Operation Aphrodite

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Aphrodite, BQ-7, BQ8
Diagram of Boeing B-17
Type	guided missile
Service history
In service	1944
Specifications
Warhead	Payload: 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) Torpex
Guidance system	Azon (TV sensor/radio control), Castor (radar & TV/radio control)

Operation Aphrodite was the code name of a secret program initiated by the United States Army Air Forces during the latter part of World War II. The United States Eighth Air Force used 'Aphrodite' both as an experimental method of destroying V weapon production and launch facilities and as a way to dispose of B-17 and PB4Y bombers that had outlived their operational usefulness, although only two PB4Ys were modified for the Navy's sister operation, Project Anvil.^[1]

The plan called for B-17 aircraft which had been taken out of operational service (various nicknames existed such as 'robot', 'baby', 'drone' or 'weary Willy')^[2] to be loaded to capacity with explosives, and flown by remote control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as German U-boat pens and V-1 missile sites. It was hoped that this would match the British success with Tallboy and Grand Slam supersonic ground penetration bombs, but the project is now remembered as dangerous, expensive and unsuccessful.

Contents 1 Proposal 2 Mission theory 2.1 Remote control 3 Missions 4 Cancellation 5 See also 6 References and Notes 7 Further reading

[edit] Proposal

The plan was first proposed to Major General James H. Doolittle some time in 1944 (the original author and date of submission are unknown). Doolittle approved the plan on June 26, and assigned the 3rd Bombardment Division with preparing and flying the drone aircraft, which was to be designated BQ-7.^[3] Final assignment of responsibility was given to the 562nd Bomb Squadron at RAF Honington in Suffolk. Similarly, on July 6, 1944 the US Navy Special Attack Unit (SAU-1) was formed under ComAirLant, with Commander James A. Smith, Officer in Charge, for transfer without delay to Commander Fleet Air Wing 7 in Europe to attack German V-1 and V-2 launching sites with PB4Y-1's converted to assault drones.^[4]

[edit] Mission theory

In preparation for their final mission, several old B-17 Flying Fortress bombers were stripped of all normal combat armament and all other non-essential gear (armor, guns, bomb racks, transceiver, seats, etc.), thus relieving the bomber of about 12,000 lb of weight. The stripped aircraft were then equipped with an Azon[1] radio remote-control system and loaded with up to 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) of explosives, more than twice the normal bomb payload. The explosive chosen was the British Torpex ("TORpedo EXplosive") which was 50% more powerful than TNT.

A relatively remote location in Norfolk, RAF Fersfield was chosen as the launch site. Initially RAF Woodbridge had been selected for its long runway, but the possibilities of the damaged aircraft returning that diverted to Woodbridge for landings colliding with a loaded drone caused concerns.

[edit] Remote control

To facilitate control of what was essentially a slow guided missile, two television cameras were fitted in the cockpit of each B-17, providing a view of both the ground and the main instrumentation panel. This view was transmitted back to an accompanying control aircraft, designated CQ17, (referred to as the 'mothership'), allowing the craft to be flown remotely.

Because the crude remote control thus created did not allow for safe takeoff from a runway, each craft was taken aloft by a volunteer crew of two (a pilot and flight engineer), who were to pilot the aircraft to an altitude of 2,000 ft (600 m), at which point control would be transferred to the remote operators. After successful turnover of control of the drone, the two-man crew would arm the Torpex explosive payload and parachute out of the cockpit, the canopy of which was removed to speed their exit. The 'mothership' would then direct the missile locking it onto a course for the target. When the training program was complete, the 562nd Squadron had ten drones and four 'motherships'.

[edit] Missions

Aphrodite Missions

Target	Date	Aircraft	Notes
Mission 515 Mimoyecques, Siracourt, Watten, Wizernes	August 4, 1944	Four B-17s.	Escort is provided by 16 P-47 Thunderbolts and 16 P-51 Mustangs. None of the targets are hit; 1 drone B-17 crashes killing 1 crew.[5] Siracourt drone control problems led to B-17 39835 crashing in wood at Sudbourne ("pilot killed when abandoned aircraft too soon before impact").[6] One plane lost control after the first crewman bailed out, and crashed near Orford, making a huge crater and destroying more than 2 acres (8,000 sq m) of the surrounding countryside; the second crewman was killed.[citation needed] The view from the nose of the other drone was obscured as it came over the target, and it missed by several hundred feet.[citation needed]
	August, 1944		One drone was shot down by flak due to a control malfunction. The other missed its target by a quarter of a mile (400 m)[citation needed]
Watten, Nord[7]	August 6, 1944	Crews abandoned the missiles without complications, a few minutes later one lost control and fell into the sea.[8]	The other also lost control, but turned inland and began to circle the important industrial town and port of Ipswich. After several minutes, it crashed harmlessly at sea.[citation needed] B-17 30342 *Taint A Bird*: impacted at Gravelines, probably due to flak damage. B-17 31394: experienced control problems and crashed into sea. B-17 30212 *Quarterback*: experienced control problems and crashed into sea
Heligoland[citation needed]	August, 1944		After modifications to change to a different control system, the second casualty of the operation was suffered during this mission, when one pilot's parachute failed to open. The missile also failed, most likely shot down by flak before reaching the target.[citation needed]
Heide[citation needed]	August, 1944	4 drones	Three aircraft failed to reach their target due to control malfunctions, the fourth crashed near enough to cause significant damage and high casualties.[citation needed]
Mimoyecques[9]	August 12, 1944	PB4Y-1 32271 (ex USAAF B-24J 42-110007)	The single US Navy BQ8 detonated prematurely over the Blyth Estuary England, killing Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. and Lt. Wilford J. Willy[10]
Mission 549/Le Havre	August 13, 1944	B-17 with 2,000 pounds (907 kg) of bombs	B-17, P-38 Lightning and a de Havilland Mosquito support aircraft assist; the target is missed and the Mosquito is destroyed by the exploding bombs.[5]
Heligoland U-boat pens[11]	September 3, 1944	B-17 63954:	Second USN "Anvil" project controller flew aircraft into Duene Island by mistake.
Heligoland U-boat pens[7]	September 11, 1944	B-17 30180	hit by enemy flak and crashed into sea
Hemmingstedt oil refinery[12]	September 14, 1944	B-17 39827 and B-17 30363 Ruth L III	both drones missed target due to poor weather conditions
Heligoland U-boat pens[7]	October 15, 1944	B-17 30039 Liberty Belle and B-17 37743
Herford marshalling yard[13]	December 5, 1944	B-17 39824 and B-17 30353 Ten Knights in the Bar Room	target not located due to cloud cover, so both directed at alternate target ofHaldorf. Both crashed outside town.
Oldenburg power station[7]	January 1, 1945	B-17 30178 Darlin' Dolly and B-17 30237 Stump Jumper	both shot down by flak before reaching target.

[edit] Cancellation

Concluding that the BQ-7 was not successful against the 'hard targets' it had been designed for, United States Strategic Air Forces Headquarters ordered that it be sent against industrial targets instead.^{[citation needed]} Two more missions were flown, and both were failures as well. Bad weather and control problems caused misses.^{[citation needed]} The only drone that actually hit the target didn't explode, supplying the Germans with an intact B-17 and a set of radio controls.^{[citation needed]}

After the last mission, the Strategic Air Forces decided that the concept behind Operation Aphrodite was unfeasible, and scrapped the effort.^{[citation needed]} In the course of the operation, only one drone had done any damage, and none had hit their targets. The failure of the program was attributed to the lack of suitable implementations of available technology. One contributing factor to the difficulties may well have been the changed flight characteristics due to the different weight distribution of the 'Aphrodite-equipped' craft versus un-modified aircraft.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

• Mistel
• Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
• B-17 Flying Fortress variants
• Smart bomb

[edit] References and Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Jablonski, Edward (1965). Flying Fortress. Doubleday. 
• Olsen, Jack (1970). Aphrodite: Desperate Mission. Putnam's Sons. 
• Gray, Edwin (1996). Operation Aphrodite's B-17 "Smart Bomb". Aviation History. 
• Werrell, Kenneth P. The Evolution of the Cruise Missile (see p.43)
• Miller, Donald L. (2006). Masters of the Air. Simon & Schuster. (see pp.299-304)

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