Sixty-three years ago this month, the USAF/Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing came apart during a test flight that originated at Muroc Air Force Base. Among the five crew members who perished in the aviation mishap was famed test pilot USAF Captain Glen W. Edwards.
The USAF/Northrop YB-49 heavy bomber prototype first flew in October of 1947. The aircraft was a jet-powered derivative of the propeller-driven XB-35. Both of these legendary aircraft were flying wing designs pioneered by visionary aircraft designer Jack Northrop.
Traditionally, interest in a flying wing aircraft stems from its inherently-high lift, low drag and hence high lift-to-drag ratio characteristics. These attributes make a flying wing ideal for the strategic bombing mission where large payloads must be carried long distances to the target. In addition, the type’s low profile and swept wings contributed to its low radar cross-section.
The same configurational features that give flying wing aircraft favorable performance also present stability and control issues and adverse handling qualities. The lack of a traditional empenage requires that all flight controls be placed on the wing itself. This leads to significant aerodynamic coupling that affects aircraft pitch, yaw and roll motion.
The YB-49 had a wing span of 172 feet, a length of 53 feet and a height of 15 feet. Gross take-off weight was approximately 194,000 lbs. Fuel accounted for roughly 106,000 lbs of that total. Power was supplied by eight (8) Allison/General Electric J35-A-5 turbojets. Each of these early-generation powerplants was rated at a mere 4,000 lbs of sea level thrust.
The YB-49 design performance included a maximum speed of 495 mph, a service ceiling of 45,700 feet and a maximum range of 8,668 nautical miles. The aircraft was designed to carry a maximum bomb load of 32,000 lbs. The strategic bombing mission would be flown by a crew of seven (7) including pilot, co-pilot, navigator, bombardier and gunners.
A pair of XB-35 airframes were modified to the YB-49 configuration. Ship No. 1 (S/N 42-102367) first took to the air on Tuesday, 21 October 1947. The maiden flight of Ship No. 2 (S/N 42-102368) occurred on Tuesday, 13 January 1948. Both flights originated from Hawthorne Airport and recovered at Muroc Air Force Base.
Flight testing of the YB-49 quickly confirmed the type’s performance promise. Demonstrated performance included a top speed of 520 mph and a maximum altitude of 42,000 feet. On Monday, April 26, 1948. On that date, the aircraft remained aloft for 9.5 hours, of which 6.5 hours were flown at an altitude of 40,000 feet.
The low point in YB-49 flight testing came on Saturday, 05 June 1948. On that fateful day, YB-49 Ship No. 2 crashed to destruction in the Mojave Desert northwest of Muroc Air Force Base. The entire crew of five (5) perished in the mishap. These crew members included Major Daniel N. Forbes (pilot), Captain Glen W. Edwards (co-pilot), Lt. Edward L. Swindell (flight engineer), Clare E. Lesser (observer) and Charles H. LaFountain (observer).
The cause of the YB-49 mishap was never fully determined. In descending from 40,000 feet following a test mission, the aircraft somehow exceeded its structural limit. The outer wing panels failed and the rest of the aircraft tumbled out of control, struck the ground inverted and immediately fireballed. Whether the incident was related to wing stall, spin or some such other flight control issue will never be definitively known.
YB-49 Ship No. 1 continued to fly after the loss of its stable mate. However, it too met an unkind fate. On Wednesday, 15 March 1950, the aircraft was declared a total loss following a non-fatal high-speed taxiing mishap. Several months later, all of Northrop’s flying wing contracts with the government were unexpectedly cancelled. Incredibly, the Wizards of the Beltway ultimately ordered that all Northrop-produced flying wing variants be cut-up for scrap.
Despite its performance, the YB-49 was too far ahead of its time. The aircraft did not exhibit good handling qualities and thus was not a good bombing platform. It needed the type of computer-based, multiply-redundant autopilot that is standard equipment on today’s aircraft.
Happily, the performance merits of the flying wing concept would be fully exploited with the introduction of the USAF/Northrop B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB). This aircraft first flew on Monday, 17 July 1989. Its subsequent success is now history. A host of new technologies converged to finally made the flying wing concept viable. Not the least of which is the aircraft’s multiply-redundant flight control system.
Finally, we note that 30-year old Captain Glen W. Edwards was a rising star in military flight test circles at the time of his death. In tribute to his aviation skills and in memory of a life cut short, Muroc Air Force Base was officially renamed on Tuesday, 05 December 1950. Since that day, it has been known as Edwards Air Force Base.
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I worked with a guy named Don Norris who was crew cheif on the YB-49. He said that Glenn Edwards was told by Northrup not to do a high G turning pullup. Edwards went out and did exactly as he was told NOT to do and, as predicted, failed the airframe structure. Don Norris never forgave the arrogance of Edwards that “ruined the project”. He though a travesty that his namesake went to Muroc AFB in light of his test pilot feux pax.
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Your first part is correct; the second lacks the final stall tests flown successfully by Charles Tucker, who even recovered the Wing form a spin, and flew the stability tests for installing the autopilot, adn was in the YB -49 when they discovered it was radar-invisible. I interviewed Tucker who claimed the AF complaints were “bullshit”, and that the Wing was “a good airplane, and rock-solid”. All in my book, and a lot more, the complete story from 1938 to 1950: “Goodbye Beautiful Wing”.
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Hey Terrence! Thanks for the clarification. It seems that there is always a part of the history of any aircraft that is not common knowledge. I have come across that issue in researching and writing a book on the history of the USAF/Lockheed NF-104A AST. Looking forward to reading your book!
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Excellent clarification of the much disputed cause of the YB-49 crash. I was flying at Edwards in 1952 and the cancellation of the Wing was considered a major political error.
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The last tail-slide was the cause of Glen Edwards death. Not really a “co-pilot” – he had no input to the controls. It was his second and last tail-slide in the wing. no recovery was possible and the wing entered a terminal tail-slide which was non-recoverable, leading to the separation of the wings – possibly a super-sonic spin, which caused the wings to seperate, and the result was the crash of the entire craft. The crew compartment ( with no ejection capability ) was lost and consumed by fire upon impact with the ground. The 2nd and last tail-slide experienced by Glenn Edwards. Gen. Cardenas had written earlier that ‘ this aircraft is never to be stalled intentionally’. after his first encounter with the stall before the fatal wreck. His warning went unheeded. . . .
Let this be a lesson to be learned from.
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First of all , Glen Edwards was a test pilot for the US Air Force ….. not Northrop…. and his orders were from the US Air Force … not Northrop. Secondly, with 2 engineering degrees Glen Edwards was deemed the man for the job by the US Air Force. Thirdly, having had many bombing missions in WWII qualified him for determining a stable bombing platform. Fourthly or quaternary ? ….. Having lost his life performing his duties in 1948 and the wing cancellation in 1950 hardly constitutes dooming the project.
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Hi.
I went to the site (quite a pilgrimage from my home here in Sherman Oaks) and spent some time wandering the terrain and down into the wash. It was quite peaceful and the memorial appears to be well looked after, although the visitor page seems to need to be refreshed.
I was wondering if anyone had read what direction the aircraft was actually going when it made the fatal impact? I thought I would do some research and see if I could find where the wingtip impacted and walk the field between the two sites with my metal detector. Having found this site I am considering another pilgrimage to the XB70 site later in the year.
Thanks in advance for any B49 info you provide.
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My stepdad gave me a casset tape called THE WING WILL FLY,in it were comments by Major Cardennas the chef test pilot that he warned the crew not too stall the air plane but they did and lost control causing the crash.Major cardennas tried to stall it and lost control and was just able to pull it out before crashing,cardennas was asked by a crewman on the
new B-2 if hen had any advice befor taking off and cardennas said yes what ever you do don’t stall it.Is this true?
new B-2
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I thought Edwards was a test pilot for the AIR FORCE , not Northrop…..
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Dirty politicians. Dirty politics. Corporate thugs in public office — and misdirectional propaganda upheld only by the alleged “dignity of their official robes.” And the Bush-Cheney gang did it again – to the F-14.
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My father flew in the XB-35 as a Flight Engineer but as the program came to a end he was transfer to the B-36. He always said that it was to bad that at least one, either the XB-35 or 49 could not been saved and displayed at WPAFB, Ohio.
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I have a picture taken in 1948 with several flying wing aircraft lined up on at Hawthorne/Northrop air field.
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The cancellation of B35 and B49 flying wings was due to the Secretary of the Air Force at the time. He tried to get Northrop to merge with the strapped Convair Company. He refused, and the contract was canceled and all versions of the two flying wing types were ordered destroyed. Since when have experimental airplanes been ordered destroyed before being fully tested, explored, and modified as needed?
The Secretary of the Air Force behind all of that, later became the CEO of Convair.
The whole thing was political. The B36 was an older design, still propeller driven. The B49 was a new modern design. We should have had fleets of flying wings in the air by the late 1950s. Keep politics out of innovation.
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I have what looks like an authentic cast aluminum YB-49 1940/50s lighted table lamp. Does anyone know where this could have come from? It looks like a presentation piece. I’d attach a picture but don’t think I can.
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me and my friend where just out ther 5/15/20 and there was new flags put up, and yes it was really cool,i worked on the b2 spent hours in the cockpit
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My father, Captain Allen Warfield , was co-pilot on the March 1950 flight. He was awarded the Soldiers Medal for pulling his flight engineer from the burning wreckage
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It seems to me that I observed the plane fly over our house in Buffalo in 1948-49////
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