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Here's an image of a Vought F7U-3 Cutlass being refuled by a Navy AJ-2 Savage, c. mid-1950s. Regarding the Vought F7U-3, Wikipedia says it:
…was a highly unusual, semi-tailless design, allegedly based on aerodynamic data and plans captured from the Arado company at the end of World War II, though Vought designers denied any link to the German research at the time… Regarded as a radical departure from traditional aircraft design, the Cutlass suffered from numerous technical and handling problems throughout its short service career. The type was responsible for the deaths of four test pilots and 21 other U.S. Navy pilots. Over one quarter of all Cutlasses built were destroyed in accidents. The poor safety record was largely the result of the advanced design built to apply new aerodynamic theories and insufficiently powerful, unreliable engines.
Remember the B-2 was based on the B-49 Flying Wing concept but it took advanced computers to to control the flight surfaces and make it a stable craft. If a pilot ever has to fly a B-2 dead stick he should probably start praying because the airframe itself is about as stable as a piece of tinfoil in a hurricane. I imagine they had some of the same problems with this aircraft, it was just too advanced for the available technology at the time.
