The KA2N Gorgon IIA – also designated KU2N, CTV-4, and CTV-N-4 – was an

air-to-air missile An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft (including unmanned aircraft such as cruise missiles). AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid-fuel roc ...

developed by the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

near the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Proving a failure in its designed role, it was repurposed as an experimental testbed for missile technology.

Design and development

The Gorgon missile program began in July 1943 at the Naval Aircraft Modification Unit in Warminster, Pennsylvania, and was intended to develop a family of small air-launched missiles for air-to-air and air-to-surface roles.Parsch 2005 The Gorgon IIA, the baseline design of the family, was of canard configuration, a conventional high-mounted

monoplane A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...

wing providing lift; the structure was largely of

laminated wood Simulated flight (using image stack created by μCT scanning) through the length of a knitting needle that consists of laminated wooden layers: the layers can be differentiated by the change of direction of the wood's vessels Shattered windshi ...

, while propulsion was by a Reaction Motors CML2N

liquid-fuel rocket A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket uses a rocket engine burning liquid propellants. (Alternate approaches use gaseous or solid propellants.) Liquids are desirable propellants because they have reasonably high density and their combustio ...

, fueled with monoethylamine and

nitric acid Nitric acid is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a highly corrosive mineral acid. The compound is colorless, but samples tend to acquire a yellow cast over time due to decomposition into nitrogen oxide, oxides of nitrogen. Most com ...

. Intended for use intercepting

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

s or

transport aircraft Transport aircraft is a broad category of aircraft that includes: * Airliners, aircraft, usually large and most often operated by airlines, intended for carrying multiple passengers or cargo in commercial service * Cargo aircraft or freighters, fix ...

, the Gorgon IIA was said to be the first American guided missile to be powered by a liquid-fueled rocket. It was fitted with a

television guidance Television guidance (TGM) is a type of missile guidance system using a television camera in the missile or glide bomb that sends its signal back to the launch platform. There, a weapons officer or bomb aimer watches the image on a television scree ...

system, the pilot of the launching aircraft controlling the missile via radio based on the view from a camera mounted in the nose of the missile.

Operational history

Production of the Gorgon IIA, designated KA2N-1, was ordered from the

Singer Manufacturing Company Singer Corporation is an American manufacturer of consumer sewing machines, first established as I. M. Singer & Co. in 1851 by Isaac Singer, Isaac M. Singer with New York lawyer Edward Cabot Clark, Edward C. Clark. Best known for its sewing mac ...

,Ordway and Wakeford 1960, p.181. a

sewing machine Diagram of a modern sewing machine Animation of a modern sewing machine as it stitches A sewing machine is a machine used to sew fabric and materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolutio ...

manufacturer. A mockup of the missile's configuration was approved in March 1944,White 1991, p.36. and by April 1945, orders for 21 Gorgon IIA missiles had been confirmed, all of which would be built. However, initial flight tests of the system, beginning as unpowered glides early in 1945 and proceeding to fully powered guided trials in March 1945, showed that the guidance system was impractical; the closing speeds of the missile and its target were too great for the Gorgon IIA's limited maneuverability to allow the missile's operator to correctly steer the weapon. Despite this difficulty, the Gorgon IIA was the first jet- or rocket-powered radio-controlled aircraft to successfully fly in the United States. The control issues, combined with the overall immature state of missile technology, led to the Gorgon program being realigned as a testing program; the Gorgon IIA being redesignated in 1946 as KU2N-1, then CTV-4 in 1947, and finally as CTV-N-4 in 1948; the CTV designation reflecting its status as a control test vehicle, although the program was largely concluded by that point. Despite the difficulties with its guidance system, the Gorgon IIA was considered aerodynamically satisfactory.

Gorgon IIB

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...

-powered version of the Gorgon II missile, Gorgon IIB, was also ordered, with four examples being contracted for; the project was cancelled due to a lack of suitable engines.

Surviving aircraft

Very few Gorgon IIAs survived the testing program. One was donated by the U.S. Navy to the National Air Museum (now the

National Air and Space Museum The National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., in the United States, dedicated to history of aviation, human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, ...

) in 1951; it is currently on display at the

Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous exhibits, ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

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