JOHN KNUDSEN NORTHROP

'John Knudsen' "Jack" 'Northrop' (November 10, 1895 – February 18, 1981) was an American aircraft industrialist. He co-founded the Lockheed Corporation in 1927. He was the founder and eponym of the Northrop Corporation in 1939.

Contents

Entering aviation

Company founding

Awards

Quote

References

Entering aviation

Northrop's first job in aviation was in working for Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company (later Lockheed Corporation) in 1916. In 1923, Northrop joined Douglas Aircraft Company. He became chief engineer, but later rejoined Loughead — now renamed Lockheed. During his second tenure there, he worked on the Lockheed Vega, the civilian transport flown by Amelia Earhart.^[1]

Company founding

In 1928, Northrop struck out on his own, founding the Avion Corporation, which Northrop was forced to sell to United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1930. In 1932, Northrop, backed by Donald Douglas of Douglas Aircraft, founded another company, the Northrop Corporation, in El Segundo, California. This company built two highly successful monoplanes, the Northrop Gamma and Northrop Delta.^[2]
By 1939, the Northrop Corporation had become a subsidiary of Douglas, so Northrop founded another completely independent company of the same name in Hawthorne, California. While working at this company, Northrop focused on the flying wing design, which he was convinced was the next major step in aircraft design. He produced a number of flying wings, including the Northrop N-1M, Northrop N-9M, Northrop YB-35, and Northrop YB-49.

Awards

In 1947 he received the St Louis Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for "meritorious service in the advancement of aeronautics." Investiture in the International Aerospace Hall of Fame came in 1972 and in the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1974. The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber has the same wingspan as Jack Northrop's jet-powered flying wing, the YB-49.^[3]

Quote

Shortly before his death he was taken to see the then highly classified B-2, he is quoted as saying "Now I know why God let me live so long."

References

1. National Aviation Hall of Fame, NAHF: John Northrop, Biography, accessed May 2, 2007.
2. Jack Northrop (1895-1981), accessed May 2, 2007.
3. Jack Northrop, accessed May 2, 2007.