There are two stories here, You've probably read this story:

      Scientists at NASA have developed a gun built specifically to
      launch dead chickens at the windshields of airliners, military
      jets and the space shuttle, all traveling at maximum velocity.
      The idea is to simulate the frequent incidents of collisions with
      airborne fowl to test the strength of the windshields.

      British engineers heard about the gun and were eager to test it
      on the windshields of their new high speed trains. Arrangements
      were made.  But when the gun was fired, the engineers stood
      shocked as the chicken hurtled out of the barrel, crashed into
      the shatterproof shield, smashed it to smithereens, crashed
      through the control console, snapped the engineer's backrest in
      two and embedded itself in the back wall of the cabin.

      Horrified Britons sent NASA the disastrous results of the
      experiment, along with the designs of the windshield, and begged
      the U.S.scientists for suggestions.

      NASA's response was just one sentence:  "Thaw the chicken."

But have you read THIS story:

     According to Bill Yerazunis, such a gun was developed by the Navy.
     It used mil-spec sea gulls (1.5 lbs.), which were thawed by
     microwave (ee-www!). They also unfortunately got a new manager who
     insisted that they somehow arrange to have the bird extend its
     wings, to simulate real bird effects. The engineers developed a
     styrofoam discarding sabot, with rifling in the launcher to spin
     the bird and make its wings extend and blades to cut away the
     rubber bands that held the birds wings together during launching
     while stripping away the sabot.

     Peace through superior poultry....

     The smart ass ex-pilot manager who made them do this was
     (unfortunately for him) in his top-floor office watching the first
     launching. The chief engineer had carefully *calculated* the
     aerodynamic effects of the bird's wings being extended at launch,
     and had most carefully *AIMED* the damn thing to curve into the
     manager's picture window.

     As an ex-pilot, one of the scariest events the manager could have
     conceived was a bird going through his windshield. Can you imagine
     his delight when a thawed, stinking, 1.5 lb. sea gull went through
     his office on the top floor, swept all the cruft off his desk, and
     impaled itself into the back wall?

     He supposedly had to retire, he was so frightened.