Operation Aphrodite
| Aphrodite, BQ-7, BQ-8 | |
|---|---|
Aphrodite drone at takeoff
|
|
| Type | Radio-controlled bombers as guided missiles |
| Place of origin |
 United States
|
| Service history | |
| In service | 1944 |
| Used by |
United States Army Air Forces (Aphrodite) United States Navy (Anvil) |
| Specifications | |
| Warhead | Payload: 30,000 LB (13,600 kg) Torpex |
|
|
|
|
Guidance
system |
Azon (TV sensor, radio control) |
Azon (TV sensor, radio control)
Aphrodite and Anvil were the World War II code names of United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy operations to use B-17 and PB4Y bombers as precision-guided munitions against bunkers and other hardened/reinforced enemy facilities, such as those targeted during Operation Crossbow.
The plan called for B-17 aircraft that had been taken out of operational service: various nicknames existed such as "robot", "baby", "drone" or "weary Willy" – to be loaded to capacity with explosives, and flown by radio control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as German U-boat pens and V-weapon sites.
It was hoped that it would match the British success with Tallboy and Grand Slam ground penetration bombs but the project was dangerous, expensive and unsuccessful. Of 14 missions flown, none resulted in the successful destruction of a target. Many aircraft lost control and crashed or were shot down by flak, and many pilots were killed. However, a handful of aircraft scored near misses. One notable pilot death was that of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the elder brother of future US President John F. Kennedy.
The program effectively ceased on January 27, 1945 when General Spaatz sent an urgent message to Doolittle: "Aphrodite babies must not be launched against the enemy until further orders".
By late 1943, General Henry H. Arnold had directed Brigadier General Grandison Gardner's electronic engineers at Eglin Field, Florida, to outfit war-weary bombers with automatic pilots so that they could be remotely controlled. The plan was first proposed to Major General James H. Doolittle some time in 1944. Doolittle approved the plan for Operation Aphrodite on June 26, and assigned the 3rd Bombardment Division with preparing and flying the drone aircraft, which was to be designated BQ-7. In the U.S. Navy's similar project, Operation Anvil, the drone was designated BQ-8.
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Wikipedia