The future of combat aviation compliments of the Nazi's.

In December, US aircraft maker Northrop Grumman unveiled a revolutionary design for a future fighter aircraft that looks more like a flying saucer than a fighter plane.  Called a ‘flying wing’, it ditches the traditional tail fin at the back. The first such ‘flying wing’ jet fighter design was built and flown in Nazi Germany at the end of World War Two. That aircraft, pictured above, was so far ahead of its time that its aerodynamic secrets are still not completely understood. The prototype flew successfully on 2 February 1945, though it crashed after engine failure a few weeks later.  But the tests proved that the aircraft could take off, cruise and land, and the aircraft’s basic design was sound.