{{Short description|1942 US unmanned combat aerial vehicle}} <!-- This article is a part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft. Please see Wikipedia:WikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout. --> {{Use American English|date=October 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}} {{Infobox aircraft | name = TDN | logo = | logo_size = | image = TDN-1 drone during first (piloted) flight near Traverse City, Michigan (USA), on 19 May 1943.jpg | alt = | caption = | long_caption = | other_names = | aircraft_type = Assault drone | aim = | outcome = | related = | national_origin = United States | manufacturer = Naval Aircraft Factory | design_group = | designer = | builder = | issuer = | status = | owners = | primary_user = United States Navy | more_users = | service = | major_applications = | proposals = | prototypes = | number_built = 104-114<ref name="VS"/> | construction_number = | civil_registration = | military_serial = | radio_code = | requirement = | aircraft_carried = | flights = | total_hours = | total_distance = | construction_date = | introduction = | retired = | first_flight = 15 November 1942 | initiated = | in_service = | last_flight = | expected = | developed_from = | variants = | developed_into = | preservation = | fate = | predecessors = | successors = | concluded = }}

The '''Naval Aircraft Factory TDN''' was an early unmanned combat aerial vehicle - referred to at the time as an "assault drone" - developed by the United States Navy's Naval Aircraft Factory during the Second World War. Developed and tested during 1942 and 1943, the design proved moderately successful, but development of improved drones saw the TDN-1 relegated to second-line duties, and none were used in operational service.

==Design and development== The development of the radar altimeter and television in the early 1940s made remotely guided bomb- or torpedo-carrying aircraft a practical proposition.<ref name="DS2">Parsch 2005</ref> In January 1942, the Naval Aircraft Factory was instructed to initiate the development of such an aircraft, with a go-ahead for prototype construction being given in February.<ref>Naval Aviation News, Volume 55 (January 1973). p.12.</ref> A production contract for 100 aircraft was issued in March, with John S. Kean being assigned as TDN-1 project manager,<ref>Trimble 1990, p. 263.</ref> with the aircraft being designed to be capable of using either television or radar guidance.<ref>Newcome 2004, p.67.</ref> Constructed mainly from wood, the TDN-1 had a fixed tricycle landing gear, and could be fitted with a conventional cockpit in place of its guidance equipment for test flights.<ref name="VS">Goebel 2010</ref>

In an example of the use of companies traditionally uninvolved in the aviation industry to reduce interference with higher priority projects, production of the final thirty aircraft was licensed to the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a Michigan-based manufacturer of bowling balls and billiard tables.<ref>Cunningham 1951, p.91.</ref>

==Operational history== One hundred production TDN-1 aircraft were ordered in March 1942.<ref name="Osprey">Zaloga 2008, p.8.</ref> Despite being specifically designed to be a simple, low-performance aircraft,<ref name="DS1"/> and despite proving promising in testing, the type was considered to be too complicated and expensive for use operationally. The improved Interstate TDR was selected for development as an alternative,<ref name="Osprey"/> the majority of TDN-1s being used in the test, liaison and training roles, with some being expended as aerial targets.<ref name="VS"/> The TDN-1 is often credited as the first US drone to take off from an aircraft carrier freely (USS ''Sable''). An Airspeed Queen Wasp had already been catapulted from HMS ''Pegasus'' in 1937.

==Variants== ;XTDN-1 :Four prototype aircraft powered by Franklin O-300 engines.<ref name="DS1"/> ;TDN-1 :Production version of XTDN-1; 100 aircraft produced.<ref>Trimble 1990, p.267.</ref>

==Operators== ;{{flag|United States|1912}} * United States Navy

==Specifications (TDN-1)== thumb|right|TDN-1 aircraft aboard {{USS|Sable|IX-81|6}}. {{Aircraft specs |ref=<ref name="DS1">Parsch 2003.</ref> |prime units?=imp |genhide= |crew=0-1 (optional pilot) |capacity= |length m= |length ft=37 |length in= |length note= |span m= |span ft=48 |span in= |span note= |height m= |height ft= |height in= |height note= |wing area sqm= |wing area sqft= |wing area note= |aspect ratio= |airfoil= |empty weight kg= |empty weight lb= |empty weight note= |gross weight kg= |gross weight lb= |gross weight note= |max takeoff weight kg= |max takeoff weight lb= |max takeoff weight note= |fuel capacity= |more general=

<!-- Powerplant --> |eng1 number=2 |eng1 name= Lycoming O-435-2 |eng1 type= horizontally-opposed six-cylinder piston engines |eng1 kw= |eng1 hp=220 |eng1 shp= |power original= |thrust original= |prop blade number= |prop name= |prop dia m= |prop dia ft= |prop dia in= |prop note=

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<!-- Armament --> |armament=* one {{convert|2000|lb|adj=on}} bomb or aerial torpedo. |guns= |bombs= |rockets= |missiles= |hardpoints= |hardpoint capacity= |hardpoint rockets= |hardpoint missiles= |hardpoint bombs= |hardpoint other= |avionics= }} {{clear}}

==See also== {{Portal|Aviation}} {{aircontent |see also= * History of unmanned aerial vehicles |related= |similar aircraft= * Gorgon (U.S. missile) * Interstate TDR * LTV-N-2 Loon * McDonnell LBD Gargoyle |lists= * List of unmanned aerial vehicles * List of United States Navy aircraft designations (pre-1962) }}

==References== {{commons category|Naval Aircraft Factory TDN}} ===Citations=== {{reflist}} ===Bibliography=== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last1=Cunningham |first1=William Glenn |title=The Aircraft Industry: A study in industrial location |year=1951 |publisher=L.L. Morrison |location=Los Angeles |asin=B0007DXJL2 |url=https://archive.org/details/aircraftindustry0000cunn |url-access=registration |quote=TDN. |access-date=2010-11-18}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.vectorsite.net/twcruz_1.html#m4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070813001620/http://www.vectorsite.net/twcruz_1.html#m4 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=13 August 2007 |title= The Aerial Torpedo |first=Greg |last=Goebel |year=2010 |work=Cruise Missiles |publisher=VectorSite |access-date=2010-11-18}} * {{cite book |last1=Newcome |first1=Lawrence R. |title=Unmanned Aviation: A Brief History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EnqjAwAAQBAJ|year=2004 |publisher=American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics |location=Reston, Virginia |isbn=978-1-56347-644-0}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/td.html#_TDN |title= TD Series |first=Andreas |last=Parsch |year=2003 |work=Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones |publisher=designation-systems.net |access-date=2010-11-18}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app1/bq-4.html |title= Interstate BQ-4/TDR |first=Andreas |last=Parsch |year=2005 |work=Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles, Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones |publisher=designation-systems.net |access-date=2010-11-17}} * {{cite book |last1=Trimble |first1=William F. |title=Wings for the Navy: A History of the Naval Aircraft Factory 1917-1956 |year=1990 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=978-0-87021-663-3}} * {{cite book |last1=Zaloga |first1=Steven |title=Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Robotic Air Warfare 1917-2007 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r92M0Z9xAe4C|series=New Vanguard |volume=144 |year=2008 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |location=New York |isbn=978-1-84603-243-1}} {{refend}}

;Further reading {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal |url=http://stagone.org/command-break.html#m4 |title=Unmanned Precision Weapons Aren't New |first=Nick T. |last=Spark |year=2005 |journal=Proceedings Magazine |publisher=U.S. Naval Institute |access-date=2005-02-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905104534/http://www.stagone.org/command-break.html#m4 |archive-date=2008-09-05 }} {{refend}}

{{Naval Aircraft Factory aircraft}} {{USN target drones}}

TDR Category:1940s United States bomber aircraft Category:Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States Category:World War II guided missiles of the United States Category:High-wing aircraft Category:Aircraft first flown in 1942 Category:Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft Category:Aircraft with fixed tricycle landing gear