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XSM-73 Bull Goose
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Photo:
Robert Deering 10/18/2012 National Museum of the USAF Wright-Paterson AFB (FFO) Dayton, Ohio |
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The
Fairchild XSM-73 Bull Goose was
a pilotless decoy missile
designed in the 1950s to confuse
enemy defenses by simulating the
radar signatures of large
bombers like the
B-36,
B-47
and
B-52.
If several ground-launched,
intercontinental-range SM-73
decoys could saturate defense
radars, the real bombers had a
better chance of getting through
to their targets.
The Bull Goose featured a solid rocket motor for takeoff and a turbojet for sustained flight. It carried an array of electronic simulation and jamming equipment, and radar reflectors in its wings and fuselage were designed to make enemy defenders believe they were tracking a much larger aircraft. The first XSM-73 flew in 1957. The Bull Goose was planned for deployment in 1961, but the missile was plagued with engine, structural, and electronic problems, and the project was canceled in 1958. Despite never becoming operational, the Bull Goose's fiberglass-resin wings provided early experience in building aircraft using composite materials. TECHNICAL NOTES: Engines: Thiokol solid rocket of 50,000 lbs. thrust, Fairchild YJ85-GE-3 turbojet of 2,450 lbs. thrust Maximum speed: 517 mph Range: 5,500 miles Ceiling: 50,000 ft.
Source:
National Museum of the United
States Air Force |
