GAM-67 Crossbow

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The GAM-67 Crossbow was a jet-powered drone built by Northrop's Ventura Division (successor to the Radioplane Company).

[edit] Development

NORTHROP GAM-67 CROSSBOW
Length	5.82 meters	19 feet 1 inch
Wingspan	3.81 meters	12 feet 6 inches
Height	1.37 meters	4 feet 6 inches
Loaded weight	1,270 kilograms	2,800 pounds
Maximum speed	1,090 km/h	675 mph / 587 KT
Service ceiling	12,200 meters	40,000 feet
Range	480 kilometers	300 MI / 260 NMI
Launch scheme	RATO booster or air launch.
Recovery scheme	Parachute.
Guidance system	Autopilot with radio control backup.
Unmanned aerial vehicle

In the late 1940s, the Radioplane Company developed a set of prototypes of the Q-1 target series, which used pulsejet or small turbojet engines. Although the Q-1 series was not put into production as a target, it did evolve into the USAF RP-54D / XB-67 / XGAM-67 Crossbow anti-radar missile, which was first flown in 1956. It was also considered as a platform for reconnaissance, electronic countermeasures, and decoy roles.

The Crossbow had a cigar-shaped fuselage, straight wings, a straight twin-fin tail, and an engine inlet under the belly. It was powered by a Continental J69 turbojet, which was a French Turbomeca Marbore II engine (which powered the Fouga Magister) built in the US under license, with 4.41 kN (450 kgp / 1,000 lbf) thrust. Two Crossbows could be carried by a Boeing B-50 Superfortress bomber, while four Crossbows could be carried by a Boeing B-47 Stratojet bomber.

Only 14 Crossbows were built before the program was cancelled in 1957, in favor of a more sophisticated system that ended up being cancelled in turn. However, it did point the way to the range of missions that would be performed by UAVs in later decades.

[edit] References

• This article contains material that originally came from the web article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles by Greg Goebel, which exists in the Public Domain.