Q&A · 6:59:39-7:02:01

How a TDR-1 available in 1942 could have supported carrier strikes

An accelerated TDR-1 scenario explores how one-way drones and separate control aircraft could complicate a fleet's fighter defense.

Question

How could the US Navy have used the TDR-1 in combat if reliable assault drones had been available in quantity by mid-1942?

Short answer

As one-way guided weapons accompanying crewed strikes, potentially followed by an attack from the aircraft that controlled them.

Notes

The scenario assumes that the Interstate TDR-1 assault drone becomes widely available in mid-1942 and is reliable enough for combat use. Its proposed role is a one-way guided attack accompanying crewed aircraft, with the operator remaining in a separate controlling aircraft. Defending fighters would have to choose between the incoming weapon and its controller, particularly when several drones made their control relationships unclear. A controller carrying its own bombs could then follow the drone's impact with another attack. Queen Bee and HMS Argus provide a British comparison. These are proposed uses under an accelerated-development scenario, without claiming that such carrier strikes occurred in 1942.