MarketNorthrop JB-1 Bat
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Northrop JB-1 Bat

The Northrop JB-1A "Bat" or "Thunderbug" was a prototype "jet bomb" – in effect, a surface-to-surface cruise missile – developed in the United States during World War II. The JB-1A was also an early jet aircraft, with a radical flying wing planform.

JB-10
With the successful USAAF flights of JB-2, and the inadequate performance of the GE B-1, the JB-1 program was reoriented towards pulsejet propulsion before the attempted first flight of the JB-1A. The remaining JB-1s were modified or completed as JB-10 missiles. The JB-10 was a radical redesign of the vehicle. A single PJ31-1 as was used on the JB-2 replaced the two troublesome B-1s. The explosives were buried in the wing instead of being in nacelles. Only the guidance electronics was left essentially unchanged. A new and much improved telemetry system was added. Testing of the JB-10 began in early 1945 and achieved only two partially successful flights out of 10 attempts. The longest flight of a JB-10 was only 26 miles on 13 April 1945. That short flight was ended by longitudinal instability which was a persistent problem of the JB-10. The JB-10 cost $55,425 each to build while the JB-2 cost $8,620 each. As a competitor to the JB-2 the JB-10 was not a contender. The Northrop program's priority had already been reduced in November 1944. In March 1946 the JB-10 program was terminated. ==Citations==
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