Warbird Information Exchange

Hi,
I am helping a friend with an estate. I will not get to inspect this item more thoroughly until I get it from storage next week, but I did get these photographs. Does anybody have any insight into the pedigree of this item? It seems to resemble the Fairchild/Convair SAM-N-2 Lark:

http://www.designation-systems.net/dusr ... m-n-2.html

But as you can see below, it is not exactly the same. I am hoping to find markings and some type of data plate on it when I make a closer inspection, but any guidance (hey, bad pun!) would be welcome.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

It somewhat resembles a SSM-A-23 Dart, but even that is not quite right.

https://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/WSHist/Mn ... /Dart.aspx

What are the dimensions of this artifact?

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Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.

CB

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html

Looks more like a (towed?) target to me.

I believe it's an ACME ARRM, as frequency used by one Wile E. Coyote.

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

Not one of his more successful ACME choices, it often sputtered out of fuel just out of reach of the edge over a canyon or he'd blast past the Runner and smack a canyon wall... then there those times when it exploded as soon as he flicked the go button.

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Judging its length in the first photo against the truck, I would estimate it to be about 10' long. All of the fins have control surfaces (Aft vertical fins are missing theirs). Is it possible that there is a break in the fuselage between the fore and aft wing sets and it is assembled 45 degrees off? All of the images I have found of similar devices all have the aft fins 45 degrees off set from the forward set.

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Cheers!

Lance Jones

Duplicate post

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Cheers!

Lance Jones

Knowing nothing at all about missiles, I would like to make a couple of observations:

I do not see any (evident, that is) attachment point for a towable kind of missile.

I do see what look like either rocket exhaust structures at the missile's rear, and what could possibly -repeat, possibly- could be a wire-deploying mechanism, for something that could resemble a TOW?

Saludos,


Tulio

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Why take the best part of life out of your life, when you can have life with the best part of your life in your life?

I am one of them 'futbol' people.

Will the previous owner has pics of this double cabin sample

GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English.

Sooooo, how am I going to know to press 1 or 2, if I do not speak English????

Awfully big for a TOW. If it is 10 feet, it would require a huge launching system and be too big for attack helicopters.
But given its wing configuration and resemblance to the Dart, I'd guess it was ground launched.

BTW.Anyone else remember the old Monogram...or was it Adams?...plastic armor kit series which included a kit with Darts and crews?

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

It is not a Shillelagh, is it?


Saludos,


Tuluo

_________________
Why take the best part of life out of your life, when you can have life with the best part of your life in your life?

I am one of them 'futbol' people.

Will the previous owner has pics of this double cabin sample

GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English.

Sooooo, how am I going to know to press 1 or 2, if I do not speak English????

No, the Shillelagh had folding fins and a different body shape.

I am leaning towards a Dart, as there were several test articles that varied in details before the program was cancelled.

Dimensions would really help. I suspect it is about 5 feet long.

_________________
Had God intended for man to fly behind inline engines, Pratt & Whitney would have made them.

CB

http://www.angelfire.com/dc/jinxx1/Desrt_Wings.html

The 'tabs' at the aft end, following the same pattern as the nose cone, suggest that this may be the upper stage of a larger whole. Possibly a short sounding rocket or a subscale test model of something larger in it;s final form.

Just speculating

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

Knowing nothing at all about missiles - it looks like an upper stage for something. I just don't recall seeing anything that looks quite like that in the main exhaust area - you wouldn't want the exhaust to change the shape of the missile in anyway to effect its accuracy. This looks like not a lot of thought was put into that section - of course that kills my thought of a multi-stage piece too. . . .

Tom P.

Hi,
Thanks for all the thoughts. There is definitely linkage to where I think thrust adjusters would be for a guided item. It could be an earlier version of the Dart, but I think it is longer than the specifications listed for that missile. I will have it in my possession after tomorrow and will make more investigations into its panels. I will post what I find here. I appreciate all the help.

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REMEMBER THE SERGEANT PILOTS!

Hi John - looking forward to those photos!

(Remember my updates for your "UFOs" section - No. 2507 is a control unit from a Northrop YC-125, and No. 3619 is a rudder trim tab for a Cessna Bamboo Bomber.)

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)