The Globe KD6G Firefly is an American target drone , built by the Globe Aircraft Corporation for operation by the United States Navy during the 1950s and early 1960s.
6-579: The design of the KD6G was based on the earlier Globe KD2G Firefly target drone, featuring a mid-wing configuration with a twin-fin empennage , but instead of a pulsejet powerplant as in the KD2G the KD6G was fitted with a single piston engine in a tractor configuration. Launched via catapult, the KD6G was radio-controlled during flight, and, if it was not shot down in the course of its mission, would be recovered via parachute. First flying in prototype form in 1951,
12-601: Is on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum ; another is at the Planes of Fame Air Museum . Data from Parsch General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Globe KD2G Firefly The Globe KD2G Firefly was a pulsejet -powered American target drone , built by the Globe Aircraft Corporation for operation by
18-574: The United States Navy in the late 1940s, seeing operational use into the mid-1950s. The KD2G was a mid-wing, twin-tailed aircraft of similar design to the KDG Snipe which Globe was already supplying to the Navy. A single McDonnell PJ42 pulsejet engine was mounted atop the rear of the fuselage . The fuselage was constructed of steel tubing with a duralumin monocoque covering; dural was also used for
24-474: The flying surfaces . The KD2G was equipped with radio control with an effective range of 6,000 yards (5,500 m); it could be launched using a catapult , or launched aerially from JD-1 or F7F-2D aircraft. Recovery, if it survived its mission, was by a 32-foot (9.8 m) diameter parachute; the Firefly was designed to be able to float for up to 15 minutes in the event of a water landing. First flying as
30-613: The KD6G proved successful and was ordered into production in two forms, the KD6G-1 with a McCullough O-100 engine, and the KD6G-2 with a Kiekhaefer V-105 powerplant. Used extensively by the United States Navy during the 1950s in the gunnery training role, the KD6G-2 was redesignated in 1963 in the new unified missile sequence, becoming the MQM-40A before being retired soon thereafter. A KD6G-2
36-550: The XKD2G-1 prototype during 1946, the KD2G-1 entered service with the United States Navy during 1947. The improved KD2G-2, powered by a Solar PJ32 pulsejet, began production in 1950; it was the first successful jet-powered target drone to be developed following the end of World War II . The KD2G remained in service through the mid-1950s, being replaced by the KD6G . A KD2G-2 is displayed at
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