Military Disc-shaped Aircraft - Vought Flying Flapjack

Vought Flying Flapjack

During WWII some research was carried out by a number of designers on circular wings. Led by design-engineer Charles Zimmerman, Chance-Vought led a series of designs that eventually resulted in the Vought Flying Flapjack, perhaps the first aircraft explicitly designed as a disc for aerodynamic reasons. The Flapjack had a huge wing and very low wing loading, allowing it to take off easily from aircraft carriers. As with the earlier Vought V-173, the Flapjack's contra-rotating propellers were located at the ends of the wings to help counteract the drag-inducing vortices that would normally result from a wing of such a low aspect ratio. By the time the design was flying in the post-war era, jet engines had rendered the design obsolete and the US Navy lost interest.

In 1943, the Boeing Aircraft built 3 scale model aircraft whose designs had saucer-shaped wings with a propellor in the front, and a rudder in the back. The cockpit was to be in front of the wings. There was no actual fuselage in the center. The aircraft model numbers were 390, 391, and 396. They were to be powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-4360-3 Wasp Major radial engine and capable of reaching speeds of 414 mph. They were intended to be fighter planes, armed with 4 20mm cannons and underwing hardpoints that could carry 2 500 lb. bombs or external fuel tanks. Boeing submitted the proposals to the US Navy. The wing design had excellent Short TakeOff and Landing characteristics, and STOL is preferred for fixed-wing aircraft carrier planes. The Navy rejected the Boeing designs in favor of the similar-shaped Chance-Vought V-173/XF5U-1 aircraft.