" Gargoyle " ( Gargoyle [ˈɡɑːrɡɔɪl] in the lane. English " gargoyle " , Navy index - LBD-1 , and then KSD-1 ) is an American air-to-surface guided missile developed during the Second World War . The development was carried out by research institutions of the US Navy and the McDonnell Aircraft guided weapons division. Gargoyle is the first guided missile designed and manufactured by McDonnell Aircraft [1] . Intended to defeat surface targets. Development began under the impression of the successful use by the Germans of the Henschel Hs 293 guided missiles. The missile was late to the end of hostilities, and was not put into practice, although it remained in service with the United States until 1950. It was intended to launch carrier- based aircraft from enemy aircraft, the warhead of the rocket provided penetration of the armored deck of standard German and Japanese ships. The original model of 1944 was a planning one, had a cigar-shaped shape and short rectangular wings, the later model of 1945, received the verbal name “ Kadidid ” ( Kadydid [ˈkeɪdɪdɪd] , from the American English “ grasshopper ”, Navy index - KDD-1 ), in essence, it was no longer a planning bomb, but a guided missile, since it had a propulsion system and a more streamlined aerodynamic configuration [2] . Nevertheless, in connection with the end of the war, the program was curtailed, experimental prototypes made by that time were transferred for testing as air targets to the Mojave Fleet Testing Center for Aviation Weapons. [3]
Content
History
The development of the rocket began in October 1943 by the reverse engineering method of German guided missiles Henschel Hs 293 and FX-1400 based on available information. To accelerate development, it was decided to develop the program as part of an ongoing naval program of guided planning bombs LB.
The planning bomb was supposed to have a semi-armor-piercing warhead weighing 454 kg and delivered by carrier-based aircraft. Its main application was to defeat enemy ships with high accuracy. In June 1944, a contract was signed with McDonnell for the supply of the first batch of 200 missiles.
Description
The rocket was built according to the normal aerodynamic design with a V-shaped tail. Initially, it was assumed that the projectile should not have an engine, but subsequently it was decided to add the Aerojet 8AS1000 solid propellant rocket engine, based on an aircraft launch accelerator. Burning out in a few seconds, the engine accelerated the rocket to 980 km / h. The increase in speed, unlike the German Henschel Hs 293, was used to ensure high armor penetration in the attack. Then, a liquid pulsating McDonnell jet engine using two-component fuel was tested, which significantly increased the duration of the remote control operation. Subsequently, a pulsed McDonnell-Schmidt brand jet engine , developed by German rocket scientist Paul Schmidt and manufactured by Ford Motor Co. , was chosen for the Cadid modification . providing 40 minutes of continuous burning.
Missile control was a radio command. The pilot of the carrier aircraft tracked the movement of the rocket visually, using a bright tracer in its aft. The missile body withstood overload up to 4G, which gave it a relatively high maneuverability.
The missile was supposed to be dropped from aircraft from an altitude of about 4,500 meters. The radius of the planning flight was approximately 8 km.
Tests of the rocket began in March 1945. The first launch of a rocket with an engine took place in July 1945. The first test results were unsuccessful, and the rocket was not finished until the end of the war. Only in 1946 did the first fully successful controlled flight take place. Considering the missile to be unsuccessful, the fleet stopped the development program. A batch of 200 missiles manufactured in 1947 remained in service until 1950, after which it was decommissioned.
Comparative characteristic
| Model | Appointment | Propulsion system | Active Flight Path | Warhead weight | Launch method | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LBD-1 | glider bomb | not provided | inertia flight | n / a | from the underwing pylon of a carrier aircraft | ||
| anti-ship missile | TRU | Solid propellant rocket engine | Aerojet 8AS1000 | 8 seconds | n / a | ||
| KSD-1 | Ramjet | Rocket engine | Mcdonnell | n / a | 453.5 kg | ||
| KDD-1 | air target | Rocket engine | Mcdonnell-schmidt | 40 minutes | doesn't have | from a carrier aircraft or from a catapult | |
Notes
- ↑ Gunston, Bill . The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft Armament: A Major Directory of Guns, Rockets, Missiles, Bombs, Torpedoes and Mines. - London and New York: Salamander Books, 1987 .-- P. 30 - 208 p. - ISBN 0-86101-314-X .
- ↑ Yenne, Bill . McDonnell Douglas: Tale of Two Giants. - NY: Crescent Books, 1985 .-- P. 190 - 256 p. - ISBN 0-517-44287-6 .
- ↑ Jacobs, Horace ; Whitney, Eunice Engelke . Missile and Space Projects Guide 1962 . - NY: Springer, 1962. - P. 69 - 235 p.
- ↑ Weyl, AR Guided Missiles — VIII . // The Aeroplane . - November 12, 1948. - Vol. 75 - No. 1953 - P. 620-621.
Literature
- Norman Friedman US Naval Weapons. - Conway Maritime Press, 1983.
- Frederick I. Ordway III, Ronald C. Wakeford. International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. - McGraw-Hill, 1960.
- Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles: a comprehensive technical directory and history of the military guided missile systems of the 20th century. - Salamander Books, 1979.- 264 p. - ISBN 0861010299 .