Nov 052009
It looks like a real enough desktop/display model… but it also looks like something that was designed while drunk. Anybody have a clue? There’s not only the issue with the wierd U-shaped supports up front (or whatever they are), there’s also the bulbous tail with what looks like a multitude of little ports.
8 Responses to “What in THE HELL is this missile?”
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Scott, it seems something that is pop off an Anderson’s TV series of supermarionination of mid ’60s…….
Now this is going to be one of those ‘I’ve seen something like this, but can’t remember where’ posts, but…..
I’ve seen something like this, but can’t remember where, and it wasn’t a missile, it was a target…
A target makes some sense… the bulbous tail could support not a rocket, but perhaps flares. The weird doohicky up front has me scratching my head, however.
As I’ve said, I’ve seen something like this, it was mounted on a pylon like a missile, but when deployed, it was towed on a wire, not free-flying, and yes, there were flares at the rear.
The ‘weird doohicky’, I think was a radar reflector.
Just a notion to throw out. What if the front doohickey is a magnetic loop antenna?
That would explain it having only two vanes. It would imply a use for something longer ranged, from the what is ever is receiving signals from this or transmitting signals to it.
I think the assembly up front is a shock absorber – you can see there’s an area behind the head of the drone to allow for the nose to travel backwards.
I think this is to allow the drone to be recovered in a similar fashion to the the Bristol CRRTV – it literally drops nose first into the ground and sticks up like a dart. The CRRTV had a similar initial taper to the nose – but lacked the shock absorber section.
Perhaps this drone had more delicate electronics, or a structure that was less able to stand the deceleration forces – or maybe the USAF ranges had tougher soil than Woomera…
I found the one I’d seen!
Aerofax datagraph 8: Northrop F-89 Scorpion, page 67.
see also :-
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,8151.msg73644.html#msg73644
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