Tornado, designed from the outset for turbojet power and promising major improvement in every category of performance. Operational history As Douglas predicted, the work itself was not overly complex but almost two years were required to ready the aircraft for flight due to delays in obtaining the J35 powerplants. The end of World War II caused a general slowdown within the aviation industry and GE was late delivering the engines. When they were at last installed and tested on the ground, one of the units failed catastrophically. Compressor blades exploded through the engine casing, damaging the surrounding airframe and injuring a ground technician. Another seven-month delay ensued for repairs. America's first turbojet bomber finally flew from Muroc Army Air Base on 17 May 1946, piloted by Douglas test pilot, Bob Brush, accompanied by engineer Russell Thaw. Caught in a momentous technological shift, the XB-43 contributed to developing procedures for flying the new jet bombers, and it gave yeoman service testing new turbojet engines. Douglas completed the second prototype, AAF serial number 44-61509, flying on 15 May 1947 and delivered it to Muroc Air Force Base, California, in April 1948. The USAAF soon replaced one J35 turbojet engine with a General Electric J47. Douglas delivered the second prototype, designated YB-43, in April 1948. That aircraft was nicknamed Versatile II by USAAF personnel. When the clear plastic nose began to crack from variations in temperature at high and low altitudes, mechanics fashioned a more durable replacement made from plywood. To keep it flying, the US Air Force cannibalized parts from the first XB-43 after it was damaged in February 1951. Versatile II flew more than 300 hours until its retirement in December 1953. The U.S. Air Force only considered the first prototype to fall under the XB-43 designation. The second prototype, though functionally identical to the first, was designated YB-43, consistent with its status as a follow-on prototype under the Army's designation system for aircraft. At one point, the aircraft may have also been designated as "attack" aircraft, A-43 (not to be confused with the Curtiss XP-87, a project which started as an attack aircraft under the same designation.) The A-43 was to have eight machine guns in a solid nose replacing the bombardier's position. Aircraft disposition 44-61508: destroyed when used for target practice in the desert. 44-61509: in storage awaiting restoration in the Restoration Hangar at the National Museum of the