Probably like a lot of folk, I’ve regarded military drones as a fairly modern phenomenon and was surprised to learn just how long the military has been tinkering with unmanned aerial vehicles. I thought that perhaps the V1 would be the first military drone but it goes back further than that.
1917 saw the British use a radio-controlled aircraft as a target and in 1918, the USA trialled its aerial torpedo known as The Kettering Bug. This, in particular, can be viewed almost as a proto-cruise missile long before the V1 ‘Doodlebug’ fell silent and dropped on London.
Here’s the Imperial War Museum’s page on drones.
www.iwm.org.uk
1917 saw the British use a radio-controlled aircraft as a target and in 1918, the USA trialled its aerial torpedo known as The Kettering Bug. This, in particular, can be viewed almost as a proto-cruise missile long before the V1 ‘Doodlebug’ fell silent and dropped on London.
Here’s the Imperial War Museum’s page on drones.
A Brief History of Drones
The first pilotless vehicles were built during the First World War but drones now have many functions.
