Experimental Aircraft Books - USA - History

The Big Book of X-Bombers and X-Fighters : USAF Jet-Powered Experimental Aircraft and Their Propulsive Systems

On October 2, 1942, the Bell XP-59 Airacomet soared up and away from present-day Edwards AFB, launching the US Army Air Forces into the Jet Age. In the several decades since, hundreds of new variations of experimental and test turbojet-powered bombers and fighters - X-bombers and X-fighters - have taken explosive flight. These aircraft blazed a trail leading to today's B-2 Stealth Bomber and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

This book showcases all of the USAF jet-powered X-bombers and X-fighters that have flown since 1942 - more than 90 in all, including the alphabet soup of their variants.
From experimental to prototype service bombers and fighters - from the XB-43 to the B-2A and the XP-59A to the F-35A - they're all here, with their inside stories revealed. Some of these aircraft were further developed. Others were canceled. All stretched the performance and design envelopes.
More than 250 photos illustrate all of these experimental aircrafts' cutting-edge features and zeroes in on histories of their design, flight testing, and weapons testing. Specification tables detailing performance, design, and armaments help round out this compendium of information on truly groundbreaking aviation designs.

X-bombers and X-fighters in The Big Book of X-Bombers & X-Fighters include:
- Bell P-59 Airacomet
- Republic P/F-84 Thunderjet
- Douglas B-43 Jetmaster
- North American B-45 Tornado
- Boeing B-47 Stratojet
- Curtiss P/F-87 Blackhawk
- McDonnell P/F-85 Goblin
- Convair P/F-92 "Dart"
- Northrop F-17 Cobra
- Boeing B-1 Lancer
And all the rest!

In addition, veteran aviation author Steve Pace shows readers some of the designs that could have been and offers a peek into what might be lurking in the future, making this the definitive guide to USAF jet-powered experimental aircraft!

American X & Y Planes (Volume 1) - Experimental Aircraft to 1945

This book, the first of a two-volume history of the USA's 'X' and 'Y' experimental planes from the earliest years of aviation to the present day, covers the period from the Wright Brothers to the end of World War Two.
As well as famous names such as Curtiss, Northrop and Boeing, many long-forgotten manufacturers such as Loening and Thomas-Morse appear in these pages. The detailed text, supported by extensive illustrations throughout, gives a fascinating insight into an often-overlooked area of aviation history.

American X & Y Planes (Volume 2) - Experimental Aircraft since 1945

In 1945 the Allies returned home with much technical information from German research concerning jet engines and swept wings. Though the USAAF had already deployed an early batch of jet fighters, Lockheed P-80 Shooting Stars, to Italy in 1945, their centrifugal-flow engines had limited scope for further development compared with the axial-flow engines used by the Germans. Also, it was obvious that a new breed of airframes was needed to take advantage of the huge power increase offered by jet engines: the answer was the swept wing carefully coupled with a blended fuselage.

This second volume of Kev Darling's history of American prototype and experimental aircraft tells the full story of these fascinating aircraft, from the primitive jets of the immediate post-war period to the F-22 and F-23 stealth fighters that represent the pinnacle of modern warplane design. Many of the most interesting aircraft ever built existed only as prototypes or experimental types, and many have been overlooked by historians as a result.