{{Short description|WW2 era American guided bomb}} {{For|the New Orleans arts organization|Pelican Bomb}} {{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox weapon |name = Pelican |image = SWOD Mark 7 Pelican.jpg |image_size = 300 |caption = |origin = United States |type = Guided bomb |is_ranged = |is_bladed = |is_explosive = yes |is_missile = yes |is_vehicle = |service = 1944 |used_by = [[United States Navy]] |wars = [[World War II]] (testing only) |designer = |design_date = [[National Defense Research Committee]] |manufacturer = [[Bureau of Ordnance]] |production_date = |number = |variants = |weight = |length = |part_length = |width = |height = |crew = |diameter = |filling = |filling_weight = {{convert|1000|lb|adj=on}} or {{convert|1500|lb|adj=on}} bomb |guidance = [[Semi-active radar homing]] }} The '''Pelican''', also known as '''Bomb Mark 55''' and, in one version, '''SWOD Mark 7''', was a [[guided bomb]] developed by the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]]. Guided by [[semi-active radar homing]], Pelican was produced in {{convert|1000|lb|abbr=on}} and {{convert|1500|lb|abbr=on}} sizes; the program reached the stage of live trials before being cancelled.
==Design and development== The project that led to the development of Pelican was initiated by the [[National Defense Research Committee]] in 1942. Two main guided-bomb programs were established for use by the U.S. Navy's [[Bureau of Ordnance]]; one led to the [[active radar homing|active radar]]-guided [[ASM-N-2 Bat|Bat]], which saw operational service near the end of the war, while the other was for a bomb controlled by a semi-active radar seeker,<ref>Friedman 2014, p.322.</ref> which was designated Bomb Mark 55 and named Pelican.<ref name="DS">Parsch 2004</ref>
Two versions of Pelican were developed; one used a {{convert|1000|lb|adj=on}} bomb as its basis, named '''Pelican Mark II''', while the other used a {{convert|1500|lb|adj=on}} bomb and was referred to as '''Pelican Mark III'''. Both had a high-mounted wing, with a twin-fin [[empennage]] providing stabilization and control. The semi-active radar seeker head was designed for use with the [[AN/APS-2]] radar carried in the [[Lockheed Ventura|Lockheed PV-1 Ventura]]; the PV-1 could carry two Pelican Mark IIs or a single Pelican Mark III.<ref name="DS"/> While Pelican required its launching aircraft to continue illuminating its target with its onboard radar following launch, compared to [[ASM-N-2 Bat|the ''Bat'']] which carried its own radar set, Pelican could be released at a greater range.<ref>Dryden 1946, p.15.</ref>
The Pelican Mark III received the designation SWOD (Special Weapons Ordnance Device) Mark 7 late in its development.<ref name="DS"/>
==Operational history== Initial tests of Pelican were conducted in December 1942, and trials continued through 1943;<ref name="DS"/> these established that the radar-homing Pelican was significantly more accurate than bombs using [[television guidance]].<ref>Smith 1998, p.117.</ref> However the weight of the Pelican meant that the range of the PV-1 was inadequate for service in the [[Pacific War|Pacific Theatre]], and the number of Venturas that could be converted was limited by operational needs;<ref name="DS"/> as a result, despite successful tests, including one on 9 September 1944 that saw two of four Pelicans launched hit the target hulk {{SS|James Longstreet}},<ref name="Fried">Friedman 1982, p.202</ref> the program was cancelled on 18 September 1944 by Admiral [[Ernest King]].<ref name="Fried"/><ref>Grossnick and Armstrong 1997, p.143.</ref> The resources devoted to the project were redirected to accelerated development of its successor, the U.S. Navy-deployed [[ASM-N-2 Bat|Bat]].<ref name="DS"/>
==See also== {{Aircontent |see also= * {{lwc|Azon}} * {{lwc|VB-6 Felix#Dove|Dove}} * {{lwc|Fritz X}} * {{lwc|LBD Gargoyle|Gargoyle}} * {{lwc|GB-1|GB-8}} * {{lwc|Henschel Hs 293}} |lists= * [[List of anti-ship missiles]] }}
==References== {{commons category|SWOD Mk-7 Pelican}} ===Citations=== {{Reflist}}
===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|last=Dryden|first=Hugh Latimer|authorlink=Hugh Latimer Dryden|title=Guidance and Homing of Missiles and Pilotless Aircraft|year=1946|publisher=Headquarters Air Materiel Command|location=Wright Field, OH}} *{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|authorlink=Norman Friedman|title=U.S. Naval Weapons: every gun, missile, mine, and torpedo used by the U.S. Navy from 1883 to the present day|year=1982|publisher=Naval Institute Press|location=Annapolis, MD|isbn=978-0-87021-735-7}} *{{cite book|last=Friedman|first=Norman|title=Naval Anti-Aircraft Guns and Gunnery|year=2013|publisher=Seaforth Publishing|location=Barnsley, South Yorkshire|ISBN=978-1-84832-177-9}} *{{cite book|last=Grossnick|first=Roy A.|author2=William J. Armstrong|title=United States Naval Aviation 1910–1995|year=1997|publisher=Naval Historical Center|location=Washington, D.C.|ISBN=978-0-9452-7434-6}} *{{cite web|url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/swod.html|title=SWOD Series|last=Parsch|first=Andreas|date=16 June 2004|website=Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones|publisher=Designation-Systems|accessdate=2017-12-12}} *{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Peter Charles|title=Ship Strike: The History of Air-to-Sea Weapon Systems|year=1998|publisher=Airlife Publishing|location=Shrewsbury, Shropshire|ISBN=978-1-8531-0773-3}} {{refend}}
{{USN early guided weapons}}
[[Category:Anti-ship missiles of the United States]] [[Category:World War II guided missiles of the United States]] [[Category:Guided bombs of the United States]] [[Category:World War II aerial bombs of the United States]]