Historical Essay © Andreas Parsch

Convair GAM-71 Buck Duck

In the early 1950s, Convair studied the concept of a small decoy missile to be carried inside the bomb bay of a B-36 Peacemaker bomber. This decoy was to be launched by the B-36 in enemy air space to confuse and saturate air defense systems. Convair actually built a prototype using company funds, and in August 1954 the USAF awarded an official development contract for the Buck Duck decoy under project MX-2224. The vehicle was subsequently designated GAM-71, and the name was sometimes shortened to plain Duck. Glide tests of XGAM-71 prototypes launched from a modified B-29 began in February 1955.

The GAM-71 was a small missile with straight wings which could be folded for stowage in the B-36's bomb bay. Reference sources quote an XLR85 liquid-fueled rocket engine as propulsion without giving further details. However, since other contemporary decoy missiles (GAM-72/ADM-20 Green Quail and SM-73 Bull Goose) used J85/J83 turbojet propulsion, and because source [2] mentions a report that the GAM-71 used in fact a small turbojet engine, it's at least possible (but in no way certain) that "LR85" is an error for "J85". The Buck Duck used radar reflectors to simulate the radar return of a B-36, and had a range of 370 km (230 miles) at a speed of Mach 0.55. Initially it was planned that one bomber in a formation carries the full load of seven GAM-71s, but using a mixed load of two decoys and a reduced bomb load on all B-36s would have been also possible.

There are no reports of any powered flights of the XGAM-71, and the Buck Duck program was cancelled in January 1956. The program had proceeded with low priority at Convair, and it was probably terminated because at that time the B-36 would not be in service for much longer anyway. The concept of a small bomber-launched decoy missile was eventually brought to fruition with the GAM-72/ADM-20 Quail in the B-52.

Note: Data given by several sources show slight variations. Figures given below may therefore be inaccurate!

Data for XGAM-71:

[1] Kenneth P.Werrell: "The Evolution of the Cruise Missile", Air University Press, 1985
[2] Dennis R. Jenkins: "Magnesium Overcast: The Story of the Convair B-36", Specialty Press, 2001

Manufacturer: Convair.