Visionary designer Jack Northrop built a series of experimental 'flying wing' aircraft both before and during WWII. The YB-35, a propeller-driven strategic bomber featuring the drag-reducing all-wing design, offered enormous payload capacity and terrific endurance. The YB-49, a turbojet-powered variant built on the YB-35 airframe, captured the imagination of the world when it first flew in 1947. It quickly set both an unofficial endurance record and a trans-continental speed record, and appeared poised for rapidly deployment. Tragically, in June of 1948 one of two flying prototypes was destroyed when the aircraft suffered a structural failure during a test flight. In hearings after the accident, evidence was presented that in certain circumstances the aircraft could become unstable and exceed the capabilities of a human pilot. Shortly thereafter the YB-49 program was canceled. Jack Northrop's radical design was shelved for a generation, only to re-emerge in the form of the B-2 Spirit
