ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Northrop YB-35

The Northrop YB-35 was a special airplane that was made to fly very high in the sky, so high that it was even higher than a normal airplane. It had a special shape called a flying wing, which means that it didn't have a separate body or tail like other planes. Instead, it was just one big wing.

The YB-35 was made by a company called Northrop during a time when countries were trying to make better and faster airplanes for the military. It was made during a time called World War II when many countries were fighting each other.

One of the reasons the YB-35 was special was because it could fly for a long time without needing to land and refuel. This made it very useful for the military because it could stay in the sky and do its job for a long time without needing to come back to the ground.

Another special thing about the YB-35 was its big size. It was really, really big compared to normal planes. Its wingspan, which is how long the wings were from one side to the other, was almost as long as a football field! This made it look very different and stand out from other planes.

The YB-35 was also designed to carry a lot of things like bombs and guns, which were used to fight enemies. It had a big open space inside where these things could be stored and used when needed.

But even though the YB-35 had a lot of special features, it had some problems too. One of the big problems was that it was very hard for the pilots to see what was happening outside the plane. Since it didn't have a separate body or tail, the pilots couldn't see out of the front or back very well. They had to rely on special instruments to help them know where they were going and what was happening around them.

Another problem was that the YB-35 had a hard time flying really fast. It was built mostly for flying long distances and staying in the air for a long time, but it wasn't the best at going fast.

Because of these problems and some other reasons, the YB-35 didn't end up being used very much by the military. They built a few of them to test and see how well they worked, but they didn't make a lot and they didn't use them in big numbers during the war.

Even though the YB-35 didn't become a widely used airplane, it was still an important step in making new and different designs for planes. It helped engineers and scientists learn more about what works and what doesn't work when trying to make better airplanes. And that's important because it helps us keep getting better and better airplanes even today!