multimike

I read vauge references to remote controlled planes , such as the DH Queen Bee that were used in WW2 for target practice,there were quite a few others, what the heck did they use for servos and stuff, I cannot seem to find any info Mike

khodges

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I don't know the specifics, but there are some big industrial sized servos available for this kind of application. Down at TripleTree Aerodrome (where Joe Nall is held) in South Carolina, there's a full scale sized r/c plane in the hangar with the full-scale planes he owns. It looks kind of like a Quaker; the servos in it are the size of truck batteries and I haven't a clue how much they weigh or where you find those things.

Grampaw

More on full size RC planes:

Early in the Korean War I remember the Navy using worn out Hellcats filled with explosives that were flown into the entrances of railroad tunnels on mountain sides. These planes were radio-controlled. The pilot was in the back seat of a two seater like an AT-6 or an Avenger flying along behind. Approaching the target the Hellcat was flown down alongside the tracks on the side of a steep mountain side until it was close to the tunnel entrance where it was steered into the tunnel and crashed, detonating the explosives aboard, effectively sealing the tunnel entrance. The rc Hellcats, or others, were used as the terrain was so steep that the Jets in use in those days were unable to get in along the steep ragged hillsides to get their rockets inside the tunnel with any accuracy, so it was decided to use radio contolled drones, namely some old WWII Warbirds still flyable. The sacrifice of a few old WWII hacks proved to do the job very well, and was a fitting finale for some of the old Warbirds...better than being chopped up or unceremoniously dumped into the sea. There was a sailor, whose name escapes me after all these years, who after the war became a singer, actor and dancer for Walt Disney. He got the job guiding the Hellcats by radio control because he was a Radioman. I wonder if he got into the hobby later on.

multimike

WOW!!! I still don't really understand how they got them airborne, I guess once it was in the air an autopilot would fly it but something like a Hellcat, with all that power and weight must have been a handfull to take off at the best of times Mike

multimike

I did some more browing and found a couple of neat sites , one is The Radioplane Target Drone, some 14,891 of these were built from 1941 through 1945, its worth looking at the other one was the BQ7 converted B17F if the results had not been so tragic it might seem funny to read, they mounted cameras in the nose and on the flight deck which were monitored by a mother ship, two guys took them off and then parachuted to safety while they were still over England. MIke

Grampaw

Hey Guys, I did a little more checking on the Hellcat Drone thing tonight and came up with a bit more info. I was in error as to the time they were used as Drones, and also the Chase Planes that were used. Blame that on some mold in the grey matter. Anyway here is what I found.

When the Korean War started in 1950, the WWII F6F-5 model Hellcat was still being used in Navy Reserve Squadrons stateside, but the drone versions were not used in combat until the summer of 1952. The military was involved in Radio Controlled aircraft in various scenarios during that time span and I guess it took a while before they got around to using them in Korea.

While looking this up I ran into another tale of RC Drones of the Navy. Don't recall the date, but it was later than 1952 that this happened. The RC signal to a Drone out over the ocean off California was lost. The Drone was to have been flown to a designated target area and flown in. But upon losing its signal it somehow went into a turn and headed back for civilization, Southern California! The Navy called the Air Force for help, and the AF sent some Intersepters out. When they located the errant Drone they fired about 200 or so rockets at it, missing it entirely. Why, will make this too long...so to continue, The circling Drone by then was overland and flying towards areas of habitat. It finally crashed in a remote area after running out of fuel. Rockets fired by the AF however were falling all over the place setting numerous fires and scaring the hell out of civilians. No great damage was done, except to the AF's pride. But let's get back to the Hellcat Drones in Korea.

In the summer of 1952 six F6Fs assigned to Guided Missile Unit 90 were loaded with High Explosives and launched from the carier Boxer towards a Railroad Bridge ashore. INo mention of the result of that flight. I have seen movie footage of an RC Hellcat being flown into a tunnel opening on a railroad track, and the ensuing explosion, so perhaps that it was one of those original six.

Someone here wondered how they were launched. According to what I found out they were launched off the Boxer's flight deck under it's own power. Control of the Hellcat while on deck was from one of two Skyraiders. The first one had control while on deck, then once the Drone was launched and airborne, control was switched the second Skyraider, airborne and orbiting the ship. The RC pilot aboard then handled all the controls via RC signals. The Drone was setup with an RC control guidance system, and a television guidance camera aboard. There was no info as to how effective these six drones were, but there was mention of something Warbird Scale Modelers looking for a new subject to build might be interested in. The six drones and their Skyraiders were painted a brilliant red or yellow color. I saw a photo of one of the Skyraiders and it was indeed all red.

Dsegal

Joseph Kennedy Jr. was killed flying an RC drone bomber. See http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/kenn...y_story02.html