Kaiser-Fleetwings BQ-2

Kaiser Fleetwings BQ-2 History

The origins of Fleetwing can be traced back to 1926, with the company eventually creating a small number of aircraft designs in the 1930s, including the "Fleetwings 33" and the BT-12 "Sophomore" trainer. One of his more interesting initiatives was the "BQ-1", a flying bomb that caught the interest of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) during World War II (1939-1945).

Henry J. Kaiser acquired the company in 1943 and changed the name to Kaiser-Fleetwings.

The BQ-1 laid the groundwork for the subsequent BQ-2, an early foray into expendable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Only one was completed in 1943, and the first flight was made. The aircraft has a traditional layout with fixed painted tricycle landing gear (which can be lowered), wing-mounted engine nacelles (two engines), and a standard single-fin stabilizer. The cockpit area is glass, but there is only one pilot to choose from.

Development of the aircraft began in July 1942, when the model was known as the "attack drone".

Power comes from 2 Lycoming R-680-13 series air-cooled radial piston engines driving a two-bladed propeller unit. Performance specs include a top speed of 225 mph and a range of 1,715 miles.

As an unmanned bomb, the payload consists of 2,000 pounds of explosive material that makes up the warheadthe entire aircraft will be consumed when it hits the target.

In the end, the XBQ-2A proved too expensive to procure and deploy in expected quantities, resulting in only one prototype being completed by the end of the project. It made several test flights in the air.

An early BQ-1 was flying and crashed on its maiden flight. The same USAF contract covers both designs.

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