Unmanned I.

This is coolbert:

"Off we go into the wild blue yonder
Climbing high into the sun??"

This is the goal of many young men that join the United States Air Force [USAF]. Fly the latest and most advanced aircraft in the world. Hopefully soar in the air and "climbing high into the sun", perhaps at the controls of a F-22 Raptor.

This dream of many young men, to be a hot-shot fighter jock, is becoming a goal harder and harder to attain.

In part because of modern technology that has spawned the age of the Unmanned-Aerial-Vehicle [UAV].

"unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). [JP 1-02] (DoD) A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload."

The concept of the UAV as we understand it today had origins during the Second World War.

Perhaps the archetype of all currently existing UAV is the World War Two [WW2] German contraption, the V-1. Known to the British as the "buzz bomb" or the "doodlebug". An unmanned and crudely put together [that is why I call it a contraption!] "aerial vehicle' designed to fly a straight and level course toward a target [usually London], running out of fuel over the target and crashing to the ground, detonating the large warhead. NOT a sophisticated weapon system. BUT WAS EFFECTIVE. Launched on a one-way mission from a ski-jump type ramp, using RATO [rocket assisted take off], and then pulse-jet.



"When launched, the V-1s flew without human intervention to strike distant targets. The V-1 was a small pilotless aircraft with minimal guidance and a large warhead."

"Its guidance system was crude in construction, sophisticated in conception, and somewhat flawed in execution."

[regarding the "flawed in execution", this is most interesting. Initial tests of the V-1 were carried out at the German test site of Pennemunde revealed an inherent flaw to the design of the "buzz bomb". A flaw that was uncovered by the famous German woman test pilot Hanna Reitsch. Hanna "rode" a "doodlebug" at great risk to herself and did what male test pilots were not able to do!!!]

"The V-1e was test flown several times by German test pilot Hanna Reitsch. Reitsch confirmed that the basic V-1 airframe was prone to severe vibration resulting from engine noise."

See this web site on Hanna Reitsch. Again, as I have mentioned in other blog entries, what is one to make of such remarkable, skilled and brave Germans such as Hanna who were also fervent and devoted followers of Adolph Hitler!!!???

coolbert.