Cornelius XBG-3
American bomb glider project
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The Cornelius XBG-3 was an American "bomb glider", developed by the Cornelius Aircraft Corporation for the United States Army Air Forces. Using an unconventional design that included a forward-swept wing, a single prototype was ordered in 1942; however the contract was cancelled later that year before the aircraft had been constructed.
| XBG-3 | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Type | Bomb glider |
| Manufacturer | Cornelius Aircraft |
| Primary user | United States Army Air Forces |
| Number built | 0 |
| Serial | 42-46911[1] |
History
Early in World War II, the United States Army Air Forces initiated research into the possibility that gliders, towed by other, conventional aircraft to the area of a target, then released and guided to impact via radio control, could be a useful weapon of war.[2] Essentially an early form of (very large) guided missile,[2] the concept was similar to a Navy project underway at the same time, known as Glomb (from "glider-bomb"),[3] and led to the establishment of the 'BG' series of designations, for 'Bomb Glider', in early 1942.[2][3]
Among the designs considered for use as a bomb glider was an unconventional design submitted by the Cornelius Aircraft Company. Cornelius, having established a reputation for unconventional aircraft designs,[4] proposed a design that featured a "tail-first" configuration,[2] with canard foreplanes and a radical forward-swept wing.[3] The USAAF considered the design interesting enough to award a contract to Cornelius for the construction of a single prototype, designated XBG-3.[5] However the project was cancelled in late 1942, when the bomb glider concept was abandoned by the USAAF.[3][6]
An enlarged, tailless, forward-swept wing glider would be built by Cornelius later in the war, acting as a "flying fuel tank" for long-range bombers, as the XFG-1.[7]
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
Related lists