QB-17 drones ...

[Mark Allen M]

Bittersweet end for the last B-17s in the Air Force,
https://generalaviationnews.com/2023/07 ... air-force/

Below a couple of color pics of QB-17 drones at Enewetak Atoll, 1946. They were flown through the nuclear mushroom clouds during the Crossroads tests at Bikini Atoll, collecting air samples and taking pictures.





Below a few pics of another USAF QB-17 Drone 44-83555 11-16-1956.







Here's what the color schemes were:

[Stoney]

one wonders, what is in the tip tanks.

[quemerford]

one wonders, what is in the tip tanks.

Miss-distance indicators and cameras. Sampling for the Eniwetok QB-17s was via filter arrays mounted above and beneath the fuselage.