Taylorcraft LBT

Taylorcraft Aircraft · United States · first flew 1944 · glider

The Taylorcraft LBT was a US Navy 'Glomb' — a glide bomb built from a light-aircraft airframe, designed to carry a 2,000lb bomb onto a target under TV-and-radio remote guidance.

Recognition (WEFT)

W — Wings	High-mounted, straight
E — Engines	1 × none, embedded-mounted
F — Fuselage	7.67 m fuselage
T — Tail	Conventional

WEFT is AircraftIQ's four-point recognition method — how it works.

Spot it by:

High strut-braced wing glider with tricycle undercarriage and no propeller
Small cockpit retained for a test pilot, unusual on an unmanned weapon
Carried toward a target for a TV-guided glide-bomb attack

A high-wing, strut-braced glider airframe with tricycle gear and no propeller — its cockpit, retained purely for test flights, is the giveaway that this was meant to fly unmanned in combat.

Specifications

The Taylorcraft LBT has a length of 7.67 m (25 ft).
It has a wingspan of 10.67 m (35 ft).
Its maximum speed is 505 km/h (314 mph).
Typical crew: 1 (test/ferry pilot only; combat missions unmanned).

Figures are for the representative variant described above; marks differ. See how AircraftIQ sources figures.

History

One of three Glomb designs the Navy tested, it kept a small cockpit so a pilot could fly training and evaluation sorties, with trials beginning in April 1944; persistent technical and performance problems saw the programme cancelled that October after only 25 had been built.

Variants

It was one of several parallel Glomb types alongside the Pratt-Read LBE and Piper LBP, none of which reached operational squadron use.

Where you'll see it

None saw combat; the concept was overtaken by more reliable powered guided-weapon programmes before the war ended.

Related aircraft

AircraftIQ — the aircraft field guide: 5,024 recognition guides, live overhead identification, works offline.