The McDonnell TD2D Katydid was a
pulsejet
300px, Diagram of a pulsejet
A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need t ...
-powered American target
drone
Drone most commonly refers to:
* Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg
* Unmanned aerial vehicle
* Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft
* Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone
Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to:
...
produced by
McDonnell Aircraft
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom I ...
that entered service with the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
in 1942, and continued in use until the late 1940s.
History
In March 1941, 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
The V-tail or ''Vee-tail'' (sometimes called a butterfly tail or Rudlicki's V-tailGudmundsson S. (2013). "General Aviation Aircraft Design: Applied Methods and Procedures" (Reprint). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 489. , 9780123973290) of an aircraft ...
, and
McDonnell XPJ40-MD-2 pulsejet
300px, Diagram of a pulsejet
A pulsejet engine (or pulse jet) is a type of jet engine in which combustion occurs in pulses. A pulsejet engine can be made with few or no moving parts, and is capable of running statically (i.e. it does not need t ...
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
The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served wi ...
flying boats.
It was gyro-stabilized, and control was by
radio command
Command guidance is a type of missile guidance in which a ground station or aircraft relay signals to a guided missile via radio control or through a wire connecting the missile to the launcher and tell the missile where to steer to intercept its ...
; at the end of its mission the drone could be recovered by
parachute.
Operational history
The Katydid entered service in 1942; testing took place at the
Naval Air Missile Test Center
Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Stat ...
in
Point Mugu, California
Point Mugu (, Chumash: ''Muwu'') is a cape or promontory within Point Mugu State Park on the Pacific Coast in Ventura County, near the city of Port Hueneme and the city of Oxnard. The name is believed to be derived from the Chumash Indian te ...
.
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
The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...
- to "H", the KDD-1 being again redesignated, as KDH-1.
Surviving aircraft
A KDH-1 is displayed in the
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
of the
National Air and Space Museum, having been donated by the U.S. Navy in 1966.
Specifications (KDD-1)
See also
References
{{USN drones
TD2D Katydid
1940s United States special-purpose aircraft
Target drones of the United States
V-tail aircraft
Pulsejet-powered aircraft
Single-engined jet aircraft
Mid-wing aircraft
World War II jet aircraft of the United States
Aircraft first flown in 1942