Jim you're thinking of the Burnelli style aircraft.
http://www.aircrash.org/burnelli/chrono1.htm
From what I read and what common aerodynamic sense tells me these were mostly a waste of material. The fuselage is such a low aspect ratio that the vortex flow around it would have reduced or eleminated much of the lift while generating a lot of drag. It's far better to make the fuselage as slippery as possible and let the wings do their job.
The only exception to this would be to make the design a pure flying wing and thick enough that there's room for whatever payload is needed.