Over the years the USA has
developed many formidable aircraft. However, there were many that
didn’t ever get far from the drawing board for a variety of reasons.
Some were simply before their
time while others were of no time in particular (or perhaps shouldn’t
have been).
Others still look like they
were designed for a science fiction movie. Take a look at ten US
military aircraft that never quite made it.
X-13 Vertijet
In 1947 the US Navy awarded the
Ryan Company a contract to see whether or not a fighter plane would
take off vertically and the result was ultimately the X-13, after the
Air Force took over the project in 1943. The ultimate aim at the
beginning was to evaluate whether or not submarine based aircraft would
be feasible and it is easy to imagine this beauty leaping from the
seas. Later still, once the Air Force became involved the aim was to
develop a jet powered VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft.
It did indeed make a vertical
take-off, transitioned to horizontal flight and back again in 1957. It
was then demonstrated in Washington DC where it crossed the Potomac
River, coming to rest at the Pentagon. Unfortunately the Air Force
chose not to develop the Ryan X-13 Vertijet any further because there
was a lack of operational requirement.
HZ-1 Aerocycle
Reconnaissance is important in
the field and the US Army wanted, in the 1950s, to have a simple
personal helicopter that could be operated by pilots with limited flight
experience and with a small amount of instruction.
It was seen as a potential
motorcycle of the air and, certainly, the early tests showed quite a lot
of promise.
However, once further studies
had been conducted it was discovered that the HZ-1 was too difficult to
control in untrained hands.
This was further evidence when
on test flights the contraption crashed twice. The project was
canceled.
(Image Credit)
F2Y Sea Dart
Only a prototype for the
Convair F2Y Sea Dart was ever made, but you can see where perhaps the
inspiration for Thunderbird 4 came from. It does hold one record,
despite its short-lived life – it is the only seaplane to ever go faster
than the speed of sound. The seaplane was a result of a 1948
competition by the US Navy for a supersonic interceptor aircraft.
In November 1954 the Sea Dart
disintegrated in mid-air during a demonstration for the Navy and the
media, killing its test pilot. That was the end of that, but the Navy
had been losing interest anyway as problems with supersonic fighters on
aircraft carriers had been solved and the Sea Dart had outlived its
potential and use.
Northrop YB-49
You would be forgiven for
thinking that the above flying wing heavy bomber was developed in the
1980s or 90s. In fact, the YB-49 was designed and constructed just
after the Second World War. It was passed over for a much more
conventional design from Convair, the B-36.
The first prototype suffered
massive engine failure and the second came down in 1948, killing its
pilot (Captain Glen Edwards, after whom Edwards Air Force Base is
named). The aircraft suffered structural failure and the outer wing
sections became detached from the center section, effectively putting
paid to the program.
There is quite a neat coda
attached to the aborted project. In 1980 the owner of the company, Jack
Northrop, elderly and wheelchair bound, was taken back to where the
company was founded. There he was taken to a top secret area and shown a
model of the Air Force’s plans for their new Advanced Technology
Bomber, the B-2A. It was a flying wing. Northrop is said to have
exclaimed
I know why God has kept me alive for the past 25 years
.
XC-120 Packplane
We have already seen
Thunderbird 4, so here is a glimpse of the real life Thunderbird 2.
It was quite unique when developed and flown for the first time in 1950
as it has a removable cargo pod. This huge pod was positioned below the
fuselage and was intended to make the loading of cargo much quicker –
the pod could be removed, a new one placed in and the plane would be
ready for take off again.
The aircraft was tested
extensively and made appearances at a number of air shows in the 1950s.
However it was eventually scrapped for more traditional cargo carrying
models.
XF-85 Goblin
The Goblin was conceived during
the Second World War and was designed to be a plane within a plane.
The intention was for the Goblin (nicknamed the Flying Egg) to be
carried in the bomb bay of the enormous Convair B-36. Its duty was to
act as a defender – a parasite fighter – which would be dropped from the
bomb bay of the mother ship in times of need and could harry enemy
fighters while the B-36 went on its way.
All in all a really cool idea,
however, the project was soon scrapped. The reason for its cancellation
is almost mundanely obvious. The US Air Force decided that aerial
refueling was a much safer way to extend the range of its fighters.
Republic XF-103 Thunderwarrior
The Thunderwarrior was
developed at the beginning of the cold war and was the response to the
need to develop a high speed interceptor to destroy soviet bombers.
Thunderbird 1 anybody? The Thunderwarrior never passed the mock up
stage, however. Work on the prototype was continuously delayed by
engine problems. The nose of the aircraft was completely taken up by
enormous radar set which offered (for the time) very long ranges of
detection. Its missiles were carried in bays on the side of the
fuselage and they would be released through the bay flipping up and
effectively rotating the missiles out of the bays. The project was
finally canceled in 1957.
A-12 Avenger II
The Avenger II still manages to
look futuristic and it was part of a program from McDonnell Douglas and
General Dynamics. It was intended to be based on aircraft carriers and
would act as an all weather stealth bomber.
The project was however, way too expensive and it was canceled in 1991.
The flying wing concept was
back in vogue by the nineties and the Avenger was in the shape of an
isosceles triangle with the cockpit at its apex. The internal weapons
bay would carry smart bombs and other air-to-ground ordnance. Perhaps
not unsurprisingly, the A-12 gained the nickname the
Flying Dorito
.
(
image Credit
)
Convair XFY Pogo
The Pogo was an experiment in
vertical takeoff and landing and was known as a tailsitter. It launched
and landed on its tail. Due to standing on its tail it was designed to
be able to operate from small warships. Take off was fine, although the
problems really came with the landing. The pilot had to look over his
shoulder to judge the distance between the plane and the ground while at
the same time working the throttle to ease the plane down to its
landing position.
Technical problems such as this
aside, had they persisted it would have meant that only the most
experienced pilots could have flown the Pogo and so putting one on every
small warship would not have been feasible. However, with only half
the speed of contemporary jet engine fighters which were at the time
approaching Mach 2, the project was put on hiatus in 1954.
Lockheed YF-12
We will finish with one that
was successful – well, almost. The Lockheed YF-12 was a prototype
interceptor which spawned the SR-71 Blackbird. However, despite
breaking all sorts of records during testing, including a speed record
of 2,070.101 mph (3,331.505 km/h) and altitude record of 80,257.86 ft
(24,462.6 m), both on 1 May 1965, the program ended in 1968. One word
says it all – Vietnam. At the time defense of continental USA was less
of a priority and so the project was shelved.
However, there is a happy
ending for the Lockheed YF-12. They continued flying for many years
with the USAF and with NASA in the role of research aircraft.
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