| YB-49 | |
|---|---|
 YB-49 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Strategic bomber |
| National origin | United States |
| Manufacturer | Northrop Corporation |
| Designer | |
| Status | Prototype only |
| Primary user | United States Air Force |
| Number built | 3 converted from YB-35 two YB-49 one YRB-49A |
| History | |
| First flight | 21 October 1947 |
| Developed from | Northrop YB-35 |
The Northrop YB-49 was an American prototype jet-powered heavy bomber developed by Northrop Corporation shortly after World War II for service with the United States Air Force.[1] The YB-49 featured a flying wing design and was a turbojet-powered development of the earlier, piston-engined Northrop XB-35 and YB-35. The two YB-49s built were both converted YB-35 test aircraft.
The YB-49 never entered production, being passed over in favor of the more conventional Convair B-36 piston-driven design. Design work performed in the development of the YB-35 and YB-49 nonetheless proved to be valuable to Northrop decades later in the eventual development of the B-2 stealth bomber, which entered service in the early 1990s.
- ^ FIREPOWER: THE WEAPONS THE PROFESSIONALS USE - AND HOW. X-PLANES OF THE 1940s & 1950s, #58 Orbis Publishing 1990