From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1940s American unmanned aerial vehicle
The
Fleetwings BQ-2
was an early expendable
unmanned aerial vehicle
? referred to at the time as an "
assault drone
" ? developed by
Fleetwings
during the
Second World War
for use by the
United States Army Air Forces
. Only a single example of the type was built; the aircraft was deemed too expensive for service and was cancelled after a brief flight testing career.
Development
[
edit
]
Development of the BQ-2 began on July 10, 1942, under a program for the development of "aerial torpedoes" ? unmanned
flying bombs
? that had been instigated in March of that year. Fleetwings was contracted to build a single XBQ-2 assault drone,
[1]
powered by two
Lycoming XO-435
horizontally opposed
piston engines, and fitted with a fixed landing gear in
tricycle configuration
;
[2]
the landing gear was jettisonable for better aerodynamics.
[1]
The BQ-2 was
optionally piloted
; a single-seat cockpit was installed for ferry and training flights; a fairing would replace the cockpit canopy on operational missions.
[2]
The BQ-2 was intended to carry a 2,000 pounds (910 kg)
warhead
over a range of 1,717 miles (2,763 km) at 225 miles per hour (362 km/h); the aircraft would be destroyed in the act of striking the target.
[1]
A single
BQ-1
was to be constructed as well under the same contract.
[1]
Flight testing
[
edit
]
The XO-435 engines were dropped from the design of the XBQ-2 before completion, being replaced by two
Lycoming R-680
radial engines
, with the aircraft being redesignated XBQ-2A.
[3]
Following trials of the television-based
command guidance
system using a
PQ-12
target drone
, the XBQ-2A flew in mid 1943; following flight trials, the design was determined to be too expensive for operational use, and the program was cancelled in December of that year.
[2]
Specifications (XBQ-2A)
[
edit
]
The XBQ-2A.
Data from
[2]
General characteristics
- Crew:
1 (optional)
- Wingspan:
48 ft 7 in (14.81 m)
- Gross weight:
7,700 lb (3,493 kg)
- Powerplant:
2 ×
Lycoming R-680
-13 radial piston engines, 280 hp (210 kW) each
Armament
- 2,000 pounds (910 kg) warhead
See also
[
edit
]
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
[
edit
]
- Notes
- ^
a
b
c
d
Werrell 1985, p.30.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Parsch 2005
- ^
Andrade 1979, p.60.
- Bibliography
- Andrade, John (1979).
U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909
. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications.
ISBN
0-904597-22-9
.
- Parsch, Andreas (2005).
"Fleetwings BQ-1/2"
.
Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones
. designation-systems.net
. Retrieved
January 22,
2013
.
- Werrell, Kenneth P. (1985).
The Evolution of the Cruise Missile
. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Air University Press.
ISBN
978-1478363057
.
|
---|
Fleetwings
| |
---|
Kaiser-Fleetwings
| |
---|
|
---|
USAAF designations
(1924-1947)
| Controllable bombs
| |
---|
Target control aircraft
| |
---|
Aerial target (subscale)
| |
---|
Aerial target (full-scale)
2
| |
---|
|
---|
USAF designations
(1948-1962)
| |
---|
Tri-service designations
(1962-present)
| Main series
| |
---|
Non-sequential
| |
---|
|
---|
|