1944 US NAVY " DRONES"

They actually saw some action in 1944:

These vehicles took off from their carrier and were guided by radio control from a TBD Avenger. The interesting thing is that they were equipped with a TV camera and the last part of the flight was guided by the operator thanks to the images transmitted from the "Drone".

From what I understood and seen IMHO they were rather REMOTELY (edit) guided missiles.

From Wiki. (I take notice in Odissey channel).

The Interstate TDR was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle — referred to at the time as an "assault drone" — developed by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation during the Second World War for use by the United States Navy. Capable of being armed with bombs or torpedoes, 2000 aircraft were ordered, but only around 200 were built. The type saw some service in the Pacific Theater against the Japanese, but continuing developmental issues affecting the aircraft, along with the success of operations using more conventional weapons, led to the decision being made to cancel the assault drone program in October 1944.

Interstate TDR - Wikipedia




I found many videos in the internet.

 

Well, I wonder if the term "missile" exclude the idea of a guy inside it.

 

Kamikaze had a better idea, but as Al McGuire said:

The only mystery in life is why the kamikaze pilots wore helmets!

 

In the broadest sense of the word no. In narrower sense yes. It does bring up the question of how to categorize the pigeon guided devices ...

 

Even the guy could be the missile.

As the TDR-1carried its payload in external supports ... I wonder if the original idea was to get them back as nowadays drones. I didn't see that in the videos.

 

Yes, the concept shifted from being a remote-controlled bomber to being a missile. A total of 189 were manufactured, beginning in December 1943 and ending in September 1944. Much better than the Wiki article is: www.nnapprentice.com/alumni/letter/TDR_1.pdf

Also on the development of the Navy drones see pp. 24-26: www.au.af.mil/au/aupress/digital/pdf/.../b_0006_werrell_evolution_cruise_missile.pdf

There was also a TD3R (10 completed), a TDN (100 completed), and a TDC (201 completed).

 

We must be watching different videos...If anything was recovered of these drones, it was pieces, itty-bitty ones.


You will not that the undercarriage has been jettisoned, this was done shortly after take off. The trip was always considered a one-way mission.

 

Don't think any of the STAG squadrons operated from an aircraft carrier . . . these were land-based operations.

 

That they did not.

The only carrier launches were the test launches of the previous TDN-1s on USS Sable.

 

looks like that aircraft is about to stall...

 

Well , I re-read ( is this correct in english?) the article NAVY DRONES And the original idea was actually throw the payload an recover the drone. But it was almost impossible to get a hit with this technologies, so the drones became "kamikazes" .