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First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Scotland's Panamanian colony, the nuclear-powered car, a dome over all of Manhattan, the eagle-powered flying machine, the fire-extinguished hand grenadehistory's heroic failuresDuring World War II, behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner discovered that pigeons could be trained to recognize an object and to peck at an image of it; when loaded into the nose-cone of a missile, these pecks could be translated into adjustments to the guidance fins, steering the projectile to its targeta plan that was abandoned by the US Navy for more conventional solutions. This guide reveals this and other fascinating tales of daring plans from history designed to change the world, yet which ended in failure, or even disaster. Some became the victims of the eccentric figures behind them, others succumbed to financial and political misfortune, and a few were just too far ahead of their time. Discover why the great groundnut scheme cost British taxpayers £49 million; why the bid to build Minerva, a whole new country in the Pacific Ocean, sank; and why the first Channel Tunnel (started in 1881, more than a century before the one we know today) hit a dead end.
Although not as well-known as the V-1 buzz bomb and the V-2 missile, the first German missiles to see combat were anti-ship missiles, the Henschel Hs.293 guided missile and the Fritz-X guided bomb. These began to see extensive combat in the Mediterranean in 1943. In their most famous use, the Italian battleship Roma was sunk by a Fritz-X attack in September 1943 when Italy attempted to switch sides. The serious threat posed by these missiles led to a vigorous but little known 'Wizard War' by the Allies to develop electronic counter-measures, the first effort of its kind. Besides the anti-ship missiles, the other major category of German missiles were the air-defence missiles. Germany suffere...
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World War II was a significant period of development for American missile programs, during which time the US built pioneering examples of guided weapons systems. However, whilst the German missiles of World War II are famous around the world, their American counterparts have remained shrouded in secrecy, despite the fact that they formed the basis for the later revolutions in precision warfare. Among the most sophisticated missiles of World War II was the US Navy's radar-guided Bat anti-ship missile, which was on the verge of deployment in the final months of the war. The war also saw the first use of guided assault drones, including the US Army Air Force's Aphrodite program of 1944, and the US Navy's Project Anvil and TDR-1. This book draws back the veil on these weapons, examining the principal avenues of missile development in America during World War II, including the early glide bombs, radio-controlled bombs and electro-optically controlled bombs. Some of the more peculiar efforts, such as the “Bat bomb” and pigeon-guided bombs, are also explored. The text is supported by specially commissioned, full-colour artwork and diagrams.
From the Back Cover: In US Guided Missiles renowned aviation historian Bill Yenne has produced, for the first time, a comprehensive guide to the widely varied United States guided missile systems that have been designated with the "M" prefix. Beginning with the 1950s MGM-1 Matador-a jet-propelled cruise missile inspired by Germany's wartime V-1 "Flying Bomb" -and the MGM-5 Corporal, evolved from the German V2 ballistic missile, US Guided Missiles charts the evolution of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) such as the Atlas, Titan, Minuteman and Peacekeeper. The Atlas and Titan later became famous as the basis for the launch vehicles that carried the first American astronauts into spa...
This fascinating title details the history of America's secretive advanced guided weapons projects of World War II, the combat they saw, and how they influenced postwar missile development. World War II was a significant period of development for American missile programs, during which time the US built pioneering examples of guided weapons systems. However, whilst the German missiles of World War II are famous around the world, their American counterparts have remained shrouded in secrecy, despite the fact that they formed the basis for the later revolutions in precision warfare. Among the most sophisticated missiles of World War II was the US Navy's radar-guided Bat antiship missile, which...