Northrop MX-324

I've always been a fan of flying wings. In particular, I am amazed by the ingenuity and creativity of Jack Northrop. An advanced designer way before his time, Northrop proposed the use of a powered flying wing (the XP-79) as high-speed rocket-powered fighter aircraft (!). To test the radical design and a proof-of-concept Northrop build three glider demonstrators (designation NS-12). The three gliders were also given project numbers from the USAAF. Confusingly, two project numbers were used, MX-324 for the powered gliders, and MX-334, to the aircraft being built and flown as pure gliders.
In 1944 one airframe was modified and tested with the 2,009 lbf (8,940 N) Aerojet XCAL-200 rocket motor (MX-324). The aircraft was also fitted with combined rudder and airbrakes outboard of the elevons. It was the first US-built rocket-powered aircraft to fly.