McDonnell TD2D Katydid

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TD2D Katydid
KDD Katydid.jpg
McDonnell KDD-1 on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
RoleTarget drone
National originUnited States
Manufacturer McDonnell Aircraft
First flight1942
Primary user United States Navy

The McDonnell TD2D Katydid (company designation McDonnell Model31) [1] is a pulsejet-powered American target drone produced by McDonnell Aircraft that entered service with the United States Navy in 1942, and continued in use until the late 1940s.

Contents

History

In March 1941, [2] the U. S. Navy awarded McDonnell Aircraft a contract for a radio-controlled target drone under the designation of XTD2D-1 for anti-aircraft and aerial gunnery practice. The aircraft had a mid-mounted wing, V-tail, and McDonnell XPJ40-MD-2 pulsejet engine mounted atop the rear fuselage. The drone could be either launched by catapult from the ground or from underwing racks on Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats. [3] [4] It was gyro-stabilized, and control was by radio command; [5] at the end of its mission the drone could be recovered by parachute. [3]

Operational history

The Katydid entered service in 1942; [6] testing took place at the Naval Air Missile Test Center in Point Mugu, California. [7] Production models were originally designated TD2D-1, however the Navy changed its designation system in 1946 and the XTD2D-1 and TD2D-1 were redesignated as XKDD-1 and KDD-1, respectively. Later that year, the Navy changed McDonnell's manufacturer code letter from "D" - which had been shared with Douglas Aircraft - to "H", the KDD-1 being again redesignated, as KDH-1. [8]

Surviving aircraft

A KDH-1 is displayed in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum, having been donated by the U.S. Navy in 1966. [3]

Specifications (KDD-1)

Data from Udvar-Hazy Center, [3] Parsch 2003 [8]

General characteristics

Performance

See also

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References

  1. ↑ McDonnell Model Numbers (PDF). McDonnell Douglas. 1 July 1974. p. 8.
  2. ↑ Bugos, Glenn E. (1996). Engineering the F-4 Phantom II: Parts Into Systems . Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p.  11. ISBN   978-1557500892.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Katydid Drone". National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  4. ↑ Ordway, Frederick Ira; Ronald C. Wakeford (1960). International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 187. ASIN   B000MAEGVC.
  5. ↑ Zandt, J.P. (1948). World Aviation Annual. Washington, DC: Aviation Research Institute. ASIN   B000HKMGMI.
  6. ↑ Yenne, Bill (2006). Secret Gadgets and Strange Gizmos: High-Tech (and Low-Tech) Innovations of the U.S. Military. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press. p. 25. ISBN   978-0760321157.
  7. ↑ "Navy Guided Missiles". Astro-Jet (18). Reaction Research Society: 12. Fall 1947. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  8. 1 2 Parsch, Andreas (26 March 2003). "McDonnell TD2D/KDD/KDH Katydid". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
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