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The Convair XGAM-71 Buck Duck was an air-launched
decoy missile Dummies and decoys are fake military equipment that are intended to deceive the enemy. Dummies and decoys are only one aspect of military deception. Examples During World War II, dummy airfields and even towns were used in England to divert ...
that was developed by
Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee, was an American aircraft manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee Aircraft. In 1953, i ...
in the early 1950s. It was intended to have the same radar signature as the
Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
's B-36 bomber, thereby allowing it to disrupt the enemy's air defenses and dilute their effort to shoot down an incoming bomber fleet. Convair built the first prototype using its own funds, but the company received an official development contract from the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...
on 16 August 1954. The USAF's Materiel Command project designation for the program was MX-2224. When the Air Force decided to put the project into production, it received the designation GAM-71."Convair Development Department Annual Report 1953" (1954-05-27), page 7, and "Convair Development Department Fourth Annual Report" (1955-09-08), page 23.
Cited by Jenkins. Both may be found at the Aerospace Education Center,
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
.
As initially envisioned by the Air Force, one B-36 in the-then typical three-plane attack formation would be filled with up to seven GAM-71s apportioned within its three bomb bays. A mixture of Ducks and other weapons was also possible, although the Air Force did not specify that it intended to use mixed loads. To fit in the bomb bay of a B-36, the GAM-71 was relatively small; its wings were folded when it was stowed in the bay. To mimic the radar cross-section of the B-36, it carried internal radar reflectors. In February 1955, unpowered glide tests of XGAM-71 prototypes began using a modified
B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is an American four-engined propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to its predecessor, the B-17 ...
as the mothership. However, the program was delayed due to funding issues. Convair also had higher priorities. A total of seven flights were conducted before the program was cancelled in January 1956, an event that researcher Dennis Jenkins attributes to the B-36's anticipated phase-out by decade's end.


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References

{{USAF missiles GAM-071 1950s United States special-purpose aircraft Decoy missiles of the United States Unmanned military aircraft of the United States Rocket-powered aircraft High-wing aircraft Abandoned military rocket and missile projects of the United States Aircraft first flown in 1955