American pulsejet aircraft

[Cap'n Jack]

AFAIK, we never used pulse jets to power manned aircraft. But we did produce several drones-

Most of us know about the loon, a copy cat of the German V-1


The Katydid was used by the Navy for anti-aircraft and air-to-air gunnery practice. It flew ~250 mph. It was intended to be reusable- Was that optimistic, or a reflection of the gunnary skills of the time?



The Gorgon IIC missle was created during WW2 by the Navy as a ship-to-surface missile, but it was developed too late to be operational by war's end. It was changed into a control test vehicle used to test missile heat-seeking and RADAR homing systems and techniques. Starting in September 1946, around 100 were built and tested.


The NAVY used the XKD5G-1 target drone, the design originated in 1949. By 1952, speed and altitude requirements for drones increased beyond what pulse jets could provide (> 30,000 feet). This drone could fly 335 mph, and was one of the last uses of pulse jets by the US military.

 

[Dana]

Cool, I didn't know about those.

When I was at Parks College in the 1970s, there was a V-1 sitting in front of one of the hangars. Parks had a lot of neat old stuff sitting around.

 

[Rgbeard]

Parks college?? Omg I haven’t seen that name in print for a long time

My good friend was Dean of the College. Were you there when the grass strip was there?

Edit: you said 1970s! Yes you were

 

[Dana]

Yeah, the strip was there, we used to fly R/C models on it. Only rarely was it used for anything else. Wasn't Dean Seltzer, was it?

 

[Rebel Lord]

My Grandpa was in the Texas national guard and was the gunner on a self propelled AA gun which was a Sherman without a turret in the late 50s early 60s. If I remember when they did gunnery drills they would have a drone, and I assumed one of these and it would tow a target behind it for two days and on the third day they would get a chance to shoot the drone, he told me they always had a cooler of cold beer in their SPAAG lol. This was along time ago he told me this I was maybe 13. He since passed away from cancer when I was 15 so I don’t have any more details than that. Wish I had more time to have talked to him.

 

[Old97]

They sound pretty cool. Im sure they were terrifying, especially when they first showed up in England.

 

[Rgbeard]

Yeah, the strip was there, we used to fly R/C models on it. Only rarely was it used for anything else. Wasn't Dean Seltzer, was it?

Not Seltzer, although I was introduced to him once. Was Paul Whelan.

 

[Dana]

Good. I had a run-in with Seltzer's polices that led (long story) to me leaving Parks and finishing my education elsewhere.

Parks College still exists in name only, but it's really just a building at St. Louis University now.

 

[kayoh190]

LOUD, but very cool!

 

[zaitcev]

AFAIK, we never used pulse jets to power manned aircraft. But we did produce several drones-

Tangentially, Russians still use similar drones, with some differences. The biggest is, their drones are smaller (ba-dumpsh), intended to imitate gliding bombs and the like. Also, they use valve-less pulse engines. There were some advancements since V-1, you see.

Here's the manufacturer's website with pictures:
http://www.enics.ru/catalog/e08/

Video with the sound of the buzz:

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Tangentially, Russians still use similar drones, with some differences. The biggest is, their drones are smaller (ba-dumpsh), intended to imitate gliding bombs and the like. Also, they use valve-less pulse engines. There were some advancements since V-1, you see.

Here's the manufacturer's website with pictures:
http://www.enics.ru/catalog/e08/

Video with the sound of the buzz:

I think we use a BD-5 now
https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media...james-bond-jet-takes-on-u-s-air-force-mission

 

[ElPaso Pilot]

They sound pretty cool. Im sure they were terrifying, especially when they first showed up in England.

Love the caption on the final test screwup ... “Sorry!”