Out of the LIFE photographs showing the Bolling Field Display 1939 that were recommended here a little time ago, there is also the attached one. One-seater biplane with frontwheel-undercarriage. The red paint makes me think it was intended as target drone.
Do you know it’s designation?
Thank you!
Regards, RT
By: RPSmith - 11th September 2010 at 10:09
New replacement undercarraige – nosewheel presumably to protect prop and mainwheel move rearwards (not very much?) aft of C of G? Reverse of what DH did Tiger Moth to Fox Moth? 🙂
Roger Smith.
By: Romantic Techno - 11th September 2010 at 07:07
Thank you Mr. Rhodes!
Regards, RT
By: Phillip Rhodes - 10th September 2010 at 20:41
ADDITIONAL
Check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_O-2
By: Phillip Rhodes - 10th September 2010 at 20:34
BINGO : http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/a-target.html
and http://www.aerofiles.com/_doug.html
It appears to be a Douglas A4
In 1940, the USAAC converted 15 BT-2B and two BT-2BI basic trainer biplanes to radio-controlled target drones. These aircraft were initially designated BT-2BR and BT-2BG, respectively, but these designations were eventually dropped in favour of A-4 for both types of conversions.
The rear cockpit was faired over, but for check-out flights the A-4 could still be flown as a single-seater. To facilitate landings under remote control, the A-4 was fitted with a tricycle undercarriage and a steerable nosewheel. The drone was controlled in flight by a BT-2CR (modified BT-2C) control plane. Photographic evidence suggests that some A-4s were still in the inventory as late as August 1941, when the PQ series for full-scale targets had already been introduced.
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September 10, 2010 at 8:02 pm