Northrop's Weapon Systems 118P: N-165 and N-173

[Skybolt]

It is always difficult to find new words for describing the excellence that goes inside every new issue of eAPR. Buy it, or you'll not REAL SP adept !
BTW, Scott, what about a third possible Northrop contender for SR-12 ? That strut-braced, high-altitude, long-range, BLC recon aircraft (you know what I mean).

 

[Orionblamblam]

BTW, Scott, what about a third possible Northrop contender for SR-12 ? That strut-braced, high-altitude, long-range, BLC recon aircraft (you know what I mean).

For System 118P, you mean? This aircraft (dated 1956, 195 foot wingspan) is about the right timeframe, but seems to be much more of a hypothetical study examining the advantages of laminar flow control than an serious proposal.

 

[Skybolt]

Yep, that one.

 

[flateric]

high-speed WS 118P beast from Northrop - Model N-173
occasionally found at http://www.wpafb.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-080409-007.pdf
double is here http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD371458
but nothing except PHASE 3 PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN so far

 

[Sundog]

There are poor black and white artwork of both designs in the document at the link. I didn't post them because others here are better at cleaning up images than I am.

http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/AD371458

On a side note, is it possible to request documents that have a TR there, but aren't posted?

 

[flateric]

yes

 

[overscan (PaulMM)]

Not really possible to retrieve anything from that. I can see a front fuselage and tailplanes on the N-165, looks like the U-2 overall.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Not really possible to retrieve anything from that. I can see a front fuselage and tailplanes on the N-165, looks like the U-2 overall.

I have a good layout drawing of the N-165 in Aerospace Projects Review issue V2N3: http://www.up-ship.com/eAPR/ev2n3.htm in the Part 2 article on BoMi.

Same crappy image of the N-173, sadly.

 

[flateric]

www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8947.msg80399/highlight,n-173.html#msg80399

 

[Sundog]

www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8947.msg80399/highlight,n-173.html#msg80399

I actually searched first, but I searched on the model number.

 

[Stargazer]

Four files related to Weapons System 118P are available in PDF form here:

http://www.theblackvault.com/m/articles/view/Weapon-System-118P

They go through a lot more detail over the North American Aviation proposal, though.

 

[Vahe Demirjian]

I have a copy of Tony Chong's book "Flying Wings & Radical Things: Northrop's Secret Aerospace Projects & Concepts 1939-1994" and you'll find pics of the N-165 spyplane design on page 120 of the book. The N-165 itself had a wingspan bigger than that of the U-2, X-16, RB-57D/F, Yak-25RV, and M-17/M-55 Mystic. There's also a pic and a drawing of the N-173 in the book.