Gorgon (missile family)

Gorgon

A PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV missile on a Northrop P-61A mother-ship
Type missile / reconnaissance drone / target drone
Place of origin United States
Production history
Designer Naval Air Development Center (NADC)
Designed 1940s
Produced from 1943 to 1953
Specifications
Weight PTV-N-2 - 1,598 lb (725 kg)
Length PTV-N-2 - 22 ft (6.6 m)

Engine PTV-N-2 - Marquardt XRJ30-MA ramjet
Wingspan PTV-N-2 - 10.0 ft (3.05 m)
Flight ceiling PTV-N-2 - 35,100 ft (10,700 m)
PTV-N-2 Gorgon IV in Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
RTV-N-15 Pollux in Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

The Gorgon was an air-to-air missile powered by a turbojet engine and equipped with radio controls and a homing device.

It was developed by the U.S. during World War II, was later expanded into a more general program including turbojet, ramjet, pulsejet, and rocket power. Straight wing, swept wing, and canard (tail first) air frames were investigated and visual, television, heat-homing, and three types of radar guidance were looked at for use as possible air-to-air, air-to-surface and surface-to-surface guided missiles and as target drones.

The final development of the series, the ASM-N-5 Gorgon V, was to be an unpowered chemical weapons dispenser.

Variants

Data from:[1]

Gorgon IIA
Canard layout with single rocket ( may spit out fire at times)
KA2N-1 -
KU2N-1 -
CTV-4 -
CTV-N-4 -
Gorgon IIB
Canard layout with single pulse-jet
Gorgon IIIA
Conventional layout with single rocket
KA3N-1 -
KU3N-1 -
CTV-6 -
CTV-N-6 -
Gorgon IIIB
Gorgon IIIC
Conventional layout with twin rockets
KA3N-2 -
KU3N-2 -
RTV-4 -
RTV-N-4 -
Gorgon IV
Single ramjet
KUM-1 -
PTV-2 -
PTV-N-2 -
Gorgon V
Derivative of Gorgon IV
ASM-N-5 Gorgon V - proposed chemical weapons dispenser variant
NADC Plover
Drone variant of Gorgon IV
KDM-1 -
NADC Pollux
Similar to Gorgon IIC
RTV-N-15 -
KGN-1

References

Citations
  1. Parsch 2005
Bibliography
  • Parsch, Andreas (2005). "Martin ASM-N-5 Gorgon V". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. designation-systems.net. Retrieved 2013-01-31. 
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