In 2009 Northrop Grumman completed its full-scale (non-powered) replica of German Horton 229. RCS measurement tests were conducted at Northrop’s remote test facility in Tejon Ranch, northwest of Lancaster, California.
Click here to enlarge top photo. Top photo (courtesy of National Geographic and Northrop Grumman) shows Northrop’s Horton 229 replica on the pylon at Northrop’s remote Tejon Ranch RCS Test Facility in Southern California
In the late 1930s, Germany produced several prototypes of flying wing aircraft.
In 1943, the Horton Brothers test flew their Ho. 229 in Germany.
Photo #2 (courtesy of Linda Reynolds/Flying Wing Films and Northrop Grumman) shows the full-scale (non-powered) replica of Ho. 229.
Purportedly it had a ram-jet engine and could achieve speeds approaching 600 miles per hour. It was not intended to be stealthy.
Although we cannot over exaggerate the capabilities of Ho. 229,
Photo #3 (courtesy of Arthur Bentley/Flying Wing Films and Northrop Grumman) shows the front portion of replica (non-powered) of Ho. 229 it is not an exaggeration to say that Northrop’s B-2 stealth bomber’s “predecessor” was basically Horton 229.
In 1949, Northrop itself produced their own version (YB-49) of the flying wing, test flew it but basically it ended up in a rather dismal failure.
Some say that Northrop intentionally produced the ridiculously powered YB-49 as a disinformational “cover” for the real Ho. 229, which, according to some, was test-flown in 1947 near White Sands, New Mexico and crashed somewhere…..although this scenario is highly unlikely.