Interstate TDR-1

     
Title:
Name:
Interstate TDR-1 Interstate TDR-1
Original title:
Original Name:
Interstate TDR-1
Category:
Category:
unmanned combat aircraft unmanned combat aerial vehicle
Manufacturer:
Producer:
Interstate Aircraft & Engineering Corp., El Segundo, California
Period of production:
Production Period:
DD.MM.1943-DD.MM.1944
Made pieces:
Number of Produced:
189
(according to other sources 2 XTDR-1 and 199 TDR-1)
the First take-off:
Maiden Flight:
DD.MM.YYYY
Basic characteristics:
Basic Characteristics:
 
Takeoff and landing:
Take-off and Landing:
CTOL - conventional takeoff and landing CTOL - conventional take-off and landing
the Arrangement of the wings:
Arrangement of Wing:
monoplane monoplane
the Arrangement of the airplane:
Aircraft Concept:
classic conventional
Chassis:
Undercarriage:
discard jettisonable
Landing gear:
Landing Gear:
wheels wheels
Technical data:
Technical Data:
 
empty Weight:
Empty Weight:
1360 kg 2998 lb
Maximum takeoff weight:
The Maximum Take-off Weight:
2676 kg 5900 lb
Margin:
Wingspan:
14,91 m 48ft 11in
Length:
Length:
at 11.56 m 37ft 11,12 in
Height:
Height:
5,10 m 16ft of 8.78 in
wing Area:
Wing Area:
? m2 ? ft2
Drive:
Propulsion:
 
Category:
Category:
piston piston
Number of engines:
Number of engines:
2
Type:
Type:
inline engine Lycoming O-435-2 on the power 163 kW with a propeller blade in-line engine Lycoming O-435-2 with power 218.6 bhp with two-bladed propeller
the Volume of the fuel tanks:
Fuel Tank Capacity:
? ?
Feats:
Performance:
 
Maximum speed:
Maximum Speed:
225 km/h in ? m 139.8 mph in ? ft
Travel speed:
Cruise Speed:
? km/h in ? m ? mph in ? ft
Operating altitude:
Service Ceiling:
? m ? ft
Maximum range:
Maximum Range:
685 km 425.6
Endurance:
Endurance:
? h
Armament:
Armament:
907 kg of bombs or a torpedo 2000 lb (bombs or torpedo)
Equipment:
Equipment:
- -
User states:
User States:
Note:
Note:
IN the USAAF flew one serial machine as the XBQ-4. -
Source:
Sources:
designation-systems.net
http://www.aerofiles.com/_i.html
http://www.mugualumni.org/secretarsenal/page9.html
http://www.vectorsite.net/twcruz_1.html
www.seawaves.com
http://www.stagone.org/command-break.html
Balous, Miroslav: Aircraft 39-45: the Interstate TDR-1, the Aviation and aerospace 2015 / 10
.
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Interstate-TDR-1-t71639#540478 Version : 0

Interstate TDR-1


In early 1943, Project OPTION, a program to develop an attack drone for the U.S. Navy, was initiated. The first type tested was the Naval Aircraft Factory TDN-1, but it was soon re-evaluated for other uses and replaced in the program by a backup type, the Interstate TDR-1. It was a very similar design (some sources claim it was directly based on the TDN), and was also a simple aircraft powered by two civilian engines, the Lycoming O-435-2, but differed in its lower wing design. Also, mostly non-defective materials were used, mainly wood, and so the Wurlitzer Musical Instrument Company and the Schwinn Wheel Factory were involved in its manufacture, producing a steel tube airframe, for example. The TDR-1 had a very simple cockpit, unlike the TDN covered cockpit, used for flyovers and for landing after test flights. For "crisp" flights, the cover was removed and replaced with a smooth cover, also the hard landing gear was dropped after takeoff during combat flights.The TDR-1's armament consisted of either 900 kg bombs or a torpedo.


Like the TDN-1, the TDR was remotely controlled using a television camera in the nose and radio signals. The Grumman TBM-1C Avenger was chosen as the control aircraft, which received a retractable radar antenna in the rear of the bomb bay. The crew of this aircraft always consisted of a pilot, a radio operator, a gunner and a remote control operator. The latter initially controlled the TDR-1 visually using a joystick, but after approaching the target he pulled an opaque cover over himself to prevent glare, and monitored the next flight using the radar screen and the Block TV screen. In addition to the joystick, the remote control included a telephone dial that instructed the autopilot to perform a preset action, such as arming a bomb or dropping a torpedo. Because of the limitation imposed by the four-channel band only, only four drones could be controlled by one machine.


For testing and eventual deployment of the TDR-1, Special Task Air Group 1 (STAG-1) was assembled, consisting of VK-11 and VK-12 squadrons. It was based in Michigan in August 1943, where TDR-1 trials were also conducted on the training aircraft carrier USS Sable, and eventually relocated to Monterrey, California in the summer of 1944. However, the US Navy and specifically Admiral Nimitz refused their combat use from aircraft carriers, but they were eventually deployed in the Pacific from a base in the Russell Islands, where the unit arrived in June 1944. The first attack using TDR-1s took place on 30 July 1944, when six machines (two were backups) attacked the abandoned Japanese freighter Yamazaki Maru, anchored off Cape Esperance off Guadalcanal. The backup planes eventually came in handy as two machines were destroyed on takeoff, the other two failed to explode their bombs until the last pair successfully hit the target. The attack was even filmed, but support for the project was so small that it was barely enough to permit further activity. On 19 September 1944, STAG-1 split, with VK-12 squadron moving to Stirling Field on Treasury Island south of Bougainville and VK-11 north on Green Island. When its operations ceased on 26 October 1944, STAG-1 had 46 TDR-1s used, 37 of which were deployed for attacks and at least 21 hits. The Japanese considered these attacks suicidal, and their propaganda talked of American kamikazes...


The last attack took place on 26 October, when a unit with four TDR-1s attacked the Cape St. George Lighthouse and completely destroyed it with three hits. Despite this, the unit was disbanded, Avengers dumped at sea and the personnel returned to regular units. The war was going well, and the half-success rate was not good enough to justify further expenditure of resources on such an experimental weapon. As with other projects, the electronics were a problem; the television equipment was too crude and the picture too indistinct to be used on anything but really big targets, and then only during the day. Moreover, there was the threat that the Japanese would soon develop some sort of jammer, much as the Allies began jamming German radio-controlled missiles soon after deployment.


One of the 189 TDRs built was borrowed by the Army, which gave it the designation XBQ-4 and tested it between April and December 1943, but showed no further interest. There was also a TD2R variant based on the TDR-1, which differed in the use of Franklin O-805-2 335 kW engines, but both prototypes were re-badged XTD3R-1 before completion and given Wright R-975-13 radial engines of the same power. Another prototype, designated XTD3R-2, was built, presumably to distinguish the rebuild from the new build. However, the original order for 40 TD3R-1s was cancelled before construction began. The USAAF assigned designations BG-5 to the TD2R, XBQ-6 to the XTD3R prototypes, and BQ-6A to the production TD3R, but never used any.


Not all TDR-1s were deployed or destroyed in training, but because their pilots had already praised them for their excellent flight characteristics, some of them fell into civilian hands after the war and served as sport aircraft. To this day, one machine survives in the Pensacola Air Museum.



Source:
designation-systems.net
http://www.aerofiles.com/_i.html
http://www.mugualumni.org/secretarsenal/page9.html
http://www.vectorsite.net/twcruz_1.html
www.seawaves.com
http://www.stagone.org/command-break.html

Interstate TDR-1 - pilotované verze

pilotované verze
Interstate TDR-1 - TDR-1 s kabinou pro přelety. Zdroj: http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/database/aircraft/getimage.htm?id=6427

TDR-1 s kabinou pro přelety. Zdroj: aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu
Interstate TDR-1 - Edna III, v současnosti jediný dochovaný stroj. Všimněte si kamery systému Block v přídi. Zdroj: http://www.tfcbooks.com/special/missiles.htm

Edna III, v současnosti jediný dochovaný stroj. Všimněte si kamery systému Block v přídi. Zdroj: http://www.tfcbooks.com/special/missiles.htm
Interstate TDR-1 - Grumman TBM-1C Avenger, řídící letoun projektu TDR. Zdroj: http://www.tfcbooks.com/special/missiles.htm

Grumman TBM-1C Avenger, řídící letoun projektu TDR. Zdroj: http://www.tfcbooks.com/special/missiles.htm
Interstate TDR-1 - Jiný záběr na TDR-1 v bojové podobě. Zdroj: http://www.mugualumni.org/secretarsenal/page9.html

Jiný záběr na TDR-1 v bojové podobě. Zdroj: http://www.mugualumni.org/secretarsenal/page9.html
Interstate TDR-1 - TDR-1 se zakrytou kabinou a podvěšenou bombou. Zdroj: http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/database/aircraft/getimage.htm?id=6428

TDR-1 se zakrytou kabinou a podvěšenou bombou. Zdroj: aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu
URL : https://www.valka.cz/Interstate-TDR-1-t71639#252261 Version : 0
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