In
1940, the U.S. Army Air Corps drew up a requirement for a
radio-controlled target drone for training anti-aircraft artillery
gunners. Culver proposed a modification of its civilian Model
LFA Cadet which the Army purchased as the PQ-8.
The success of the PQ-8 led to the development of
the PQ-14 which was first flown in 1944. Larger and
faster than the PQ-8, the PQ-14 also had retractable landing
gear. The aircraft was flown unmanned, controlled by radio,
but was flown by a pilot for ferry flights. Both aircraft were
sometimes referred to as Cadets.
Over 2,000 were
built with almost 1,200 going to the U.S. Navy as the TD2C.
