Aerowerx
Well-Known Member
I was just watching the PBS program "History Detectives". There is a team of researchers that investigate interesting artifacts for the owners.
In this episode a gentleman in Texas has a wood propeller with metal hub. (Link is to a transcript of the program) The hub has US Navy markings.
The investigation showed that it was from a TDR-3.
What is a TDR-3, you ask? It turns out that late in WW2 the US Navy was developing an unmanned drone bomber. It used the revolutionary technology called Television, and was controlled by a pilot in the rear seat of a conventional aircraft. The project was highly classified.
The TDR-3 airframe was built by the Wurlitzer Company in Dekalb, IL, and were told that it was a training plane. The prop was made by the Aeromatic Company.
Only a few where made before the program was cancelled at the end of the war, but several dozen earlier versions, the TDR-1, did see service in the Pacific against Japan.
In this episode a gentleman in Texas has a wood propeller with metal hub. (Link is to a transcript of the program) The hub has US Navy markings.
The investigation showed that it was from a TDR-3.
What is a TDR-3, you ask? It turns out that late in WW2 the US Navy was developing an unmanned drone bomber. It used the revolutionary technology called Television, and was controlled by a pilot in the rear seat of a conventional aircraft. The project was highly classified.
The TDR-3 airframe was built by the Wurlitzer Company in Dekalb, IL, and were told that it was a training plane. The prop was made by the Aeromatic Company.
Only a few where made before the program was cancelled at the end of the war, but several dozen earlier versions, the TDR-1, did see service in the Pacific against Japan.
