Radioplane OQ-2

The Radioplane OQ-2 holds the distinction of being the first drone in the United States to be built in large numbers. Its manufacturer, the Radioplane Company, produced the aircraft as a subscale target for the US Army and Navy. A later version, the OQ-3, became the most common target drone in American service, with over 9,400 units built during World War II.

History

The design began as a radio-controlled model aircraft created by Walter Righter. Actor Reginald Denny bought both the design and its engine, having already demonstrated a different model to the US Army in 1940. He called the new version the RP-2 and showed several updated iterations—the RP-2, RP-3, and RP-4—to the Army in 1939. In 1940, the Army ordered 53 RP-4s (sometimes mistakenly called OQ-1, though that designation was never official).

That small order led to a much larger 1941 contract for the similar RP-5, which the Army designated OQ-2 (the "OQ" standing for "subscale target"). The Navy also bought the drone, calling it the TDD-1 (Target Drone, Denny, 1). Thousands were built at the Radioplane plant at Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles.

It was at that factory on June 26, 1945, that Army photographer David Conover photographed a young assembler named Norma Jeane Dougherty. Believing she had modeling potential, he encouraged her to pose, which led her to a modeling agency. Her success there prompted a screen test and the start of her acting career as Marilyn Monroe.

Description and variants

The OQ-2 was a simple aircraft. It used a two-cylinder, two-cycle piston engine producing 6 horsepower, driving two contra-rotating propellers.

Bendix built the radio control system. Launching was done only by catapult, and recovery relied on a parachute—if the drone survived target practice. The Army's OQ-2 versions included landing gear to cushion the parachute landing, but none of the improved variants or Navy models had landing gear.

The OQ-2 led to a series of improved versions, notably the OQ-3/TDD-2 and OQ-14/TDD-3, which were produced in quantity. Gaps in the designation sequence between OQ-3 and OQ-14 exist because many other target drones built by Radioplane (and its licensed contractors) and competing companies never advanced beyond the prototype stage. After World War II, experiments continued with Radioplane drones. In one 1950 test, a derivative of the OQ-3 was used to lay military communication wire.