What kind of Firebee did I find?

[gale_dono]

I located this during a spate of Google Maps research a year or more back, but I just got around to visiting it:

Q-2 Firebee unknown in Dayton by Lunken Spotter, on Flickr

Q-2 Firebee unknown in Dayton by Lunken Spotter, on Flickr

There is very limited information on the early Firebees on the internet, so I'd like to enlist the help of the WIX Brain in identifying which variant this is. As far as I can tell (as is noted in the photo pages) this could be an XQ-2, Q-2A, Q-2B, or possibly a Navy KDA-1.

[Snake45]

There's an excellent book on the Firebees called, I think, Lightning Bugs, or something of the sort. I have it. If you don't get an answer from someone else in the next couple days, I'll see if I can find it and look yours up for you.

[Old SAR pilot]

More on the Firebee-series at:

http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/m-34.html

[mexchiwa]

Can't be that hard to find - how many manned Firebee variants were there? (Joking, but it does have a "cockpit" cut into it)

[Courier Sportster]

a rare, manned variant.

[Pogmusic]

Looks like one of these 4
Q-2A, KDA-1 (AQM-34B), XM21, KDA-4 (AQM-34C)

[Jesse C.]

KDA-4 Firebee

[Snake45]

Considering someone cut a "cockpit" into it, hard to believe they didn't also paint a sharkmouth of some kind on it, too!

[sandiego89]

I would have spent hours in the "cockpit" of that thing as a kid, making whooshing noises & "red leader, red leader, I'm going in..."

Ok maybe even as a big kid, at least until Mrs. Sandiego89 called me in for dinner......

I have that Ryan book as well, will see if I can find the nuances on the variants, but perhpas Jesse nailed it.

[JohnB]

Back in the 70s, a navy variant, recovered from the Pacific with some damage, was on display at a Hawaiian history museum.

And they were featured on an episode of the old Steve Canyon TV series filmed at Yuma...when it was still a USAF base.