Cornelius XFG-1 Fuel Glider
Model Airplane News Cover Art for April, 1946
by Jo Kotula
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The Cornelius XFG-1 towed glider developed for the express purpose of transporting fuel to extend the range of bombers, especially in the long haul between bases in China and the Japanese mainland. Check out the September, 1944 Issue to learn about the extreme effort put into the B-29 program and efforts to keep China in the war. In this climate of desperation, the tanker glider concept was born.

     

Cornelius Mallard
Patent No. 2,417,189
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Beginning in the 1920s, George Cornelius had been experimenting with aircraft featuring forward-swept wings since the 1920s. The Cornelius Mallard built in 1943 had wings that were strongly swept forward and had no "tail." The plane was easy to fly and was supposedly spin and stall-proof. Of note, it could fly while almost 700 pounds overweight, something that Army plannes tried to exploit.

     

Cornelius XFG-1 Fuel Glider
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Cornelius was engaged to transform the Mallard ito a fuel transport primarily to extend the range of B-29 bomber missions. The result was designated XFG-1 . It was to be towed behind another aircraft with its fuselage tanks holding 677 gallons of fuel to provide a supplementary fuel supply for long range bombers. In the background of the M.A.N. cover art, the glider is being being towed through the air by a fuel hose. At the appropriate time, a mechanism in the glider would [theoretically] pump fuel to the tow plane, after which the hose and pilotless aircraft would be detached. The XFG-1 was to have been made so cheaply that it could be abandoned after use. The M.A.N. Cover art shows a canopy and pilot on the "expendable" glider, possibly representing the glider during testing.

Two prototypes were built and 32 flights were made between them in 1944-5. The first prototype was lost in a spin, killing the pilot -- and the argument that the Cornelius design could not spin. The fuel glider concept was abandoned at the end of World War II.

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