The McDonnell TD2D Katydid was a pulsejet-powered American target drone produced by McDonnell Aircraft that entered service with the United States Navy in 1942, and continued in use until the late 1940s.
In March 1941,[1] the U. S. Navy awarded McDonnell Aircraft a contract for a radio-controlled target drone under the designation of XTD2D-1 for anti-aircraft and aerial gunnery practice. The aircraft had a mid-mounted wing, V-tail, and McDonnell XPJ40-MD-2pulsejet engine mounted atop the rear fuselage. The drone could be either launched by catapult from the ground or from underwing racks on Consolidated PBY Catalinaflying boats.[2][3] It was gyro-stabilized, and control was by radio command;[4] at the end of its mission the drone could be recovered by parachute.[2]
The Katydid entered service in 1942;[5] testing took place at the Naval Air Missile Test CenterinPoint Mugu, California.[6] Production models were originally designated TD2D-1, however 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" - which had been shared with Douglas Aircraft - to "H", the KDD-1 being again redesignated, as KDH-1.[7]
^ abcd"Katydid Drone". National Air and Space Museum. Smithsonian Institution. 27 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-12-03. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
^Ordway, Frederick Ira; Ronald C. Wakeford (1960). International Missile and Spacecraft Guide. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 187. ASINB000MAEGVC.
^Zandt, J.P. (1948). World Aviation Annual. Washington, DC: Aviation Research Institute. ASINB000HKMGMI.
^Yenne, Bill (2006). Secret Gadgets and Strange Gizmos: High-Tech (and Low-Tech) Innovations of the U.S. Military. Minneapolis, MN: Zenith Press. p. 25. ISBN978-0760321157.
^"Navy Guided Missiles". Astro-Jet (18). Reaction Research Society: 12. Fall 1947. Retrieved 2017-12-06.
^ abParsch, Andreas (26 March 2003). "McDonnell TD2D/KDD/KDH Katydid". Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones. Designation-Systems. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
