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McDonnell LBD-1 Gargoyle

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colspan="2" Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style | LBD-1 Gargoyle
Type anti-ship missile / guided bomb
Place of origin United States
colspan="2" Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style | Service history
In service never used operationally
Wars World War II
colspan="2" Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style | Production history
Produced 1945
colspan="2" Template:WPMILHIST Infobox style | Specifications
Weight 1650 lb (750 kg)
Length 9 ft 10 in (3 m)

Warhead amatol explosive
Warhead weight 1000 pounds (454 kg)

Engine 8AS1000 JATO bottle
990 pounds (450 kg) static thrust
Operational
range
4 nm (8 km)
Speed 600 mph (960 kph)
Guidance
system
radio command

The McDonnell LBD-1 Gargoyle (later KBD-1) was an American air-to-surface missile developed during World War Two. It was one of the precursors of modern anti-ship missiles.

Following German success with the Hs-293 and Fritz X, the U.S. began work on a series of similar weapons. These included Bat, Felix, GB-8, and Gargoyle.

Gargoyle had a 1000 pound (454 kg) warhead (M65 general purpose {GP} or M59 semi armor piercing {SAP}), intended to be launched from carrier-borne aircraft in conditions of good visibility, against maneuvering targets. Launched from 15000 feet (4500 m), it had a range of almost four miles (eight kilometers), and could be controlled at up to 24 miles (45 kilometers).

A launch speed of at least 200 mph (320 kph) was necessary, so its low wings would not stall; a 990 pound (450 kg) static thrust 8AS1000 jet assist takeoff (JATO) bottle in the tail boosted it to a maximum speed of 600 mph (960 kph).

Operated by radio command guidance, Gargoyle was tracked visually by means of flares in the tail, much as Fritz-X was; this limited its maximum range to how far the flares could be seen. Gargoyle relied on similtaneous or separate operation of the elevators and rudder on the weapon's butterfly tail; it was capable of 4g, for a turning circle of 2550 ft (777 m).

Production by McDonnell Aircraft began in 1944, but the war ended before it entered operational service.

Sources

  • Fitzsimons, Bernard, editor. "Gargoyle", in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Weapons and Warfare, Volume 10, p.1090. London: Phoebus Publishing, 1978.

See also

External links

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