McDonnell TD2D Katydid

McDonnell TD2D, KDD Katydid, KDH Katydid
McDonnell KDD on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Role	Target drone
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	McDonnell Aircraft

The McDonnell TD2D Katydid was an American target drone produced by McDonnell Aircraft that began development in 1942.

History

The U. S. Navy awarded McDonnell Aircraft a contract for a radio-controlled target drone in 1942 under the designation of XTD2D-1 for anti-aircraft and aerial gunnery practice. Production models, built in unknown quantity, used the designation of TD2D-1. The Navy changed its designation system in 1946 and the XTD2D-1 and TD2D-1 were redesignated as XKDD-1 and KDD-1, respectively. Later that year, the Navy changed McDonnell's manufacturer code letter from "D" to "H", and the KDD-1 was redesignated again as KDH-1.

Description

The most unique features of the TD2D were the externally-mounted pulsejet engine and the V-tail. The gasoline-powered, 8-inch (203 mm) diameter engine was built by McDonnell, but it is unclear how much it was derived from the Argus pulsejet used on the German V-1. The drone was probably named after the Katydid because it had narrow wings and made a loud, pulsing sound like a pulsejet. The drone could be either launched by catapult from the ground or from underwing racks on Consolidated PBY Catalina seaplanes. It was gyro-stabilized, radio-controlled and could be recovered by parachute.

Specifications (KDD-1)

Data from Placard at Udvar-Hazy and KDH webpage

General characteristics

• Crew: None
• Length: 11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
• Wingspan: 12 ft (3.7 m)
• Gross weight: 320 lb (145 kg)
• Powerplant: 1 × McDonnell 8-inch (203 mm) pulsejet, 55 lbf (0.24 kN) thrust

Performance

• Maximum speed: 250 mph (400 km/h; 220 kn)
• Endurance: 40 minutes

References

• This article contains material that originally came from the placard at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

External links

• TD2D/KDD/KDH