Jack Northrop's Black Bullet came about on July 17, 1939. The XP-56 was an attempt to radically improve combat aircraft performance by using an unconventional, near all-wing, airframe design. Although ...

Curtiss offered a canard pusher designated the XP-55 Ascender (see NASM collection) while Northrop proposed the stubby, menacing, tailless XP-56 Black Bullet. On June 22, 1940, Northrop received a ...