LBD Gargoyle
| Gargoyle | |
|---|---|
radio command guidance |
The LBD-1 Gargoyle (later KSD-1, KUD-1 and RTV-N-2) was an American
anti-ship missiles
, it was extensively used as a test vehicle during the late 1940s.
Design and development
Following the successful use of the German
Fritz-X guided bombs in combat during 1943, a requirement was issued by the U.S. Navy that October for a guided weapon based on similar principles.[1] Assigned as part of the Glomb ("glide bomb") project,[2] the weapon was code-named "Gargoyle", and following the completion of design work in the summer of 1944,[1] McDonnell Aircraft was awarded a contract for a test-and-evaluation production run of 400 Gargoyles in September, given the designation LBD-1.[3]
Intended for carriage by
radio command, the missile being tracked visually via a flare mounted in the tail section.[1] The effective range of Gargoyle was 5 miles (8.0 km) when released at an altitude of 27,000 feet (8,200 m).[5]
Operational history
Gargoyle's armor-piercing capability and the fact that it could be carried by carrier-based aircraft allowed development to continue despite late-war rationalizations of missile projects,
Surviving aircraft
A Gargoyle that was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1974 is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.[4]
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to LBD Gargoyle.
Related lists
References
Citations
- ^ a b c d e f g Parsch 2003
- ^ Parsch 2005
- ^ a b c d e Ordway and Wakeford 1960
- ^ a b "Gargoyle Missile". National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution. 26 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2019-07-21. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
- ^ Yenne 2006, p. 24.
- ^ Friedman 1982, p. 201.
- ^ Jacobs and Whitney 1962, p. 69.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-0-87021-735-7.
- Jacobs, Horace; Eunice Engelke Whitney (1962). Missile and Space Projects Guide 1962. New York: Springer Science+Business Media. ISBN 978-1-4899-6967-5.
- Ordway, Frederick Ira; Ronald C. Wakeford (1960). International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill. ASIN B000MAEGVC.
- Parsch, Andreas (9 March 2005). "LB Series (LBD, LBE, LBP, LBT)". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
- Parsch, Andreas (4 February 2003). "McDonnell LBD/KSD/KUD/RTV-N-2 Gargoyle". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-12-23.
- Yenne, Bill (2006). Secret Gadgets and Strange Gizmos: High-Tech (and Low-Tech) Innovations of the U.S. Military. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press. ISBN 978-0760321157.