Pictured: the YB-49 Flying Wing prototype and stealth bomber inspiration vs. the Convair Peacemaker B-36 that was chosen for production over it.
As early as 1938, Germany raised the concept of a long-range strategic bomber that could complete a round-trip of over 7,200 miles from Germany to strike at the heart of America. This “Amerikabomber” never left the prototype stage, but the threat it offered, especially in the event that Britain fell early in World War 2, was enough to spur the Americans to action. In 1941, the Army Air Corps awarded prototype contracts to develop its own strategic bomber capable of carrying 10,000 lbs of bombs on a round-trip of up to 10,000 miles.


The immense engineering requirements called for the consideration of radical new aircraft designs, and the Northrop Corporation responded with a maximally-efficient flying wing structure. The entire surface of the aircraft would be engineered to create lift, eliminating the unnecessary weight and drag created by tail and fuselage components. The first propeller-driven concepts, the XB-35 and XB-36, only made it to the pre-production stage. Their successor, the jet-powered Northrop YB-49, would emerge with the striking appearance of a proto-stealth bomber...