10/31/2007. The MX-324 experimental glider was developed under Project
12 with the aim to produce a rocket-powered interceptor. Of simple
wood and steel tube construction the aircraft had a wire-braced
vertical fin that could and has been removed. The pilot lay in 'prone
position', reaching the cockpit through a hatch at the trailing edge
of the wing.
On November 10, 1943, while being towed by a Lockheed P-38, the second
of the two gliders built, was flipped upside down by turbulence. The
pilot Harry Crosby disconnected the aircraft from the P-38 and the
MX-324 went into a spin. It came out of the spin inverted, descending
in tight circles, and Cosby was forced to bail out, landing safely by
parachute. The MX-324 was destroyed.
