Radioplane BTT

Background

The BTT family began in the late 1940s, evolving through US Army designations OQ-19A through OQ-19D and the US Navy designation KD2R Quail. Early models had a metal fuselage and wooden wings, but production standardized on an all-metal aircraft. An experimental XQ-10 variant made mostly of plastic was evaluated but did not enter production. Radioplane was bought by Northrop in 1952, becoming the Northrop Ventura Division, though the Radioplane name lingered.

In 1963, under a standardized US military designation system, surviving Army variants became MQM-33s and the Navy's KD2R-1 became the MQM-36 Shelduck. The MQM-36 was the most evolved variant, larger and more sophisticated than the earlier OQ-2A series, and carried Luneburg lens radar enhancement devices in its wingtips to generate a larger radar signature. The US Navy did not use the radar reflectors because air search radar interfered with control signals.

The MQM-57 Falconer, a reconnaissance variant designated RP-71 and also known as SD-1 Observer, first flew in 1955. It had a slightly longer and stockier fuselage, an autopilot with radio-control backup, and could carry cameras and illumination flares. Equipment was loaded through a hump in the back between the wings. About 1,500 Falconers were built and used internationally, remaining in service into the 1970s.