
Caption | US Navy TDN-1 drone test from the decks of the training carrier USS Sable while steaming in reverse in Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan, United States, 10 Aug 1943. This particular test was unsuccessful. Photo 1 of 4. ww2dbase | |||||||
Source | ww2dbaseUnited States National Archives | |||||||
Identification Code | 80-G-387168 | |||||||
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Photos in Series | See all photos in this series | |||||||
Photos on Same Day | 10 Aug 1943 | |||||||
Photos at Same Place | Lake Michigan, United States | |||||||
Added By | C. Peter Chen | |||||||
Added Date | 5 Dec 2013 | |||||||
This photograph has been scaled down; full resolution photograph is available here (1,166 by 930 pixels). | ||||||||
Licensing | Public Domain. According to the US National Archives, as of 21 Jul 2010: |
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Visitor Submitted Comments
2. W.R.Galbraith says:
24 Feb 2018 05:29:43 PM
They probably did it that way to keep the island behind the drone during the take-off run. It wouldn't be good to have a drone slam into the island because of a radio glitch! Another consideration; the aft flight deck is quite a bit wider than the forward deck.
24 Feb 2018 05:29:43 PM
They probably did it that way to keep the island behind the drone during the take-off run. It wouldn't be good to have a drone slam into the island because of a radio glitch! Another consideration; the aft flight deck is quite a bit wider than the forward deck.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
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16 May 2017 08:22:37 PM
I have seen this photo many times but never really looked at it. The first thing that caught my eye was that the island seemed to be on the wrong side. At first I thought the image was reversed but that would make this a shot from the bow and it isn’t. The arresting cables in the foreground and the LSO net on the left clearly make this a shot from the stern and correctly oriented. But then why is the smoke from the stacks trailing off toward the bow and why is the TDN-1 facing aft? Faintly in the distance the slick from the ship’s wake can be seen curving off to the viewer’s left so that means this ship was steaming in reverse! The TDN-1’s engines are running up so it appears it is being readied for take-off. So, taken all together it appears the drone was set up for a launch over the stern. It is still unclear why.