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Flying Bomb

 
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A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle

File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight .jpgAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an unpiloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems....
 or small aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead
Warhead

Typically, a warhead is the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo....
, a precursor to contemporary cruise missile
Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided missile missile that carries an explosive payload and uses a lifting wing and a propulsion system, usually a jet engine, to allow sustained flight; it is essentially a flying bomb....
s. In contrast to a bomber
Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them....
 aircraft, which is intended to release bomb
Bomb

A bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy....
s and then return to its base for re-use, a flying bomb crashes into its target and is therefore itself destroyed in its attack.

The term flying bomb is most frequently associated with two specific Second World War weapons, the German V-1 and the Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese Ohka
Ohka

The Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal MXY-7 Ohka, was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping Kamikaze attack plane employed by Japan towards the end of World War II....
.






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Japanese Ohka Rocket Plane
A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle

File:MQ-9 Reaper in flight .jpgAn unmanned aerial vehicle is an unpiloted aircraft. UAVs come in two varieties: some are controlled from a remote location, and others fly autonomously based on pre-programmed flight plans using more complex dynamic automation systems....
 or small aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead
Warhead

Typically, a warhead is the explosive material and detonator that is delivered by a missile, rocket, or torpedo....
, a precursor to contemporary cruise missile
Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided missile missile that carries an explosive payload and uses a lifting wing and a propulsion system, usually a jet engine, to allow sustained flight; it is essentially a flying bomb....
s. In contrast to a bomber
Bomber

A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, primarily by dropping bombs on them....
 aircraft, which is intended to release bomb
Bomb

A bomb is any of a range of explosive devices that typically rely on the exothermic chemical reaction of an explosive material to produce an extremely sudden and violent release of energy....
s and then return to its base for re-use, a flying bomb crashes into its target and is therefore itself destroyed in its attack.

The term flying bomb is most frequently associated with two specific Second World War weapons, the German V-1 and the Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese Ohka
Ohka

The Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal MXY-7 Ohka, was a purpose-built, rocket powered human-guided anti-shipping Kamikaze attack plane employed by Japan towards the end of World War II....
. The former was unpiloted, the latter carried a pilot on a kamikaze
Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviation from the Empire of Japan against Allies Of World War II shipping, in the closing stages of the Pacific War of World War II, to destroy as many warships as possible....
 mission.

Perhaps because of these Axis
Axis Powers

The Axis powers were those countries that were opposed to the Allies of World War II during World War II. The three major Axis powers - Nazi Germany, Kingdom of Italy , and Empire of Japan - were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers....
 connotations, the term cruise missile
Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided missile missile that carries an explosive payload and uses a lifting wing and a propulsion system, usually a jet engine, to allow sustained flight; it is essentially a flying bomb....
 is more commonly used in English for modern munitions that might otherwise fit the definition of a flying bomb.

Historic

The first attempt to build a flying bomb (alternatively called an "aerial torpedo" in the Navy) was undertaken by Elmer Sperry in 1916
1916 in aviation

This is a list of aviation-related events from 1916:...
, called the Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane
Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane

The Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane was a project undertaken during World War I to develop an aerial torpedo, a pilotless aircraft capable of carrying explosives to its target....
, and was based on a Curtiss N-9
Curtiss N-9

The Curtiss N-9 was a seaplane variant of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" military trainer used during the First World War....
 seaplane. This led to a mission-specific Curtis design, the Curtiss-Sperry Flying Bomb, which was almost completely unsuccessful. The US Army also tried to develop a flying bomb in World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, the Kettering Bug
Kettering Bug

The Kettering Bug was an aerial torpedo, the forerunner of what today is considered a Unmanned aerial vehicle or a cruise missile. It was capable of striking ground targets up to 75 miles from its launch point....
, but the war ended before the program could mature. The most famous example of a flying bomb is the German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 V-1, many of which targeted London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 in 1944 during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
.

Types

Flying bombs may be powered or unpowered, piloted or unpiloted, although unpowered flying bombs such as the United States Navy
United States Navy

The United States Navy is the navy of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy currently has approximately 331,682 personnel on active duty as of 31 December 2008 and 124,000 in the United States Navy Reserve....
 Bat
Bat (guided bomb)

Bat was a radar-guided glide bomb developed by the United States Navy during World War II. Similar to the German Fritz X, Bat lacked any form of propulsion....
 and German
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 Hagelkorn ("Hailstone") and Fritz X
Fritz X

Fritz X was the most common name for a Nazi Germany air-launched anti-ship missile, used during World War II. Fritz X was a nickname used both by Allied and Luftwaffe personnel....
 designed during World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
 are usually referred to as glide bomb
Glide bomb

A glide bomb is an aerial bomb that is modified with aerodynamic surfaces to modify its flight path from a purely Ballistics one, to a flatter, gliding, one....
s. Flying bombs differ from missile
Missile

A guided missile is a self-propelled projectile used as a weapon. Missiles are typically propelled by rockets or jet engines. Missiles generally have one or more explosive warheads, although other weapon types may also be used....
s in that a flying bomb is equipped with wing
Wing

A wing is a surface used to produce Lift for flight through the Earth's atmosphere or another gaseous or fluid medium. The wing shape is usually an airfoil....
s to provide lift
Lift (force)

In the context of a fluid flow relative to a body, the lift force is the Vector #Vector components of the aerodynamic force that is perpendicular to the oncoming flow direction....
 over a long distance, where missiles are usually launched on ballistic
Ballistics

Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance....
 trajectories and do not rely on lift to reach their targets.

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