Northrop Corporation

Northrop Corporation was an American aircraft manufacturer that existed from its formation in 1939 until its 1994 merger with Grumman created Northrop Grumman. It was known for developing the flying wing design, most successfully the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Jack Northrop had founded three companies under his name; the 1939 corporation was set up in Hawthorne, California, a site located by co-founder Moye Stephens. It developed and built the P-61 Black Widow night fighter, the B-35 and YB-49 experimental flying wing bombers, the F-89 Scorpion interceptor, the SM-62 Snark cruise missile and the F-5 Freedom Fighter, whose derivative was the T-38 Talon trainer. Its YF-17 Cobra lost the lightweight fighter competition but was modified with McDonnell Douglas into the F/A-18 Hornet, and Northrop also pursued the F-20 Tigershark, which found little market interest.