Northrop JB-1 Bat – Fotos & Videos

das Northrop JB-1 "Bat" war ein US-amerikanischer Boden-Boden-Marschflugkörper, der ein Prototyp eines strahlgetriebenen Fliegenden Flügels war. Das MX-543-Programm der United States Army Air Forces wurde im September 1942 ins Leben gerufen, um lizenzgefertigte Versionen von Frank Whittles Düsentriebwerk (General Electric J31) zu verwenden. Die Northrop Corporation wurde Ende 1943 unter Vertrag genommen und es wurden nur 10 JB-1-Flugzeugzellen gebaut. Eine bemannte Version wurde für den 1. Flug am "27. August 1943" vom Rogers Dry Lake geschleppt und eine Segelflugzeugversion wurde von einem raketengetriebenen Schlitten gestartet und stürzte im Dezember 1944 ab. Eine unbemannte JB-1, die von einem improvisierten General Electric B-1-Turbojet mit einer Spannweite von 8,64 m (28 Fuß 4 Zoll) angetrieben wurde, machte am 7. Dezember 1944 ihren 1. Flug von Eglin Fields Santa Rosa Island, Florida, und stürzte 400 Meter von der Schienenwerferrakete ab.

Quelle: Northrop JB-1 Fledermaus auf Wikipedia

The Northrop JB-1 Bat was a jet-powered flying wing cruise missile developed by Northrop Corporation during World War II. It was intended to be a surface-to-surface weapon that could deliver a 900 kg (2000 lb) bomb to a target up to 400 km (250 mi) away. The JB-1 Bat was inspired by the German V-1 flying bomb, which was discovered by the Allies in 1942. The JB-1 Bat used two General Electric B-1 turbojet engines, which were derived from a turbosupercharger design. The JB-1 Bat had a wingspan of 10.4 m (34 ft) and a length of 6.4 m (21 ft). It had a maximum speed of 640 km/h (400 mph) and a cruising speed of 480 km/h (300 mph).
The JB-1 Bat was tested as a manned glider and as an unmanned missile. The first flight of the glider version took place on August 27, 1944, with test pilot Harry Crosby at the controls. The first launch of the missile version occurred on December 7, 1944, but it failed due to an engine malfunction and an improper elevon setting. The JB-1 Bat suffered from many technical problems, such as engine failures, structural complexities, and overweight issues. Northrop tried to improve the design by using a Ford pulse jet engine instead of the GE B-1 turbojet engines, resulting in the JB-10 variant. However, the JB-10 also had poor performance and reliability. The JB-1 Bat program was canceled in 1946 after only 13 flights, none of which were successful.