Radioplane Company During World War Two
Van Nuys, CA

1939-1952 as Radioplane Company
1952-1957 as a Subsidiary of Northrop Aircraft, Inc.
1957-1972 as the Radioplane Division of Northrop Corporation
1972-at least until at least 1985 building drones as the Northrop Ventura Division in Newbury Park, CA.  This division still exists but apparently no longer makes drones.

This page added 2-25-2025.

Shown in the photo above is Mr. Reginald Denny with his 1935 RP-1 radio controlled drone.  Mr. Denny had an interesting background.  One would not have thought he would have been the inventor, along with several other persons, of the first radio controlled aircraft used by the U.S. military.  Born in Great Britain in 1891, he served two years as an aerial gunner with the Royal Flying Corps during World War One.  He was part of the rapid growth of aircraft for military purposes that transpired during World War One.  Prior to his service with the Royal Flying Corps, he sang baritone with an opera troupe, and while in the service he became his brigade's heavyweight boxing champion.  He did it all.

After World War One, he moved to Hollywood, CA to further his acting career and had many significant roles in movies of the 1920s and 1930s.  He also learned how to fly and became interested in what were then the beginnings of the hobby of radio controlled aircraft.  Because of his interest, he opened a model airplane shop on Hollywood Boulevard.  During this time, he was also in contact with military officers in the area and learned that there was a need for an anti-aircraft target that could maneuver and give more realistic training to the gunners.  The targets of the time were pulled behind aircraft.

Reginald Denny's Hobby Shop was located at 5751 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.  This photo of the shop was taken in 1961.  Currently, there is a Harbor Freight store at this location.  

In 1937 Mr. Denny sponsored a contest for the best model airplane engine.  The winner was Mr. Walter Righter.  Mr. Righter would eventually supply all of engines used in the Radioplane World War Two drones.  During this same time period, Mr. Denny hired  Mr. Kenneth Wallace Case, an engineer, to begin development of the radio controlled drone.  As the patent 2,257,277 shows below, these two men were the core engineering talent who took ideas and made them into a usable product.  Between 1937 and the beginning of World War Two, the company developed several different prototype drones that were tested by the military.  By the time the United States entered World War Two, the Radioplane Company had a workable radio controlled drone that could be used to train anti-aircraft gunners.  This was the company's model RP-5A.  Its U.S. Army designation was OQ-2A and its U.S. Navy designation was TDD-1.

Patent 2,257,277:  Patent 2,257,277 shown below was an important invention that allowed the Radioplane Company to safely retrieve targets that had not been hit during anti-aircraft practice.  While it may seem counter intuitive that a target would need to be safely brought back down to the ground, a good percentage of the time the target was not hit during practice.  Even if hit, the target in many cases could be repaired and used again.  Both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy had learned before World War Two that hitting a moving aircraft with anti-aircraft fire was more difficult than had been expected. 

While Reginald Denny and his partners had developed a suitable radio-controlled target drone, getting back on the ground safely with a very basic remote control flight system was problematic and would result in the destruction of the drone.  Drones were expensive, as an OQ-2A in 1943 cost $1,195.  This is $21,640 in 2024 dollars.  Also, this cost does not include the government furnished equipment (GFE). 

The basic idea of the invention is that once the aerial target stopped receiving a radio signal, this would automatically deploy the parachute, and the target would land without too much damage and be able to be used again.  This is the essence of the almost four pages of detailed information in the patent. 

Note that the inventors are Mr. Walter R. Righter and Mr. Kenneth Wallace Case, the initial engineering core of the fledgling Radioplane Company.

This is the OQ-3 parachute release system and shows how the patent was applied in the Radioplane drones.  With no radio signal being received by the drone, the switch is off, and the parachute door is open.  With a radio signal being received by the target, the door is closed.  This method of releasing the parachute was similar to the ones used on the OQ-2A and the OQ-14 that was produced during World War Two. 

All of the World War Two Radioplane aerial target drones were launched from a catapult.  This photo shows an OQ-14 seated on the catapult. In the absence of a radio signal, the engine ignition and solenoid latch to the parachute door are disabled, allowing the parachute door to spring open.

Radioplane Company's World War Two Products:  Table 1 shows that the company had $20,381,000 in major contracts for aerial targets and parts from both the USAAF and the U.S. Navy.  Table 1 also shows that Radioplane Company produced 15,656 aerial targets to help win World War Two.   Table 2 shows that the USAAF received 70% of the targets and the U.S. Navy 30%. 

Radioplane was not the only manufacturer of its products.  The Frankfort Sailplane Company (Globe Aircraft) was also contracted by the USAAF and the Navy to produce the Radioplane aerial targets under license.  Table 4 shows the quantities of each type of drone the two companies produced.  A total of 25,712 Radioplane-designed aerial targets were produced between the two companies to help win World War Two.

OQ-2A:  Below are photos of an OQ-2A on display at the Air Zoo Aerospace and Science Museum in Kalamazoo, MI. 

Because the OQ-2A is hanging from the ceiling, it allows for some different views of the target.  Interestingly enough, I have walked underneath this many times on my visit to the Air Zoo and never noticed it.  I made a special trip to the museum in early November 2024 to see this.  It took me several minutes to find it as it is hiding in plain sight.  This display is in the restoration hangar which was the original museum building.  Author's photo. 

Author's photo.

 Author's photo.

 Author's photo.

How cool is this?  Mr. Kevin Russen has been able to obtain a rare Radioplane packing sheet for the OQ-2A aerial target.  An examination of this document shows that there were three different items or groups of items shipped.  The first and most obvious is the type OQ-2A, including components for $1,194.98.  For this price, this particular customer, the Gainesville Army Air Force Station in Gainesville, TX, received a ready to fly aerial target.  Listed next are six spare part items for a cost of $61.06.  The last group on the document is the Government Furnished Equipment which was the radio receiver and related items to control the target in flight.

Packing sheet courtesy of Mr. Kevin Russen via Tom Fey. 

Author's photo.

One of the distinct features of the OQ-2A are the twin counter-rotating propellers.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

The museum also has a floor display of the engine and propeller assembly.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

OQ-3: 

This Radioplane OQ-3 is on display at the Army Aviation Museum at Fort Novosel, AL. The engine in the OQ-3 used a 30 inch diameter single-rotation propeller.  Author's photo.

Below are several pages from "Radio-Controlled Airplane Target - AAF Type OQ-3 Navy Model TDD-2."

The systems shown were similar to the OQ-2A and OQ-3 that Radioplane built during World War Two.

The dotted line drawing is the open door position for the parachute.  This application would be similar on all of the models Radioplane built during World War Two. 

This image shows the components of the parachute assembly.  From the top down, there is the door, the parachute container, the main parachute, and the drogue parachute. 

The next three images show the various components that went into the Righter O-15-3 engine.

This image shows the fuel and electrical system for the Righter O-15-3 engine.

This image shows the drogue chute and the main chute in the outer packing.  

This image shows the parachute door assembly. 

This is the OQ-3 parachute release system and shows how the patent was applied in the Radioplane drones.  With no radio signal being received by the drone, the switch is off, and the parachute door is open.  With a radio signal being received by the target, the door is closed.

OQ-14:  The Radioplane OQ-14 shown below is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. 

The OQ-14 was similar in exterior configuration to the OQ-3.  It had a larger Righter O-45-1 20 hp engine that allowed the OQ-14 to fly at 140 mph.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Post World War Two Radioplane/Northrop Aerial Targets:

OQ-19D:  Work on the OQ-19 began in 1945 and production commenced in 1946.  With over 10,000 being built, this was the main aerial target used by the military immediately after World War Two.  It was used in the early jet aircraft era.  There were actually four different production designs of the OQ-19.  The D model was the last and the fastest of the series.  The one shown below is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

The OQ-19 is three feet longer than the previous OQ-14, and its over twelve foot length takes up a good amount of the CF-100 wing.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Note that it took four men to move this aerial target on the ground.  Author's photo.

Northrop purchased Radioplane in 1952 and continued to produce aerial targets into the 1980s.  This Northrop BQM-74C was a U.S. Navy target that was designed in 1978.  This example is on display in the National Museum of the United States Air Force because during Operation Desert Storm the United States Air Force modified 44 units as decoys.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Author's photo.

The Radioplane Company Plants:  The bill of sale shown earlier on this page indicates the company's address during World War Two was 7901 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, CA.  There is still a factory located at this address.  However, this is not the same factory complex used by Radioplane during World War Two.  After World War Two, Radioplane moved into a larger plant at 8000 Woodley Avenue.

This 1946 image shows the Radioplane Company plant at 7901 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, CA.  This is the complex of several buildings along the road at the bottom of the photo.   Radioplane moved into this facility in March 1942 from its original plant in Venice, CA.  With production ramping up, it needed more factory space.  This was formerly the location of the Timm Aircraft Corporation.  Timm took the plant over from Kinner Airplane and Motor Company when it went bankrupt in the late 1930s.  Timm moved to the west side of the field in March 1942.

This large hangar in the upper right of the photo is the Lockheed P-80 Production Flight Test Hangar.  The aircraft on the ramp in the center of the photos are P-80s.

This 1950 photo shows the Radioplane Company factory at 8000 Woodley Avenue in Van Nuys, CA.  The company moved one block north and to the opposite side of the street from its World War Two location.  Image courtesy of the University of Southern California and the California Historical Society. 

Image courtesy of the University of Southern California and the California Historical Society.
 

 The images below show the two former Radioplane factory sites as they look today.

The Van Nuys airport is a lot more built up than it was during World War Two.  The former Radioplane factory complex has been replaced by a large building.  Image courtesy of Google Earth. 

Image courtesy of Google Earth.

The former Radioplane plant at 8000 Woodley Avenue has also been replaced.  The whole area has become highly industrialized and no longer has the houses and orchard of 1950.  Civilization has taken over.  Image courtesy of Google Earth.

Radioplane World War Two Booklet and World War Two Photos - This information is courtesy of Mr. Tom Fey.