BQ-7 (code-named Aphrodite , " Aphrodite ") is a secret project to convert decommissioned Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers into radio-controlled flying bombs to deliver large quantities of explosives to well-defended targets. The project was implemented under the MX-541 index jointly by Boeing engineers and specialists from the US Army Air Force Department in parallel with similar fleet operations ( BQ-8 ) under the auspices of the US Army and Navy in 1944 . A series of attacks was launched against various objects in Germany from August 1944 to January 1945 , but almost all of them were unsuccessful for various reasons. In 1945, the project was closed.
Content
History
In mid-1943, Major General James Doolittle proposed the idea of using old, worn-out, exhausted B-17 bombers as radio-controlled projectiles. The bombers loaded with explosives were supposed to be dropped onto enemy targets, hitting them from a dive with high accuracy. It was assumed that in this way it would be possible to effectively hit well-protected and durable objects, like the bunkers of submarine bases.
After preliminary studies, Doolittle approved the project on June 26, 1944, ordering to begin the deployment of robotic aircraft in parts of the 3rd Bomber Division .
Technical Description
The BQ-7 Aphrodite projectile was an old, worn-out Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber decommissioned from battle formations. All excess weight was removed from the car — on-board armament, armor, bomber sights, and radio equipment, which made it possible to reduce the weight of the car by about 5400 kg.
The converted car was equipped with a vertical steering wheel radio remote control system similar to that used on the AZON guided bomb. For remote control, two television cameras were installed on board the robot aircraft: one with an external view, allowing you to see the area under the bomber, and the second with an internal one, relaying the image of the devices on the control panel.
An explosive charge consisting of 9000 kg of torpex was loaded into the Aphrodite bomb bay. Such a load was several times higher than the normal load of explosives on board a bomber. The Americans believed that the effect of detonation of the charge was no less destructive than the result of the discharge of the British " earthquake bomb " [1] .
The aircraft flew up from the airfield by a crew of two people. After starting and climbing 600 meters, both pilots left the plane with parachutes, after setting the autopilot . The crews of these aircraft were equipped with volunteers: for the convenience of leaving the car in the air, the upper part of the cockpit was dismantled.
The control was carried out from the side of the accompanying bomber CQ-17, on board which the operator, tracking the flight of the projectile, both visually and with the help of the image from the television cameras, directed the machine toward the target. Directly above the target, the operator put the car into a dive, and it fell on the target [2] .
Combat use
The first missile planes were deployed as part of the at the Fersfield Royal Air Force Base. Initially, they were supposed to be deployed at the Woodbridge airbase, but the operation of projectile-shells together with manned bombers was considered too dangerous and the BQ-7 was deployed at an unused bomber command airbase located in a sparsely populated area. An additional argument in favor of Fersfield was its long take-off runway, convenient for lifting aircraft-shells.
Combat sorties began on August 4, 1944. At this point, the squadron included 10 BQ-7 shells and 4 CQ-17 control aircraft.
| purpose | date | Aircraft | Total | Flight details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| V-3 gun battery under construction in Moyecques, France | August 4, 1944 | 1 BQ-7 | Undershoot | The pilot and the flight engineer successfully jumped with parachutes, after which the plane lost control and crashed |
| Hopper Sirakur | August 4, 1944 | 1 BQ-7 | Undershoot | The drone lost control and crashed in the forest. Pilot dies due to parachute jump error |
| Wisern Dome, Eperleck Bunker | August 4, 1944 | 2 BQ-7 | Miss | The first plane lost control immediately after the pilot parachuted, and crashed near Oxford, destroying more than 8,000 square meters. m. of the surrounding forest. The flight mechanic died. The second plane reached its destination, but due to damage to the camera, it missed several hundred meters. No damage was done to the enemy |
| Eperleck Bunker | August 6, 1944 | 3 BQ-7 | Shot down | Crews left the aircraft without any problems. A few minutes later, one shell lost control and fell into the sea. Shortly after, the two remaining shells also began to experience control problems. One crashed into the sea, the other turned back and began to write circles over the British city of Ipswich before it was shot down |
| Helgoland | August 1944 | Unknown | Shot down | Machine with a modified control. At launch, a pilot died due to parachute failure. The projectile reached its target, but was shot down by anti-aircraft fire |
| Fuel plants in Heide, Germany | August 1944 | 4 BQ-7 | Success | The only fully successful Aphrodite mission. Three planes could not reach the goal due to failures in the control system, but the fourth one fell close enough for the blast wave to cause significant damage to the plant’s structures |
| Le Havre | August 13, 1944 | 1 BQ-7 | Miss | The plane missed the target, accompanied at low altitude " Mosquito " was destroyed by an explosion |
| Helgoland Submarine Bunker | September 11, 1944 | 1 BQ-7 | Shot down | Downed by anti-aircraft fire and fell into the sea |
| Fuel plants in Heide, Germany | September 14, 1044 | 2 BQ-7 | Miss | Both aircraft missed due to bad weather conditions and poor visibility of the target |
| Helgoland Submarine Bunker | October 15, 1944 | 2 BQ-7 | Miss | Both aircraft missed due to bad weather conditions and poor visibility of the target |
| Helgoland Submarine Bunker | October 30, 1944 | 2 BQ-7 and 7 P-47 escorts | Undershoot | Weather prevented the attack on the target, and both aircraft were sent to Berlin. One crashed due to lack of fuel, the second due to a malfunction in equipment reached the coast of Sweden and fell into the sea |
| Shipyard in Herford | December 5, 1944 | 2 BQ-7 | Miss | The target was not found due to weather conditions. Aircraft aimed at an alternative target, but both missed |
| Power Station in Oldenburg | January 1, 1945 | 2 BQ-7 | Downed | Both shot down by anti-aircraft fire |
The results were disappointing. In addition to malfunctions in the control equipment, the old bombers used for these operations suffered from many breakdowns and deterioration of the systems. The use of aircraft was dangerous for pilot-operators.
On January 27, 1945, General Karl Andrew Spaats ordered the program to close.
Further development backlog
The statistical ratio of downed planes to misses past the target was encouraging in terms of achieving higher efficiency in the use of aircraft-shells by improving the guidance system . Work in this direction continued after the closure of the Aphrodite program. One of these branches, in particular, was the project which received the MX-767 index and was implemented from April 1946 to July 1950 under the code name “ Banshee, ” where decommissioned heavy B-29 heavy bombers were converted for this purpose.
Notes
- ↑ Unlikely. The British Tallboy bombs fell at a supersonic speed, sinking to 30 meters and detonating underground, producing the effect of an artificial earthquake. The BQ-7 was a very powerful, but just a high-explosive projectile, capable of effectively striking only with excessive pressure in the front of the blast wave.
- ↑ Due to the unreliability of the system, the planes were usually accompanied by a fighter, whose task was to shoot down the BQ-7 if it lost control of its territory.
Literature
- Gunston, Bill. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles: a comprehensive technical directory and history of the military guided missile systems of the 20th century. - Salamander Books, 1979.- 264 p. - ISBN 0861010299 .
- Werrell, Kenneth P. The Evolution of the Cruise Missile . - Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press, 1985 .-- 289 p. (inaccessible link)
- Peter M. Bowers. Boeing Aircraft since 1916 .-- Putnam, 1989.