XSM-73 Goose

XSM-73 Bull Goose
XSM-73 Bull Goose
	XSM-73 at Launch
Type	Cruise Missile
Service history
In service	Cancelled
Production history
Manufacturer	Fairchild
Produced	1957
Specifications
Mass	8,945 lb (4,057 kg) including booster
Length	33 ft 6 in (10.21 m)
Height	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Warhead	None
Wingspan	24 ft 5 in (7.44 m)
Propellant	Thiokol solid-propellant rocket; 50,000 lbf (222 kN) thrust for 3 seconds.
Operational; range	4,773 mi (7,681 km)
Flight ceiling	50,000 ft (15,200 m)
Flight altitude	50,000 ft (15,200 m) at 3,701 lb (1,679 kg) at 0.85 Mach
Maximum speed	0.85 Mach
Guidance; system	Autopilot integrated with a rate integrating gyroscope pre-programmed to turn the SM-73.
Launch; platform	Zero-length ground launcher.

XSM-73 being prepared for flight.

The Fairchild SM-73 (originally Bull Goose) was a sub-sonic, jet-powered, ground-launched decoy cruise missile.

Development[]

Starting in December 1952, Fairchild began concept studies for a ground-launched long range decoy missile that could simulate strategic bombers on radar.^[1]

In March 1953, the United States Air Force released General Operational Requirement (GOR) 16 which called for a long range decoy missile to increase the effectiveness of Strategic Air Command bombers by confusing and saturating an air defense system.^[1]^[2] Multiple SM-73 missiles would be ground-launched from Strategic Air Command bases located in the continental United States. Fifty percent of the deployed SM-73 missiles would be launched within the first hour after an alert and the remaining missiles would be launched one hour later.^[3] The requirement called for 85 percent of the decoy missiles to arrive at the target area within 115 nm (185 km).^[3]^[4] The SM-73 was to fly 4,000 nm (7,408 km) at speed of at least 0.85 Mach at an operating altitude of 50,000 ft (15,240 m) with a payload of 500 lb (227 kg).^[2] After flying 2,500 nm (4,650 km), the SM-73' would simulate the performance of the B-47 Stratojet or B-52 Stratofortress over the final 1,500 nm (2,780 km) of flight.^[3]

Study contracts were awarded to Convair and Fairchild in July 1954 by the United States Air Force under the project designation MX-2223.

The Fairchild MX-2223 design called for a non-metallic fuselage with swept wings and a v-tail. Radar reflectors were located in the fuselage and on pods positioned on the wing tips to simulate the radar return of a bomber.

Design[]

In December 1955, Fairchild was awarded a contract to develop Weapon System 123A which included the SM-73 missile. American Machine and Foundry Company was responsible for the ground equipment, Ramo-Woodridge Corporation was responsible for electronic equipment, and who was responsible for airframe elements.

Two engine contracts were awarded by the USAF in November 1954 to minimize development risk.^[5]

Each engine was in the 2,450 lbf (10.9 kN) thrust class with a thrust to weight ratio goal of 10:1. General Electric was awarded a contract for the development of the General Electric J85 and Fairchild was awarded a contract for the a competing engine the Fairchild J83. Fairchild proposed a lightweight engine of conventional design.^[5]

The proposed General Electric engine had a more advanced design, involving more risk, but having a higher thrust to weight ratio. The XSM-73 was powered by the Fairchild J83 on all test flights but was also capable of using the General Electric J85. The Fairchild J83 was operating by early 1957.^[5]

Like the MX-2223 design, the SM-73 utilized a non-metallic fiberglass fuselage.^[3] The swept wing of the MX-2223 design evolved to a fiberglass 52°delta wing. A Thiokol solid-propellant rocket booster was used to launch the SM-73 to a speed of 300 knots (345 mph).

Cruise speed for the SM-73 was 488 knots (562 mph). The SM-73 had a fuel capacity of 803 gal (3,040 L) of JP-4. This fuel was stored in 10 fuselage and six wing tanks.^[3]

An autopilot used a Rate integrating gyroscope for directional control.^[1] The rate integrating gyroscope could be pre-programmed to turn the SM-73. Pitch and roll control were provided by elevons either operating in phase or asymmetrically. Yaw control was provided by a rudder.^[3] The control system positioned flight controls by sending electrical signals to hydraulic actuators located at each flight control.

The SM-73 was designed to carry radar reflectors and active electronic countermeasures operating in S-band, L-band, and lower frequencies.^[3] The SM-73 was not armed.

Funding issues and problems with the fiberglass wing, the booster rocket, and the Fairchild J83 engine delayed testing.^[1]

SM-73 at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum

Test and evaluation began in February 1957 with rocket sled tests at Holloman Air Force Base.^[2] A B-57 Canberra was modified and used as a flying engine testbed for the Fairchild J83.^[5] Testing of the SM-73 then transitioned to Patrick Air Force Base in June 1957. At Patrick Air Force Base, launch complexes 21^[6] and 22^[7] were constructed near the Cape Canaveral Light^[6] to support SM-73 testing. Five dummy booster launches and fifteen test flights were flown between March 1957 and December 1958.^[6]

The United States Air Force planned to purchase 2,328 operational missiles and 53 missiles for test and evaluation.^[2] This would have provided enough missiles for 10 squadrons.^[2] Deployment was planned to start in 1961 and be completed by October 1963.^[2] Bull Goose bases were initially planned at Duluth Municipal Airport, Minnesota and Ethan Allen Air Force Base, Vermont.^[8] Construction of Bull Goose missile sites began in August 1958.^[2]

In December 1958 the program was canceled because the missile was not able to simulate a B-52 on radar.^[2] The Fairchild J83 engine program was also canceled in November 1958.^[5] Total program cost at cancellation was $136.5 million USD.

The SD-5 Osprey reconnaissance drone was developed with the Goose as a basis.^[9]

Variants[]

B-73: Original designation in Bomber sequence
XSM-73: Test and Evaluation prototypes.
SM-73: Production Missile designation.
Gander: Proposed surface-to-surface version capable of carrying a 1 Mt warhead 2,000 miles (3,200 km).^[10]

Operator[]

United States
- United States Air Force

Survivors[]

XSM-73 located in the Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Hagerstown, Maryland, United States.^[11]
XSM-73 located in the Air Force Space & Missile Museum, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, United States
XSM-73 located in the Research & Development Gallery in the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio
XSM-73 awaiting restoration at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut

References[]

Citations[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d SM-73, Directory of U.S. Military Rockets and Missiles - Appendix 1: Early Missiles and Drones, by Andreas Parsch [1], retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h SM-73 Bull Goose, 1997 Web Page by the Federation of American Scientists, [2], retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Fairchild B-73 Bull Goose, Fact Sheet from the National Museum of the USAF, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), Retrieved on November 10, 2007.
^ Historical Essay by Andreas Parsch, Goose, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), retrieved on November 10, 2007.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, William Fleming and Richard Leyes, AIAA, 1999
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Encyclopedia Astronautica, Cape Canaveral LC21, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ Encyclopedia Astronautica, Cape Canaveral LC22, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved June 19, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ GOOSE (BULL GOOSE) Fact Sheet, Cliff Lethbridge, Spaceline Website, "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved September 24, 2007.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), retrieved November 10, 2007.
^ Newcome 2004, p.75.
^ "Surface-to-Surface: Aerodynamic Cruise". Flight. 74 (2602): 881. 5 December 1958.
^ List of Hagerstown Aviation Museum Aircraft, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-01-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link), retrieved November 10, 2007

Bibliography[]

Newcome, Lawrence R. (2004). Unmanned Aviation: A Brief History of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Reston, Virginia: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. ISBN 978-1-56347-644-0.
Evolution of the Cruise Missile, Kenneth P. Warrell, Air University Press USAF, 1985.
IDEAS, CONCEPTS, DOCTRINE, Basic Thinking of the United States Air Force 1907-1960, Vol 1, Robert Frank Futrell, Air University Press, 1989
Interavia, International Aeronautic Federation, 1992.
SM-73 Bull Goose, Web Page of Global Security.org [3]
Technology and the Air Force A retrospective Assessment Air Force History and Museums Program, United States Air Force, 1997
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rockets and Missiles, Bill Gunston, Salamander Books Ltd, 1979

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