GAM-67 Crossbow

GAM-67 Crossbow
Crossbow on B-47 carrier aircraft
Type	Anti-radar missile
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Manufacturer	Northrop Ventura Division
No. built	14
Specifications
Mass	2,800 lb (1,270 kg)
Length	19 ft 1 in (5.82 m)
Height	4 ft 6 (1.37 m)
Diameter	32 in (81 cm)
Wingspan	12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Engine	Continental J69 turbojet
Operational range	300 miles (480 km)
Flight altitude	40,000 ft (12,200 m)
Maximum speed	675 mph (1,090 km/h)
Guidance system	passive multiple-frequency radar seeker, autopilot and a radio-command guidance system
Launch platform	Aircraft or RATO

WS-121B Longbow
Type	Anti-radar missile and ultra long-range air-to-air missile
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	Initially developed post-1957, cancelled in early- to mid-1960s
Production history
Manufacturer	Northrop Ventura Division
No. built	Unknown, possibly none
Specifications
Engine	Unknown
Operational range	At least 300 mi (480 km)
Maximum speed	2,600 mph (4,200 km/h) (Mach 3.5)
Guidance system	Unknown; Presumed to be similar to the Crossbow's guidance
Launch platform	Strategic bombers

The GAM-67 Crossbow was a turbojet-powered anti-radar missile built by Northrop's Ventura Division, the successor to the Radioplane Company who developed the Crossbow's predecessor, the Q-1 target drone. The Crossbow was intended to be carried by and launched from strategic bombers of the United States Air Force (USAF); The program was cancelled in 1957. The WS-121B Longbow was a larger and faster follow-on missile but was also ultimately cancelled in the late 1960s or early 1970s.

Development and cancellation

In the late 1940s, the Radioplane Company developed a set of prototypes of the Q-1 target series, which used pulsejet or small turbojet engines. Although the Q-1 series was not put into production as a target, it did evolve into the USAF RP-54D / XB-67 / XGAM-67 Crossbow anti-radar missile, which was first flown in 1956. It was also considered as a platform for reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and decoy roles.

The Crossbow had a cigar-shaped fuselage, straight wings, a straight twin-fin tail, and an engine inlet under the belly. It was powered by a Continental J69 turbojet engine, with 4.41 kN (450 kgf/1,000 lbf) thrust. Two Crossbows could be carried by a Boeing B-50 Superfortress bomber, while four Crossbows could be carried by a Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber. While under-development and prior to being assigned the "GAM-67" designation, the Crossbow was known as the WS-121A.

The Crossbow's speed was not enough to allow it to get far ahead of the launching bomber before it ran out of fuel. Only 14 Crossbows were built before the program was cancelled in 1957.

WS-121B Longbow

Not to be confused with Longbow (ALBM).

Following cancellation, work shifted to the WS-121B Longbow, essentially a supersonic version of the Crossbow. ^[1] The Longbow was a very long-range air-launched missile planned to be carried by the B-52 Stratofortress; Longbow was cancelled as well at some time in the 1960s. ^[2] The Longbow could be equipped with either conventional or nuclear warheads, with the B-52 being capable of carrying up to twenty at one time. The missile was allegedly capable of engaging both ground and air targets and would have had a range of up to 300 miles (480 kilometres), though it is unclear how such a missile would have been guided against aerial targets out to such ranges. ^[3] The Longbow never received an "official" designation (unlike the GAM-67 Crossbow).

References

1. Roosevelt, Edith Kermit (18 April 1963). "Pentagon's Human Computors". The Eagle-Bulletin and Dewitt News-Times. Vol. 77–5, no. 16. Fayetteville,NY: Wobo Corp. p. 5. Archived from the original on 16 October 2025. Retrieved 16 October 2025. […T]he radar-seeking missile WS-121B[…] […]would enable [the U.S.] to destroy the radar on Soviet offensive and defensive systems[…]
2. Parsch, Andreas (9 January 2003). "Radioplane B-67/GAM-67 Crossbow". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
3. https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-b-52-with-the-longbow-long-range-air-to-air-ballistic-missile-aimed-to-take-out-multiple-aircraft-that-never-was/

• Early versions of this article contained material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which was published into the Public Domain.