BWDenver Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 I ran across these mixed in with the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The all red bird has interesting wing tips. It's also the only one with a BuNo. B ut not sure if 79120 is accurate. Not an expert on F6F's. There are some sort of markings on the upper tails bot the row of birds, but can't make it out. Thanks in advance! Bryan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hegedus Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 (edited) The first photo is an F6F-5K radio-controlled drone. In the last photo, the first 3 airplanes in the line are F6f-3K radio control drones and the 4th one appears to be an F6F-5K, but may be another -3K as the antenna mast of the third one is kinda blocking the view of the windscreen to say for certain. The remainder are either -3K or-5K; you kinda have to see the windscreen to be able to tell the difference. The different color tails in the photos are, I believe, indicators of the radio frequency for the remote control system installed. Edited March 13 by Joe Hegedus Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BWDenver Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 Thanks, appreciate it! Bryan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrfalen Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Were those target drones, flying bombs or were they involved in measuring radiation for atomic bomb tests or something? Maybe all of them. I remember seeing a photo of one being launched during the Korean War as a guided bomb, but I don't think the mission was a success. Looks like there are two of each color with 11 & 12 yellow, 13 & 14 pink, 15 & probably 16 being light blue. In the background of the last photo 7 & 8 are white with another unnumbered white tail. Would one be the drone and the other the controller? Or were they controlled by a B-17 or F7F? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
seawinder Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Target drone. Link to article about F6F-5K used in testing the new Sidewinder missile during the 50s: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/grumman-f6f-5k-hellcat/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jrfalen Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 #14 still survives https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/grumman-f6f-3k-hellcat/nasm_A19610107000 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BWDenver Posted March 14 Author Share Posted March 14 10 hours ago, jrfalen said: #14 still survives https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/grumman-f6f-3k-hellcat/nasm_A19610107000 Thats cool! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Illu Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 The ones with the colored tails were Operation Crossroads drones in 1946. Most were F6F-3Ks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tailspin Turtle Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Some more background: https://thanlont.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-first-launch-of-unmanned-aircraft.html https://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2009/11/f6f-drones.html Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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