What kind of Firebee did I find?

gale_dono · **Joined:** Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:32 pm **Posts:** 328

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 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:49 pm **Posts:** 864

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 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2014 5:33 am

More on the Firebee-series at:

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

mexchiwa · **Joined:** Sun May 02, 2004 8:30 pm **Posts:** 112

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 · **Joined:** Thu Oct 20, 2011 7:03 am **Posts:** 319

a rare, manned variant.

Pogmusic · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2014 6:38 pm

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

Jesse C. · **Posted:** Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:42 pm

KDA-4 Firebee

Snake45 · **Joined:** Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:49 pm **Posts:** 864

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

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1198

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 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 08, 2014 10:54 pm

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.

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What kind of Firebee did I find?

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