Avion Corporation

Northrop Corporation

Company type	Corporation
Industry	Aerospace, Defense
Predecessor	Northrop Aircraft Corporation (earlier companies)
Founded	1939 in Hawthorne, California, United States
Founder	Jack Northrop, Moye Stephens
Defunct	1994
Fate	Merged with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman
Successor	Northrop Grumman
Headquarters	Hawthorne, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Jack Northrop (founder)
Products	Military aircraft, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles

Northrop Corporation was a prominent American aircraft manufacturer operating from 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman, which resulted in the creation of Northrop Grumman. The firm gained distinction for its groundbreaking work on the flying wing concept, especially exemplified by the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

History

Jack Northrop established three separate enterprises carrying his name. The initial venture, Avion Corporation (1928), was integrated into United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1929, rebranded as "Northrop Aircraft Corporation," and later became part of Boeing. Following the parent company’s relocation to Kansas in 1931, Northrop, along with Donald Douglas, founded a "Northrop Corporation" based in El Segundo, California. This iteration produced notable aircraft such as the Northrop Gamma and Northrop Delta. However, labor conflicts led to its closure in 1937, with the facility transitioning into Douglas Aircraft’s El Segundo Division.

In 1939, Northrop launched a new "Northrop Corporation" in Hawthorne, California, co-founded by Moye Stephens. During World War II, the company ranked 100th among U.S. firms in military production contracts. Significant developments from this period included the P-61 Black Widow night fighter, experimental flying wing bombers (YB-35, YB-49), the F-89 Scorpion interceptor, the intercontinental cruise missile SM-62 Snark, and the cost-effective jet fighter F-5 Freedom Fighter alongside its derivative trainer, the T-38 Talon.

The success of the F-5 influenced Northrop’s design approach throughout the 1970s and 1980s as they sought to replicate its lightweight structure. Early enhancements included the N-300 model featuring more powerful engines and wings positioned higher to accommodate increased payloads. This design evolved into the P-530, which incorporated turbofan engines and advanced avionics. A further simplified version, the P-600, became known as the YF-17 Cobra; however, it was defeated by General Dynamics’ F-16 Fighting Falcon in the USAF Light Weight Fighter competition.

Although unsuccessful in that contest, Northrop collaborated with McDonnell Douglas to modify the YF-17 into the successful McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet for naval use. Northrop’s effort to market a non-naval variant called the F-18L was overshadowed by McDonnell Douglas’s F-18A and resulted in extended legal disputes. Meanwhile, Northrop continued manufacturing major components for the F/A-18 and developed the affordable F-20 Tigershark based on the F-5 platform; nonetheless, it failed to secure substantial commercial orders.

In 1985, Northrop obtained ownership of northrop.com, making it one of the earliest .com domain registrations.

Continuing their legacy of flying wing innovation, Northrop engineered the stealthy B-2 Spirit bomber during the 1990s.

After losing significant contracts such as the Advanced Tactical Fighter program to Lockheed Martin and being excluded from the Joint Strike Fighter competition, Northrop merged with Grumman in 1994 to form Northrop Grumman.

Aircraft

Model designation	Maiden flight	Quantity produced	Category
Northrop Alpha	1930	17	Single-engine transport aircraft
Northrop C-19 Alpha	1930	3	Single-engine transport aircraft
Northrop Beta	1931	2	Single-engine sport plane
Northrop Gamma	1932	60	Single-engine transport aircraft
Northrop Delta	1933	13	Single-engine transport; additional 19 manufactured by Canadian Vickers
Northrop XFT	1933	1	Prototype naval fighter aircraft
Northrop YA-13	1933	1	Prototype attack aircraft
Northrop A-17/Nomad	1935	411	Attack/light bomber aircraft
Northrop BT	1935	55	Dive bomber aircraft
Northrop N-1M	1940	1	Experimental flying wing design
Northrop N-3PB	1940	24	Floatplane patrol bomber
Northrop P-61 Black Widow	1942	706	Night fighter aircraft
Northrop N-9M	1942	4	Scale experimental flying wing, proof of concept for B-35
Northrop XP-56 Black Bullet	1943	2	Prototype tailless fighter aircraft
Northrop F-15 Reporter	1945	36	Reconnaissance plane derived from P-61
Northrop XP-79	1945	1	Prototype jet-powered flying wing fighter
Northrop YB-35	1946	2	Prototype strategic bomber with flying wing design
Northrop YC-125 Raider	1946	1	Trimotor transport aircraft
Northrop YB-49	1947	6	Prototype strategic bomber powered by eight jet engines
Northrop F-89 Scorpion	1948	1,052	Interceptor aircraft

Projects

• Northrop N-1 (flying wing bomber developed for USAAC)
• Northrop N-4 (pursuit aircraft for USAAF)
• Northrop N-5 (pursuit fighter for USAAF)
• Northrop N-6 (fighter design intended for the Navy)
• Northrop N-15 (twin-engine cargo aircraft)
• Northrop N-31 (project focused on flying wing bomber)
• Northrop N-34 (conceptual nuclear-powered flying wing bomber)
• Northrop N-55 (aircraft designed for patrol duties)
• Northrop N-59 (bomber designed for carrier operations)
• Northrop N-60 (anti-submarine warfare plane; ultimately not selected, losing to Grumman S-2 Tracker)
• Northrop N-63 (tailsitting VTOL concept competing with Lockheed XFV-1 and Convair XFY-1)
• Northrop N-65 (interceptor developed under the WS-201 program)
• Northrop N-74 (tactical transport aircraft)
• Northrop N-94 (Navy fighter contender against the Vought F8U Crusader)
• Northrop N-102 Fang
• Northrop N-103 (all-weather interceptor design)
• Northrop N-132 (strategic fighter project)
• Northrop N-144 (long-range interceptor aircraft)
• Northrop N-155 (target towing aircraft)
• Northrop N-285 (advanced jet trainer for USN; lost to T-45 Goshawk)
• Northrop N-321/P610 (Lightweight Fighter)

Unmanned aerial vehicles

• Northrop AQM-35
• Northrop AQM-38
• Northrop BQM-74 Chukar

Missiles

• GAM-67 Crossbow
• Northrop JB-1 Bat
• SM-62 Snark

See also

• Northrop Grumman