McDonnell Aircraft XAUM-N-6 Puffin/Kingfisher F Photos–Part I

A number of factory photos of the little known McDonnell Aircraft XAUM-N-6 Puffin anti-ship missile.

From designation-systems.info: “The Puffin was part of the Kingfisher family of guided anti-ship/anti-submarine weapons, which was developed under the prime contract of the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). Originally begun as Kingfisher F in February 1947, it was redesignated in September that year as AUM-6 (AUM-N-6 from early 1948) Puffin. The development of Puffin was subcontracted by the NBS to McDonnell, and flight tests of XAUM-N-6 prototypes occurred in the 1948/49 time frame.

The XAUM-N-6 was basically a lightweight homing torpedo in a simple airframe with straight wings, a V-type tailplane, a pulsejet for propulsion, and a radar seeker. After launch from medium altitude, the missile would drop to about 60 m (200 ft) and home on the target (a surface ship or a surfaced submarine) using its active radar homing guidance system. Shortly before the target was reached, the torpedo would drop into the water for its terminal run on the target vessel.

The AUM-N-6 program was short-lived, though, and development was halted in October 1949.” Credit: Company photos from Gerald Balzer/Mark Nankivil

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