Ampersand's Flying Wings

Ampersand publishing, which is owned by HLJ, has been known for years for its military vehicle books. This is, to my knowledge, their first foray into the aircraft part of things with more to come. For many enthusiasts, the Northrop Flying Wings have held a great deal of interest. Here was a unique aircraft which was never given an opportunity to mature. Developed during WWII, the first plane did not fly until the war was over and then it was plagued with issues regarding engine cooling and the propeller vibrations.

These were never truly cured, when the USAF then decided it wanted jets. So the plane was modified, with production continuing at a snail's pace. Initially operating with eight smaller jets, it was once again modifed to take six larger engines with two in pods. Despite efforts made by Northrop, the aircraft was never to get out of the prototype stage and by 1950, all extant airframes were destroyed.

There was much rancor in this regard as it was alleged that the then Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, had promised the maker of its rival, Convair, to so destroy the wing that there would never be another. Of course, we now know that not to have been the case as the wing turns out to have been the basis for the most advanced bomber ever to fly, the B-2.

In this book by David Doyle, we are given a short history of the type including all the various test aircraft. The vast majority of the book consists of photographs, a rather large number of them taken during the construction of the aircraft. It is here that we get to see many of the details of this big bomber that makes this such an excellent detail and reference book. There are also quite a few rare color photos of the plane, only adding to the value of this book. Thanks to the landscape format, we get large, crisply reproduced photographs, making the book a real delight. It is a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading and is one that I can easily recommend to you.

Review copy courtesy Ampersand Publishing. Get yours today at this link.

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