This video was made possible by CuriosityStream. Watch thousands of high-quality documentaries
and get access to my streaming service, Nebula, using the link in the description. It didn’t look like any plane that had ever
flown before. In fact, it really didn't look like it should’ve
been able to fly at all. But eighty years ago, a new kind of aircraft
took to the skies that promised to fly faster, higher and further. And its visionary designer was convinced that
flying wings would transform the way we fly. But in just a few short years, these futuristic
flying machines would be gone. Every last one destroyed or broken up for
scrap. In 1941, the United States had some of the
best bombers in the world. Rugged and heavily armed. But loaded with bombs, the furthest they could
fly was only about three thousand kilometers. Which wasn't nearly enough. Because the United States was about to be
drawn into the Second World War. By the Spring of 1941, Nazi Germany had conquered much of Europe. And Britain looked like it was next. Without access to Allied airfields in Europe,
bombers like B-17 and B-24 would have no way of reaching Nazi Germany. So the Americans would have to build a new
kind of bomber. One that could fly all the way from North
America to Europe, strike Nazi targets, and return home. But building the world’s first intercontinental
bomber would be daunting engineering challenge. Conventional wisdom suggested that the aircraft
would have to be enormous.. At least two or three time larger then existing
heavy bombers with massive wings, a bunch of engines, and a huge reserve of fuel. It would also be relatively slow and its enormous
size would make it an easy target. But one pioneering aircraft designer by the
name of Jack Northrop proposed a radical alternative. On any plane, the engines, tail surfaces,
and fuselage all contribute to drag and structural weight, reducing aircraft performance. What if you could eliminate these elements
until you were left with only the wing? The result would be a shape that maximizes
lift and minimizes drag. If you could get it to fly, it would make
for much a lighter, faster and more efficient bomber. Northrop's idea wasn’t as crazy as it sounds. By 1940, he had successfully flown prototypes
proving that highly efficient flying wing aircraft could handle just as well as conventional
ones. And although Northrop wasn’t the first to
develop flying wings, he was about to take the concept further than anyone else Northrop promised the Air Force a bomber that
would fly nearly a third faster than existing heavy bombers, and higher. Making it less vulnerable. And the efficient all wing design would give
it the range to fly to Europe while carrying twice the payload. Impressed with the concept, in 1941 the Air
Force ordered Northrop and his small team of engineers to develop the new bomber in just
two years. To make a round trip all the way to Europe,
Northrop’s flying wing would have to travel more than 9,000 km. A mission that would keep it airborne for
nearly 24 hours. The bomber’s crew of nine, along with six
relief crew would operate in shifts. Working inside a cockpit, equipment bay and crew cabin
housed inside the center section of the wing. Also housed entirely inside the wing were
the engines. With 28 cylinders and twin turbo-superchargers,
they were the most powerful piston radials ever put into production. Each drove contra-rotating propellers allowing
the bomber to dash to over 600 km/h. But making a flying wing stable required a
complete rethink of control surfaces. Without vertical and horizontal stabilizers,
all of the control surfaces would have to be located on the wing. With the bomber featuring
an entirely new kind of control surface called an elevon. Northrop's low drag, high lift flying wing
would also pack a punch with six underwing bomb bays capable of holding up ten thousand
pounds of armament, and 20 remotely operated machine guns to fend off enemy fighters.. Pound-for-pound Northrop's flying wing would
out-perform any conventional bomber. And the Air Force had plans to build hundreds
of them. When the first prototype was unveiled in April
1946, the world was taken aback. No one had ever seen a plane quite like this. Designated as the XB-35, the bomber’s development
had been kept a closely guarded secret. But it never made it into the War. Although it had been approved for development
in 1941, progress was delayed by technical issues, a shortage of wartime engineers and
production limitations. And when Britain never fell to Nazi Germany,
the Americans conducted bombing campaigns from British airfields, lessoning the need
for a new intercontinental bomber. These factors all delayed the XB-35. But the Air Force still felt that Northrop’s
flying wing held tremendous promise and was eager to continue development. By 1946, thirteen pre-production YB-35s were
already under construction. And with post-war aviation developing at breakneck
speed, the Air Force requested that two prototypes be converted to jet-powered versions to be
redesignated as YB-49s. The prop driven XB-35 made its first flight
in June of 1946 followed by the jet powered YB-49 a year later. Both aircraft were to undergo thorough evaluation
by the Air Force. And as they took to the skies, many were convinced
that the flying wings’ incredible advantages went beyond just military. Fantastic concepts appeared in popular magazines
showing enormous flying wing airliners with spacious lounges, dining rooms and private
suites. Even Northrop illustrated how their bomber
could become a passenger plane, with bombing equipment cleared to make way for seats and
the tail cone, once housing machine guns, converted into an observation lounge. According to Northrop, flying wings were the
future of air travel. Enabling passengers to fly faster, farther,
and cheaper. And in comfort that a conventional airliner
could never come close to offering. In 1947, the flying wing seemed to be the
next evolution in aircraft design. And yet, in just a handful of years, every
one of Northrop's revolutionary planes would be destroyed or broken up
for scrap. In 1947, Northrop’s flying wings looked
cutting edge, but delay after delay meant that the design, originally drawn up in 1941,
now had to prove itself in the jet age. The XB-35’s piston engines were no longer
state-of-art and they were so unreliable, nearly every test flight ended early due to
overheating, issues with the propeller blades, or gearbox failures. After just 19 flights, Northrop abandoned
the complex contra-rotating setup for a more simple single prop design. But this degraded performance to unacceptable
levels. And by 1947, it was clear that the jet-powered
YB-49 was going to be Northrop’s best hope. Retrofitted with eight jets and given trailing
edge fins for stability, the aircraft would be faster and more reliable. But jet engines burned more fuel, cutting
the bomber’s range down to less than half the original design. Two bomb bays had to be removed just to make way for more fuel tanks, while other parts of the aircraft could never be fully optimized for
higher speed flight. Still, Northrop was convinced that his efficient
all-wing design would ultimately win-out against even the latest generation of jet bombers. On June 4th, 1948 the first YB-49 was delivered
to the Air Force for evaluation. For Northrop the delivery should’ve been
a much needed turning point. But it was just the start of an even worse
saga. A day after the delivery, a crew of five air
force test pilots lifted off on what should’ve been a routine test flight. Captained by Glen Edwards, the crew were among
the Air Force’s finest. But just 40 minutes into their flight, disaster
struck. Witnesses reported seeing the jet tumbling out of the sky. The aircraft had broken up into pieces tragically
dooming the crew. Northrop blamed the pilots for pushing the
aircraft too hard. But The Air Force pointed to mysterious handling
characteristics in high-power stalls. Despite the tragedy, testing continued with
the remaining YB-49. But more odd handling characteristics were
soon discovered, including a tendency to yaw uncontrollably. Almost imperceptible to the pilots, it was
enough to make accurate bombing virtually impossible. Northrop had spent years developing an autopilot
to try and counteract the problem. But the aircraft needed something more. A system that could continually adjust and
augment the pilot’s inputs. In an era well before computers, such a system
might well have been magic. In March of 1950, disaster struck again, when
the remaining YB-49’s nose wheel collapsed during high speed taxi tests, destroying the
aircraft. By that point, the Air Force had lost interest
in Northrop's bombers. Because the B-36 had already entered into
service, fulfilling the intercontinental role that XB-35 once promised. The medium-range B-47, a clean sheet jet bomber
also under evaluation far outperformed the YB-49. And the legendary B-52 was already on the
drawing board. These newer generation of bombers could carry
atomic bombs, while Northrop’s Flying Wings could only fit smaller weapons from a bygone
era. In one last chance for the flying wing, the
Air Force had also ordered development of a strategic reconnaissance aircraft based
on the YB-49. But the aircraft was already hopelessly outmatched
and the program was soon canceled. Incredibly, Northrop's flying wings were
just too out of date, yet in other ways still too far ahead of their time. And soon, all remaining flying wing airframes
were broken up and sold for scrap. Devastated, Jack Northrop left his firm in
1952 having never realized his dream of the flying wing. Until 1980, when he was given a glimpse into
the future. In 1980, just a year before he passed away,
Northrop was given clearance to see a new secret aircraft under development. An enormous flying wing with the exact same
wing span as his YB-49. The design would make the new bomber virtually
invisible to radar and would allow it to fly more efficiently. Aided by a computerized flight control system
that Northrop could only have dreamt about in 1941. With tears in his eyes, Northrop supposedly
whispered that he now understood why god kept him alive all these years. The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is the world’s
most advanced aircraft. A bomber that strikes fear into the hearts
of its adversaries, and remains shrouded in secrecy. In a few weeks I’ll be releasing my next
Nebula exclusive on the legendary B2. It’ll be my 10th exclusive video on Nebula. And some of you might be wondering why are
these videos only on Nebula? The reality is, it takes weeks to create a
Mustard Video. There's careful research and writing, animations
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