NORTHROP N-1M

The Northrop N-1M was an American-made experimental aircraft from the Second World War. The propulsion was provided by two Lycoming-O145 engines with 67 HP each or a Franklin 6AC-264F2 with 117 HP each. The first flight of this machine took place in July 1940 - the machine never entered mass production. It also did not have any on-board weapons. The N-1M was created as a bottom-up, private initiative of the Northrop company, which was aimed at testing in practice the possibilities and problems that the use of an aircraft in a flying wing system would generate. A lot of wooden and canvas elements were used in its construction, which radically lowered the construction costs and made it easier to introduce later changes and modifications. A drive system with a pushing propeller, not a pulling propeller, was also used, which was a very rare solution at that time. The conclusions drawn from a series of test flights on Northrop N-1M were later used in the construction of other aircraft of this manufacturer: YB-35 and YB-49. Since 1945, the plane has been on display at the National Museum of Aeronautics in Washington.