Radioplane OQ-2

History

Todays multibillion-dollar unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and drone industry has rather humble roots in early attempts to focus on the world of unmanned flying. In fact, the U.S. military's first quantitative drone became the Radioplane OQ-2. This compact aircraft appeared in 1939 - just before World War II (1939-1945) - with approximately 15,000 units built and served under the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) flag.

The United States Navy (USN) also purchased some.

Radioplane produced the prototype RP-1 ("Radioplane Model 1") in 1935 for demonstration to the U.S. Army, with the intention of selling the aircraft as a training device for anti-aircraft gunners. Such an expert would have to fire a cannon at a moving target several miles away, and it seems reasonable to think that having a remote-controlled aircraft for training would produce a more accurate ground-based gunner. In 1938, the company introduced the RP-2 model, a vastly improved product the company had purchased from Walter Righter.

This design subsequently evolved into the RP-3 and RP-4 under Army direction.

This is the final RP-4 form that the Army has purchased in bulk under the designation OQ-1, officially bringing the first model of the U.S. drone. Ended up ordering about 53.

It was followed by the company model RP-5, which was also accepted by the Army Air Service and the US Navy as the OQ-2 (US Navy TDD-1).

The OQ-2 uses a traditional aircraft layout with an elevated straight monoplane wing assembly on a box-shaped flat fuselage. The fin contains a vertical fin with the horizontal plane set low.

The wheeled undercarriage is fixed, in a "trailer" configuration, with the main legs showing small undercarriages (this type of undercarriage was only seen in early production forms - otherwise all landed by parachute means, including US Navy approved Second-rate). At the forefront of the design is the two-cylinder, two-stroke Righter O-15-1 engine, which produces the required six horsepower. This gives the plane a top speed of 85 miles per hour and a battery life of about an hour.

Bendix manufactures the required RC controllers. Overall length is 8 feet 8 inches, wingspan is 12 feet 3 inches, and overall weight is 105 pounds.

The OQ-2 is the basis for many other related drone brands ending in the OQ-14. The Radioplane name lasted until 1952, when defense contractor Northrop bought the company and inherited its assets.

Having said that, Radioplane was born out of Reginald Denny Industries, a company founded by former World War I British pilot (and aspiring actor) Reginald Denny, who immigrated to the US during the interwar period in search of Hollywood acting Work. With colleagues, Denny opened the Reginald Denny Hobby Shop in Hollywood, which later became the Radioplane Company, selling the OQ-2.

Specification

Basic

Production

Roles

Dimensions

Weight

Performance

Performance

Armor

Changes