Northrop JB-1 Bat

Not to be confused with the US Navy's 1942-1953 Bat guided bomb.

External media
Images
JB-1 with cockpit at Muroc Field
JB-10 on sled at Eglin
1996 restoration with cockpit
Video
YouTube: 1st flight (minute 2:10)

The Northrop JB-1 "Bat" was a United States surface-to-surface cruise missile that was a prototype jet-powered flying wing. The United States Army Air Forces MX-543 program was initiated in September 1942 to use US versions of Frank Whittle's jet engine^[1] (US-named General Electric J31). The Northrop Corporation was contracted in late 1943,^[2] and only 10 JB-1 airframes were built.^[3] A manned version was towed for the 1st flight on "August 27, 1943", [sic]^[4] from Rogers Dry Lake;^[5] and a glider version was launched from a rocket-propelled sled and crashed in December 1944.^[6] An unmanned JB-1 powered by an improvised General Electric B-1 turbojet with a wing span of 28 feet 4 inches (8.64 m) made its 1st flight from Eglin Field's Santa Rosa Island, Florida, on December 7, 1944, and crashed 400 yards from the rail launcher.^[7]

JB-10

With the successful USAAF flights of JB-2 pulsejet-powered copies of the V-1 flying bomb, the older JB-1 program was "reoriented towards pulsejet propulsion, and the remaining JB-1s were modified or completed as JB-10 missiles."^[6] Only one of the JB-10 variants was completed by the end of the war (with Ford PJ-31-1 pulsejet engine), and 1945 sled launches using 4 Tiny Tim rockets were at Muroc Field and Eglin.^[1] In June 1996, the Western Museum of Flight restored the only remaining airframe as a manned JB-1.^[2]

References

1 2 Woodridge, E. T (c. 2003). "Northrop: The War Years". History of the Flying Wing. Century-of-Flight.com. Retrieved 2012-05-23. External link in |work= (help)
1 2 "Northrop JB-1 "Bat" (MX-543)". WMoF.com (Western Museum of Flight). Retrieved 2012-05-23.
↑ Mindling, George; Bolton, Robert (October 1, 2008). U.S. Air Force Tactical Missiles, 1949–1969: The Pioneers (Report). Lulu Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-557-00029-6. LCCN 2008908364. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
↑ Dick Thomas (narrator) (year tbd -- after 1963 footage shown at end of Part 2). Northrop First Flights. "produced by Northrop Corporation". Event occurs at 2:10 of edited YouTube Part I version. Retrieved 2012-05-23. Check date values in: |date= (help)
NOTE: The c. 1965 film's claim of an August 1943 "MX-543" flight (the date is restated by the 2007 "First Flights" USAF pdf) is inconsistent with the "late 1943" contract and Woodridge's claim that the 1st flight was in 1944.
↑ First Flights at Edwards Air Force Base (PDF) (Report). Compiled by History Office, Air Force Flight Test Center. August 2007. Retrieved 2012-05-23.
1 2 http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/jb.html
↑ Werrell, Kenneth P. (1998) [1995]. The Evolution of the Cruise Missile. Maxwell Air Force Base: Air University Press. p. 69. Retrieved 2012-05-24.

United States Army Air Forces missile and guided bomb designations, 1941-1947

Bomb gliders	BG-1 BG-2 BG-3

Glide bombs	GB-1 GB-2 GB-3 GB-4 GB-5 GB-6 GB-7 GB-8 GB-9 GB-10 GB-11 GB-12 GB-13 GB-14 GB-15

Glide torpedoes	GT-1

Jet bombs	JB-1 JB-2 JB-3 JB-4 JB-5 JB-6 JB-7 JB-8 JB-9 JB-10

Vertical bombs	VB-1 VB-2 VB-3 VB-4 VB-5 VB-6 VB-7 VB-8 VB-9 VB-10 VB-11 VB-12 VB-13

Northrop aircraft

Manufacturer
designations

'Greek' series	Alpha Beta Gamma Delta

'N' series	Note: Northrop company designations include a wide variety of technologies. Only aircraft, aero engines, and missiles are linked here. N-1 N-2 N-3 N-4 N-5 N-6 N-7 N-8 N-9 N-10 N-12 N-14 N-15 N-16 N-18 N-19 N-20 N-21 N-23 N-24 N-25A N-25B N-26 N-29 N-31 N-32 N-34 N-35 N-36 N-37 N-38 N-39 N-40 N-41 N-45 N-46 N-47 N-48 N-49 N-50 N-51 N-52 N-54 N-55 N-59 N-60 N-63 N-65 N-67 N-68 N-69 N-71 N-72 N-73 N-74 N-81 N-82 N-84 N-86 N-87 N-94 N-96 N-102 N-103 N-105 N-110 N-111 N-112 N-117 N-124 N-132 N-133 N-134 N-135 N-138 N-141 N-144 N-149 N-150 N-151 N-155 N-156 N-165 N-204 N-205 N-250 N-267 N-285 N-300 N-301 N-302 N-303 N-304 N-305 N-306 N-307 N-311 N-320 N-321 N-322 N-330 N-370

'P' series	P530 P600 P610 P630

By role

Attack	YA-13 XA-16 A-17 Nomad YA-9

Bombers	YB-35 YB-49 B-62 BT B2T B-2

Drones	Q-4

Fighters	3A XP-56 P-61 XP-79 F-89 XFT F2T F-5/CF-5/CF-116 YF-17 F-18L F-20 YF-23

Reconnaissance	F-15 RF-61 RF-5 N-165 N-204

Trainers	T-38

Transports	Alpha Beta Gamma Delta C-19 C-100 YC-125 RT

Experimental	N-1M N-9M JB-1 MX-324 MX-334 M2-F2 M2-F3 HL-10 Tacit Blue X-4 X-21

Names

See also: TR-3

Types of missile

By platform	Air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) Air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) Air-to-air missile (AAM) Air-to-surface missile (ASM) Ballistic missile Cruise missile Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Shoulder-fired missile Submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Submarine-launched cruise missile (SLCM) Surface-to-air missile (SAM) Surface-to-surface missile (SSM)

By target type	Anti-ballistic missile (ABM) Anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) Anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) Anti-ship missile (AShM) Anti-submarine missile Anti-tank missile (ATGM) Land-attack missile (LACM)

By guidance	Active radar guidance Semi-active radar guidance Passive homing Track-via-missile Anti-radiation Command to line-of-sight guidance Command off line-of-sight guidance Pursuit guidance Beam riding Infrared guidance Laser guidance Unguided rockets Wire guidance TERCOM DSMAC Inertial guidance Astro-inertial guidance Satellite guidance Compass

Lists	List of military rockets List of missiles List of missiles by country List of anti-ship missiles List of anti-tank missiles List of ICBMs List of surface-to-air missiles

See also: Sounding rocket

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