDD-l which stood for “Target Drone, Denny”. No matter what they were called, the RP-5A, OQ-2, TDD-l was very effective antiaircraft training target drones. Up to the introduction of these small target drones, the antiaircraft gunnery crews target practice…
The Northrop RP-76 (US Army AQM-38A) was a high-performance, rocket powered, radio controlled, and recoverable target missile. It was used for surface-to-air, and air-to-air missile firing practice. It was carried to altitude by fighter aircraft and air launched. Since mid-1959, over 2,000 of these targets were ordered by the US armed forces. They were used…
The Western Museum of Flight’s 1883 Montgomery Glider is an exact replica of the one designed, built, and flown by John J. Montgomery in 1883. This aircraft is notable for being the first aircraft incorporating flight controls and a shaped airfoil. On 28 August 1883, John J. Montgomery was reported to have flown his craft…
Did you know that there are only three of Jack Northrop’s “Flying Wings” known to be left in the world? The Western Museum of Flight is extremely fortunate to have one of them, the Northrop JB-1 “Bat”. The other two are the Northrop N-1M at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C., and…
The Western Museum of Flight’s Douglas A-4A Skyhawk was assigned to the USMC BuNo. 142227, C/N 11481 on 08 July 1957, VMA-224, MCAS El Toro, CA. VMA-224 was the first Marine squadron to get the Douglas A-4A Skyhawk. Deployed 11 Dec 1958, VMA-211, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan. We received a note from a former Marine Aviator…
The F-5A is a small, lightweight, low cost, easy-to-maintain supersonic fighter, well suited to the needs of friendly foreign countries who didn’t need, couldn’t afford, and couldn’t maintain the bigger, more complex fighters in the U.S. inventory. Development was begun by Northrop in the mid-1950’s but for a time took back seat to the development…
The F-14A is a twin seat, twin engined interceptor, capable of air-to-air, air-to-ground and reconnaisance roles. A Mach Sweep Programmer selects the optimum wing sweep angle based on speed and altitude. The aircraft has twin vertical tails with rudders and all-flying horizontal tails. The large rectangular inlets utilize variable multiple shock ramps for good supersonic…
The YF-17 Cobra was a Northrop Aircraft creation through NASA to support further testing and research of aircraft at transonic speeds. The YF-17 Cobra was, itself, born from the United States Air Force’s Lightweight Fighter Program. The Lightweight Fighter Program called for a prototype that was small and low cost maintenance, with the capabilities of…
North American F-86 Sabre Jet The North American F-86 was the first swept-wing airplane in the U.S. fighter inventory. Four models of the craft (F-86A, E, F and H) were day fighters or fighter bombers, while the F-86D, K and L versions were all-weather interceptors. The forerunner of the operational Sabre was the XF-86, first…
