- Yes
- No
- Yes
- No
- Selectable (though modification or loadout screen)
- I don’t want it
A TDN-1 being piloted by Lieutenant C.C. Corley near Naval Air Station, Traverse City, Michigan, 19 May 1943 (source: Naval History and Heritage Command)
The Naval Air Factory TDN-1 was an unmanned aerial combat vehicle developed by the US Navy during World War II. It transmitted TV imagery to an operator who would guide it via radio command. However, it did have space for a cockpit that could be used for ferry flights. Flight performance was mediocre, but it could carry either a torpedo or a 2,000-pound bomb under its fuselage. While extensively evaluated, the TDN-1 never saw combat as it was deemed unsuitable for mass production, but an improved version, the Interstate TDR-1, was tested in action against stationary Japanese positions and cargo ships.
History
Remotely piloted aircraft had been in use since World War I, and in the interwar years, the British converted some of their old fighters into target drones. The US Navy was intrigued by this and had Lieutenant Commander Delmar S. Farnhey set up a similar program in the US. While successful in producing several models of radio-controlled target aircraft, Farnhey wanted to develop drones that could deliver weaponry in combat. His proposal was denied in 1938, but he managed to develop a prototype TV-guided drone in 1940 with the help of RCA’s Dr. Vladimir Zworykin. RCA had developed a 70 lb television system in 1941 that could be installed on such drones. Flight tests from February to June showed that it had enough resolution to provide imagery up to 30 miles away. In August, the prototype could hit targets with depth charges and torpedoes 47 out of 50 times, all while the drone and the target were out of the controller’s view.
On 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbour. The US was unprepared for war and indeed seemed to be losing it, so more esoteric weapons projects were green-lit in the hope that one would prove to be the “wonder weapon” that would turn the tide. The strike drone project, code-named Project OPTION, was revived in 1942 under Commodore Oscar Smith, with assistance from Farnhey and Zworykin. The first production version of the drone was to be produced by the Naval Air Factory and designated TDN-1. 100 units of the TDN-1 were eventually produced, but it was deemed unsuitable for mass production, so a simpler version, the TDR-1, was produced by Interstate, with the TDN-1 mostly used for testing and training.
Specifications
Crew: 0 or 1
Engine: 2x Lycoming O-435 piston engines, 220 hp each
Max speed: 290 km/h
Weaponry: one torpedo or one 2,000 lb bomb
More pictures
A TDN-1 attacking targets in Delaware Bay, January 1943, under radio control. The Grumman J2F Duck just beyond the drone is acting as a control or chase plane (source: Naval History and Heritage Command)
TDN-1 striking targets in Delaware Bay, January 1943 (source: Naval History and Heritage Command)
TDN-1 taking off from USS Sable on 10 August 1943. The Grumman J2F Duck on the left may have been acting as the drone control aircraft (source: Naval History and Heritage Command)
Sources
- TD Series
- [1.0] The Aerial Torpedo
- “Unmanned aviation: a brief history of unmanned aerial vehicles” by Laurence R Newcome
- “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Robotic Air Warfare 1917-2007” by Steven Zaloga