The Birth of the Delta Wing

     The development of the delta
wing planform was a significant aerodynamic innovation in the advancement
into supersonic flight. The concept was known since before World War II
but propulsion had not been available for the higher speeds in which the
delta wing’s advantage lay. When World War II ended, the Allies acquired
considerable German aerodynamic data on swept wings, some delta wing and
supersonic aerodynamics, and data on jet and ramjet engines. This data
spurred considerable interest on the part of the military, and many design
studies and advanced aircraft competitions were initiated soon after the
war ended aimed at exploring these new technologies. One of these Air
Force procurements, a transonic interceptor, was won by Consolidated
Vultee – the XP-92.Their proposed aircraft was conceived as a radical and
imaginative leap of technology utilizing an advanced ramjet propulsion
concept and a planform that evolved to a delta wing configuration. This
aircraft program fell short and was ultimately cancelled because of
immature technology and cost, however, an aerodynamic demonstrator
aircraft was continued becoming the genesis of scores of delta wing
aircraft. The world’s first delta wing aircraft, the XF-92A, took to the
air on 18 September 1948.
     This article documents the innovations and
difficulties encountered in Consolidated Vultee’s XP-92 development . . . . .