The Globe KD6G Firefly is an American

target drone A target drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle, generally remote controlled, usually used in the training of anti-aircraft crews. One of the earliest drones was the British DH.82 Queen Bee, a variant of the Tiger Moth trainer aircraft operational ...

, built by the Globe Aircraft Corporation for operation by 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 ...

during the 1950s and early 1960s.

Design and development

The design of the KD6G was based on the earlier Globe KD2G Firefly target drone, featuring a mid-wing configuration with a twin-fin

empennage The empennage ( or ), also known as the tail or tail assembly, is a structure at the rear of an aircraft that provides stability during flight, in a way similar to the feathers on an arrow.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third e ...

, but instead of 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 ...

powerplant as in the KD2G the KD6G was fitted with a single piston engine in a

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

configuration. Launched via catapult, the KD6G was radio-controlled during flight, and, if it was not shot down in the course of its mission, would be recovered via parachute.Parsch 2002

Operational history

First flying in prototype form in 1951, the KD6G proved successful and was ordered into production in two forms, the KD6G-1 with a McCullough O-100 engine, and the KD6G-2 with a Kiekhaefer V-105 powerplant. Used extensively by the United States Navy during the 1950s in the gunnery training role, the KD6G-2 was redesignated in 1963 in the new unified missile sequence, becoming the MQM-40A before being retired soon thereafter.

Variants

; XKD6G-1 : Prototype with McCullogh O-100-1 engine ; KD6G-1 : Production version of XKD6G-1Fahey 1958, p.32. ; KD6G-2 : Production version with Kiekhaefer V-105-2 engine ; XQM-40A : Initial redesignation of KD6G-2 ; MQM-40A : Final redesignation of KD6G-2

Aircraft on display

A KD6G-2 is on display at the

Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus oc ...

;Globe KD6G-2
. Pima Air Museum. Accessed 2013-02-13. another is at the

Planes of Fame Air Museum Planes of Fame Air Museum is an aviation museum in Chino, California,World Wa ...

Specifications (KD6G-2)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{US missiles KD6G 1940s United States special-purpose aircraft Target drones of the United States Single-engined tractor aircraft Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1951 Twin-tail aircraft