{"id":14461864,"date":"2026-08-20T20:39:34","date_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T20:40:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T18:40:09","slug":"northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tailless Jet That Failed Its Way Into History"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<p>Sometimes the most valuable aircraft is the one that proves an idea wrong. The tiny Northrop X-4 Bantam is exactly that: a jet built to test a tempting theory about the sound barrier, which flew well enough to demonstrate, conclusively, that the theory was a dead end.<\/p>\r\n<p>And that failure was worth every dollar &mdash; because knowing what doesn't work is how you eventually figure out what does.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;padding:20px;border-radius:8px;margin:24px 0\">\r\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:700;font-size:18px\">Informations cl\u00e9s<\/p>\r\n<ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8\">\r\n<li><strong>Taper:<\/strong> Semi-tailless transonic research aircraft<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Constructeur:<\/strong> Northrop (contract June 1946; two built)<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Premier vol :<\/strong> 15 December 1948, Rogers Dry Lake, California<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>Pouvoir:<\/strong> Two small Westinghouse turbojets<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>But:<\/strong> Test tailless stability up to about Mach 0.9<\/li>\r\n<li><strong>\u00c0 la retraite:<\/strong> Final NACA flight 29 September 1953<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A tempting theory<\/h2>\r\n<p>In the late 1940s, engineers wrestling with the sound barrier had a hunch. The stability problems that appeared as aircraft neared Mach 1 seemed to come from shock waves interacting between the wing and the horizontal tail. So what if you simply removed the tail? A clean, tailless design might sail through the transonic zone where conventional aircraft shook themselves apart.<\/p>\r\n<p>Northrop, already the world's great believer in tailless flight, built two little swept-wing jets to find out. The X-4 had no horizontal stabilizer at all &mdash; pitch and roll came from &ldquo;elevons&rdquo; on the wing, and the flaps doubled as speed brakes. It was compact, clean, and packed with instrumentation.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;At the then-current state of aeronautical engineering, tailless aircraft were not suitable for supersonic flight.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>NACA flight-test program<\/strong> &mdash; Final report, 1953<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IxLYb-48Hx0\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:-14px 0 24px;font-style:italic\">Period NACA footage of the X-4 Bantam in flight testing at Edwards.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=768862564  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-4-bantam-tailless-1.jpg\" alt=\"X-4 Bantam tailless design\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">No horizontal tail: the X-4 relied on wing-mounted elevons for control. (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The porpoise problem<\/h2>\r\n<p>The flying told the story. As the X-4 accelerated toward the speed of sound, it developed a persistent, uncontrollable pitching oscillation &mdash; a &ldquo;porpoising&rdquo; that made precise flight near Mach 1 impossible. Tested by NACA at what is now Edwards Air Force Base from 1950 to 1953, the little jet kept confirming the same unwelcome result. The tailless shortcut did not tame the transonic zone; it made things worse.<\/p>\r\n<p>The final report was blunt, and the X-4 earned a reputation as one of the least successful X-planes ever flown. But &ldquo;unsuccessful&rdquo; is the wrong word for a research aircraft that answered its question completely.<\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7;display:flex;gap:20px;align-items:flex-start\"><div><em>&ldquo;The X-4 was built to test the stability of semi-tailless designs at transonic speeds in excess of Mach 0.9.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Flying Magazine<\/strong> &mdash; Unique Aircraft feature<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jiR9vGxDXTw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;border-radius:8px\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin:-14px 0 24px;font-style:italic\">The X-4 Bantam and the idea it was built to test.<\/p>\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img data-opt-id=1783685340  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/x-4-bantam-2-1.jpg\" alt=\"X-4 Bantam\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block;border-radius:6px\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">One of two X-4s built. Both survive in museums today. (Wikimedia Commons)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The failure that paid off<\/h2>\r\n<p>The X-4 didn't kill the tailless idea forever &mdash; it just proved the technology of 1950 couldn't make it work. Decades later, with computer-driven fly-by-wire flight controls making thousands of tiny corrections a second, tailless flight became not just possible but ideal for stealth. The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/aeronef\/b-2-esprit\/\">B-2 Spirit<\/a> is the ultimate vindication of the concept the X-4 struggled with &mdash; achieved with electronics the Bantam's designers could only dream of.<\/p>\r\n<p>That is the quiet genius of the X-plane program. The X-4 Bantam looked like a flop. It was actually a signpost, pointing engineers away from a dead end and, eventually, toward the future.<\/p>\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Northrop X-4 Bantam); NASA; Vintage Aviation News; Flying Magazine.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0\">\r\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Articles similaires<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/tacit-blue-the-whale-that-made-the-b-2-possible\/\">Tacit Blue: The \"Whale\" That Made the B-2 Possible<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes the most valuable aircraft is the one that proves an idea wrong. The tiny Northrop X-4 Bantam is exactly that: a jet built to test a tempting theory about the sound barrier, which flew well enough to demonstrate, conclusively, that the theory was a dead end. And that failure was worth every dollar &mdash; [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":14461443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[666,664],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14461864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-and-legends","category-military-aviation"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1321\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connor Kerr\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\"},\"headline\":\"The Tailless Jet That Failed Its Way Into History\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":569,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"History &amp; Legends\",\"Military Aviation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/\",\"name\":\"Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/08\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1321,\"caption\":\"The Northrop X-4 Bantam, a semi-tailless research jet\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Tailless Jet That Failed Its Way Into History\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/jetflights\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9\",\"name\":\"Connor Kerr\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Connor Kerr\"},\"description\":\"Connor Kerr writes MiGFlug\u2019s long-form features \u2014 aviation history, how-it-works explainers and the stories behind the headlines.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/jetflights\\\/fr\\\/author\\\/connorkerr\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well","description":"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well","og_description":"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1321,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Connor Kerr","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Connor Kerr","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/"},"author":{"name":"Connor Kerr","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9"},"headline":"The Tailless Jet That Failed Its Way Into History","datePublished":"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/"},"wordCount":569,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg","articleSection":["History &amp; Legends","Military Aviation"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/","name":"Northrop X-4 Bantam: The Tailless Jet That Failed Well","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-20T18:39:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-20T18:40:09+00:00","description":"The Northrop X-4 Bantam tested whether a tailless jet could beat the sound barrier. It proved the idea wrong in 1950 - and pointed the way to the B-2.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:bhtN.ce1a\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/08\/northrop-x-4-bantam-1.jpg","width":1920,"height":1321,"caption":"The Northrop X-4 Bantam, a semi-tailless research jet"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/northrop-x-4-bantam-tailless-research-jet\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Tailless Jet That Failed Its Way Into History"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","name":"Afterburner - Le magazine de MiGFlug","description":"pour ceux qui s&#039;int\u00e9ressent au pilotage d&#039;avions militaires et aux sujets li\u00e9s \u00e0 l&#039;aviation","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/#\/schema\/person\/bc7f2d09b1d7111c45fdb1335b8f2cf9","name":"Connor Kerr","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ed6d7365eb237a1c91b800bf8dfeb14b8e30a3712ed7fec9e18a70088fc423a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Connor Kerr"},"description":"Connor Kerr r\u00e9dige les articles de fond de MiGFlug \u2014 histoire de l&#039;aviation, explications sur le fonctionnement et les histoires qui se cachent derri\u00e8re les gros titres.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/author\/connorkerr\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14461864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14461864"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14461864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14461884,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14461864\/revisions\/14461884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14461443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14461864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14461864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14461864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}