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I'd want to be very careful in trying to make sense of the photo captions provided on that NASA website. In some cases, the models have very clear visual linkages to programs resulting in (or following upon) actual aircraft. Many more do not. That's because the NACA wind tunnel complex was used by a wide variety of researchers -- NACA's own employees, military services and government agencies, aircraft and missile manufacturers, academics, and even semi-anonymous private researchers. And the pictures are labeled according to whatever the researcher told NACA to call their model (including nothing at all in, for example, many theoretical studies). When the photo caption says 'Model No. xxx' that may refer to a contractor's design designation, e.g., Boeing 299, to some component (or sub-component) of a military or NACA design program, to a variant sequence in an academic's theoretical study, or to something else entirely. Bottom line: those captions are an amalgam of many researchers' designations, only some of which pertain to programs that proceeded far enough to result in a contractor's model designation or a military aircraft designation series. Caveat inquisitor!

<blockquote data-quote="Clioman" data-source="post: 104748" data-attributes="member: 452"><p>I'd want to be very careful in trying to make sense of the photo captions provided on that NASA website.&nbsp; In some cases, the models have very clear visual linkages to programs resulting in (or following upon) actual aircraft.&nbsp; Many more do not.&nbsp; That's because the NACA wind tunnel complex was used by a wide variety of researchers -- NACA's own employees, military services and government agencies,&nbsp; aircraft and missile manufacturers, academics, and even semi-anonymous private researchers.&nbsp; And the pictures are labeled according to whatever the researcher told NACA to call their model (including nothing at all in, for example, many theoretical studies).&nbsp; When the photo caption says 'Model No. xxx' that may refer to a contractor's design designation, e.g., Boeing 299, to some component (or sub-component) of a military or NACA design program, to a variant sequence in an academic's theoretical study, or to something else entirely.&nbsp; Bottom line: those captions are an amalgam of many researchers' designations, only some of which pertain to programs that proceeded far enough to result in a contractor's model designation or a military aircraft designation series.&nbsp; Caveat inquisitor!</p></blockquote><p></p>

[QUOTE="Clioman, post: 104748, member: 452"] I'd want to be very careful in trying to make sense of the photo captions provided on that NASA website. In some cases, the models have very clear visual linkages to programs resulting in (or following upon) actual aircraft. Many more do not. That's because the NACA wind tunnel complex was used by a wide variety of researchers -- NACA's own employees, military services and government agencies, aircraft and missile manufacturers, academics, and even semi-anonymous private researchers. And the pictures are labeled according to whatever the researcher told NACA to call their model (including nothing at all in, for example, many theoretical studies). When the photo caption says 'Model No. xxx' that may refer to a contractor's design designation, e.g., Boeing 299, to some component (or sub-component) of a military or NACA design program, to a variant sequence in an academic's theoretical study, or to something else entirely. Bottom line: those captions are an amalgam of many researchers' designations, only some of which pertain to programs that proceeded far enough to result in a contractor's model designation or a military aircraft designation series. Caveat inquisitor! [/QUOTE]

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