Early in 1951, one B-50D (48-075) was converted as a drone director for testing of the Bell XGAM-63 Rascal air to aurface missile. The designation DB-50D was assigned.
The Bell XGAM-63 Rascal was an early attempt to build a nuclear-capable air-to-surface missile. It was intended as an aid for USAF strategic bombers in penetrating Soviet airspace and delivering nuclear weapons on target. The name "Rascal" was actually an acronym which stood for RAdar SCAnning Link, so named for the guidance system that was used during the missile's dive onto the target.
The GAM-63 missile was powered by a Bell-designed liquid-fuelled rocket engine made up of three vertical in-line thrust chambers and developing a thrust of 4000 pounds. It had a launch weight of about 13,000 pounds and was 31 feet long with a body diameter of 4 feet. At a top speed of Mach 2.95, the missile was expected to be able to carry a 3000-pound nuclear warhead up to 100 miles. The Rascal was guided by a radar command system installed aboard the controlling aircraft. This system was to be developed jointly by Bell Avionics, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), and Texas Instruments.
Throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s, it was assumed by Department of Defense planners that the increasing capabilities of Soviet air defenses would make penetration of their airspace by USAF piston-engined B-36 and B-50 bombers increasingly difficult and dangerous. Consequently, the Air Force planned to convert large numbers of these bombers to Rascal director configuration in the hope of improving the odds of successfully getting through the defenses and delivering the nuclear weapons on target. However, the Strategic Air Command was never very enthusiastic about the Rascal program, believing that the missile was far too bulky and complex, with a guidance system that was likely to be prone to frequent failures and which would be relatively easy for an enemy to jam. However, the Air Staff pushed hard for the Rascal concept, and SAC was forced to go along.
The Air Force had originally planned to activate two squadrons of Rascal-carrying aircraft, one of B-36s and the other of DB-50Ds. However, the Rascal-carrying DB-50Ds would have to operate from overseas because of the B-50's relatively limited range. Conversions of B-50Ds into DB-50D Rascal directors were scheduled to start in June of 1952. However, deficiencies in the Rascal missile as well as other considerations altered these plans. In March of 1952, it was decided that only the B-36 and the B-47 would carry the Rascal missile, and plans for a fleet of DB-50D Rascal-carriers were never carried out.
In spite of the cancellation of the fleet of DB-50Ds, a single B-50D was converted to DB-50D Rascal-carrying configuration for test purposes. The Rascal was carried on a special launch cradle which was lowered from the bomb bay of the DB-50D. The DB-50D carried out the first Rascal air launch on September 30, 1952. The sole DB-50D continued flight testing of the Rascal until 1955.
It was later decided that only the B-47 would carry the Rascal, with the B-36 being removed from consideration. A fleet of Rascal-capable B-47s was planned, and several such conversions were actually carried out. In the event, the Rascal concept rapidly became obsolete in the face of new developments in the field of air-launched missiles. The Rascal program was formally cancelled on September 9, 1958.
Sources:
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American Combat Planes, Third Enlarged Edition, Ray Wagner, Doubleday,
1982.
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Post World War II Bombers, Marcelle Size Knaack, Office of Air Force
History, 1988.
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Boeing Aircraft Since 1916, Peter M. Bowers, Naval Institute Press,
1989.
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The Boeing B-47, Peter Bowers, Aircraft in Profile, Doubleday, 1968.
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United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and
Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
- Bell Aircraft Since 1935, A. J. Pelletier, Naval Institute Press, 1992.
