Stearman-Hammond JH-1

In 1936 the Navy began another drone program which was intended to provide realistic targets for antiaircraft gunnery practice but which directly influenced missile development. Lieutenant Commander (later Rear Adm.) D.S. Fahrney was in charge of the project. The plane used was a Stearman-Hammond JH-1, and the radio control equipment was again developed by the Naval Research Laboratory. This drone made its first successful flight Nov. 15, 1937. The following summer such a drone was first used for target practice by the antiaircraft batteries of the USS Ranger. (July 21, 1936: Lt. Comdr. D. S. Fahrney (USN) ordered to implement recommendation made to Chief of Naval Operations to develop radio-controlled aircraft for use as aerial targets. Reporting to BuAer and NRL, Fahrney subsequently reported on procedure to obtain drone target planes, but also recognized the feasibility of using such aircraft as guided missiles. )

Hammond JH 1937 = USN version of Y-1S with similar specs and data. POP: 2 as JH-1 [0908/0909]. Tests with two Stearman-Hammond JH-1s were very secret at the time and little has been published about them. They were painted yellow, the standard for primary trainers, and classified as Utitlity (J) planes to hide their identity as one of the very first radio-controlled aircraft in the USN. Both planes were tested as unmanned drone targets for anti-aircraft fire, and both were assigned to Utility Squadron One (VJ-1). Rumors had it are that both were shot down, but there is no confirmation of this, and the aircraft history card for [0908] simply says "crashed Nov 7, 1938," and [0909] was stricken off on Sep 13, 1938, according to a Confidential letter from the Officer in Charge of Radio-Controlled Aircraft, Base Force, Utility Wing.