A Brief History of Unmanned Aircraft
From bomb-bearing balloons to the Global Hawk.
- By Ed Darack
- AirSpaceMag.com, May 18, 2011
NASM (SI 2003-6574)
The first truly intercontinental weapon system, Japan's “Fu-Go” balloons were designed to cause widespread forest fires and damage to North American cities, civilians, and croplands during World War II. The hydrogen-filled balloons measured 30 feet in diameter. Each carried a payload of 32 paper sandbags, two incendiary devices, one small bomb, and an altitude regulation mechanism.
Launched from Japan, the balloons would rise to roughly 30,000 feet, where they would hitch a ride on the jet stream and travel at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour eastward. As hydrogen leaked out slowly, the balloon descended. At 25,000 feet, the altitude regulation system would drop one of the sand bags, causing the balloon to rise back to 35,000 feet. This continued until just the incendiary devices and bomb remained; then they too were dropped on the last dips to 25,000 feet. The Japanese launched up to 9,300 of these balloons, but only 300 actually reached North America. They caused six deaths: a woman and five students who happened upon one of the unexploded bombs during a church picnic in Oregon.
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Comments (6)
I really liked the piece on "A Brief History of Unmanned Aircraft". I learned some things that I did not know.
Posted by Robert Bone on May 25,2011 | 01:37 PM
Really enjoyed this set... especially the Ronald Reagan and Marilyn Monroe connection with Radioplane. A very small world makes for great history telling. Enjoyed the story greatly.
Posted by Ray Krause on May 25,2011 | 08:09 PM
I expected to see the Ryan Model 154-AQM 91A "Compass Arrow" from 1968 in your history of Unmanned Aircraft.
It was a big step forward in this field.
Check "Fireflies and other UAV's" by William Wagner published in 1992.
Posted by Roy Benstead on May 26,2011 | 08:37 PM
In the article you start out by saying Naval Aviators learned in T-6'. Not so, they flew the SNJ. Pretty much the same a/c but a T-6 is a T-6 and an SNJ is still an SNJ.I served aboard NAAS Miramar in 1952 as plane captain for an SNJ and an SNB Miramar hadn't been designated NAS yet so we were basically the only a/c on base. It was a great time to be there, a time to learn and improve my skills as an Aviation Mech with a crew that cared about the a/c we sent out everday. Glenn Dunham, AD2
Posted by glenn dunham on June 10,2011 | 01:47 PM
following up on the article with Ronald Reagan and Marily Monroe with Radioplane. I too was surprised by the connection because after my first assignment at Miramar I was transferred to Hawaii's Barbers Point utility squadron and worked in a KD238 where we flew Radioplane KD-28 drones. We flew them off the North Shore of Oahu at Dillingham AFB and off an A/C carrier to service the guns on several DD's on a cruise to Japan. We flew both prop driven and pulse jet engines and I still have pictures of both kind if anybody woulc care to share. glennginny@hotmail.com
Posted by glenn dunham on June 10,2011 | 02:03 PM
"The Buzz Bombs proved devastating, killing more than 10,000 civilians and injuring nearly 28,000."
And the many inmates at the Dora-Nordhausen concentration camp in the Harz mountains Germany, where these weapons where build under greawsom conditions..
I live under one of the old V-1 'flight-lines' from Rotterdam-Pernis to Antwerp. I remember the removals of a number of malfunctioned and crashed V-1's in my neighborhood at Spijkenisse, the Netherlands.
Posted by Arjan Wolters on July 20,2011 | 03:47 PM