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Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1918

Kettering Bug aerial torpedo

Kettering designed an unmanned 'aerial torpedo' built by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company; first flight October 2, 1918. It was never used in combat.

At a glance

Year
1918
By
Charles F. Kettering
Company
Dayton-Wright Company
Place
Dayton, Montgomery County ZIP 45402 · Dayton · Montgomery County

The story

In World War I the U.S. Army wanted a way to hit distant targets without risking a pilot. In November 1917 it asked Charles Kettering to design an unmanned flying bomb that could strike a target 40 miles away.

The result, called the Kettering Aerial Torpedo or Bug, was small and cheap. It was about 12.5 feet long with a 15-foot wingspan, built from wood laminate, papier-mache and cardboard wings. A 40-horsepower two-stroke engine built by Ford for about $40 drove it, and each aircraft cost about $400. A small gyroscope kept it on course, and a counter of engine turns told it when to cut the engine and drop its wings so it would fall on its target, carrying 180 pounds of explosives.

It was built by the Dayton-Wright company, and the first flight took place on October 2, 1918. Tests went poorly: two successes in six tries at Dayton, one in four at Amityville, and four in fourteen at Carlstrom. It was never used in combat, and the program ended in 1920 after spending about $275,000.

Even so, the idea of a self-guided flying weapon led toward later cruise missiles.

Timeline

  • 1917-11: The U.S. Army asks Kettering to design an unmanned aircraft able to hit a target 40 miles away. (Dayton, OH) source
  • 1918-10-02: First flight of the Bug. (Dayton, OH) source
  • 1918: Tests: 2 successes in 6 tries at Dayton, 1 in 4 at Amityville, 4 in 14 at Carlstrom. (Dayton, OH / other fields) source
  • 1920: The program ends after about $275,000 is spent; the Bug never sees combat. source

What it changed

  • Each Bug cost about $400, with a Ford-built engine at about $40.
  • Range of about 75 miles at 50 mph, with 180 pounds of explosives.
  • Cited as an early forerunner of cruise missiles.

Why it matters

Forerunner of cruise missiles; not used in combat.

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Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.