Jump to content

Northrop Corporation

From Alfawiki
Northrop Corporation
IndustryAerospace, Defense
PredecessorNorthrop Aircraft Corporation
Founded1939 in Hawthorne, California, United States
FounderJack Northrop, Moye Stephens
Defunct1994
FateMerged with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman
SuccessorNorthrop Grumman
Headquarters
Hawthorne, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jack Northrop (founder)
ProductsAircraft, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile systems

Northrop Corporation operated as a prominent American aircraft manufacturer from 1939 until it merged with Grumman in 1994, resulting in the creation of Northrop Grumman. The company gained distinction for its innovative flying wing designs, with the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber standing out as its most acclaimed product.


History

Jack Northrop, a visionary entrepreneur and influential figure in aerospace, established three separate enterprises bearing his name. The initial firm, Avion Corporation (1928), was incorporated into United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1929 and subsequently renamed "Northrop Aircraft Corporation," which eventually became part of Boeing. After relocating operations to Kansas in 1931, Northrop collaborated with Donald Douglas to launch "Northrop Corporation" in El Segundo, California, producing successful aircraft such as the Northrop Gamma and Northrop Delta. Labor conflicts led to the company's closure in 1937, with the facility transitioning into Douglas Aircraft's El Segundo Division.[1]

In 1939, Northrop initiated the third incarnation of "Northrop Corporation" based in Hawthorne, California, a site strategically selected by co-founder Moye Stephens. This version ranked 100th among U.S. corporations regarding World War II military production contracts.[2] Among its notable developments were the Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter, experimental flying wing bombers (YB-35 and YB-49), the F-89 Scorpion interceptor, the SM-62 Snark cruise missile, and the cost-effective jet fighter Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter along with its trainer variant, the Northrop T-38 Talon.[3]


The commercial triumph of the F-5 shaped Northrop’s strategic focus during the 1970s and 1980s on designing lightweight fighters. The N-300 project evolved through iterations such as the P-530 and P-600, ultimately producing the Northrop YF-17 Cobra, which was defeated by the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon in the U.S. Air Force Light Weight Fighter competition. Nevertheless, a collaboration with McDonnell Douglas converted the YF-17 into the highly successful naval fighter F/A-18 Hornet. Northrop’s effort to sell a non-naval F-18L model met resistance due to competition with McDonnell Douglas, resulting in an extended legal dispute. Despite this setback, Northrop continued manufacturing essential components for the F/A-18 and revisited the F-5 platform with the affordable Northrop F-20 Tigershark, which ultimately did not achieve market success.

In 1985, Northrop secured ownership of northrop.com, recognized as one of the earliest registered .com domains.[4]

Utilizing its expertise in flying wing technology, Northrop developed the sophisticated stealth bomber B-2 Spirit throughout the 1990s.[5][6]

After losing critical contracts for the Advanced Tactical Fighter and being excluded from the Joint Strike Fighter competition in 1994, Northrop merged with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman. This merger marked a pivotal corporate transformation and expanded their global footprint.

Aircraft

1963 | 2 | Experimental aircraft utilizing boundary layer control |
Model designation Maiden flight Quantity produced Classification
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 (plus 19 manufactured by Canadian Vickers) Single-engine transport aircraft
Northrop XFT 1933 1 Prototype naval fighter aircraft
Northrop A-17/Nomad 1935 411 Attack aircraft / light bomber
Northrop BT 1935 55 Dive bomber aircraft
Northrop N-1M 1940 1 Experimental flying wing prototype
Northrop P-61 Black Widow 1942 706 Night fighter aircraft
Northrop N-9M 1942 4 Scaled experimental flying wing for B-35 development

-

Projects

  • Northrop N-1 – Flying wing bomber concept for USAAC
  • Northrop N-4 and N-5 – Pursuit fighter designs for USAAF
  • Northrop N-6 – Fighter proposal for the Navy
  • Northrop N-15 – Twin-engine cargo aircraft project
  • Northrop N-31 and N-34 – Flying wing bomber projects, including a nuclear-powered variant
  • Northrop N-55 – Patrol aircraft design
  • Northrop N-59 – Carrier-based bomber concept
  • Northrop N-60 – Anti-submarine warfare plane; project lost to the Grumman S-2 Tracker
  • Northrop N-63 – Tailsitting VTOL interceptor competing with the Lockheed XFV-1 and Convair XFY-1
  • Northrop N-65 – Interceptor developed under the WS-201 program
  • Northrop N-74 – Tactical transport proposal
  • Northrop N-94 – Naval fighter contender against the Vought F8U Crusader
  • Northrop N-102 Fang, along with N-103 (all-weather interceptor), N-132 (strategic fighter), and N-144 (long-range interceptor)
  • Northrop N-155 – Target towing aircraft design
  • Northrop N-285 – Advanced jet trainer for US Navy; lost to the T-45 Goshawk
  • Northrop N-321/P610 – Light-weight fighter project

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Missile Systems

Related Topics

  1. ↑ Parker, Dana T. Building Victory, pp. 25, 93.
  2. ↑ Peck & Scherer, The Weapons Acquisition Process, p.619
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Parker93
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Northrop_Corporation&oldid=8374"