British unmanned aerial vehicles of World War I facts for kids

Soon after the Royal Aircraft Factory was created in 1912, designers in Farnborough started thinking about flying aircraft without a pilot. During World War I, they worked on remotely controlled planes for the Royal Flying Corps and unmanned boats for the Royal Navy. These boats were even controlled from "mother" aircraft! By 1918, Britain had successfully flown a drone aircraft. They also controlled several fast unmanned motor boats by radio from planes. This amazing work continued for many years after the war.

Early Drone Designs

In October 1914, the Royal Aircraft Factory drew up plans for an unmanned plane. It was about 2.8 meters (9 feet 3 inches) long with a 3-meter (10-foot) wingspan. This plane was designed to defend against German airship bombings. They called it the "Aerial Target" (AT). This name was a trick to make Germans think it was just a drone for testing anti-aircraft guns.

Ruston Proctor's Drone

Henry Folland at the Royal Aircraft Factory designed an AT plane. It used an ABC Gnat engine. This drone was built by Ruston Proctor in Lincoln between 1916 and 1917.

Sopwith's Attempt

The Sopwith company, with Harry Hawker, built another AT plane. It was a biplane with a wingspan of about 4.3 meters (14 feet). This plane was meant to carry a 23-kilogram (50-pound) explosive. It had a special wing shape for stability and a four-wheel landing gear. Sadly, the plane was damaged and never tested. Its design later helped create the Sopwith Sparrow.

The 1917 Aerial Target Takes Flight

The story of target drones really began when the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) developed their first remote-controlled aircraft. They called it the "Aerial Target" (AT). All the 1917 "Aerial Target" planes used a radio control system. This system was invented by Archibald Low at the RFC's Experimental Works in Feltham.

On March 21, 1917, one of Geoffrey de Havilland's "AT" planes made history. It had a Gnat engine and launched from a special ramp at Upavon. This became the world's first powered drone aircraft to fly using radio control! The ground operator could send signals to move the plane's controls. When no signal was sent, springs returned the controls to their normal position. This amazing system was later shown at the Imperial War Museum.

Low's system used secret codes for its commands. This stopped enemies from taking control. These codes could even be changed daily!

By July 1917, six Aerial Targets were built and tested at Northolt. The first three crashed during launch attempts from ground rails. But even with these early problems, the Aerial Target was seen as a useful weapon. People realized that "aircraft carrying high explosive charges are capable of being controlled by wireless."

The "AT" project later moved to Biggin Hill. By 1922, all this work returned to the R.A.E. in Farnborough, where it had first started in 1914.

The RFC's 1917 Guided Rocket

Archibald Low also worked on rockets. In 1917, his team designed an electrically steered rocket. They worked with Commander Brock, who was also an experimental officer. Brock was a director of the C.T. Brock & Co. fireworks company. A patent for "Improvements in Rockets" was filed in 1918 but kept secret until 1923. This rocket could be guided by wires or wirelessly. A model of this dirigible (steerable) rocket was shown in a 1950s exhibition. It was designed to "pursue a hostile airman."

Radio Guidance and the Feltham Unit

During World War I, work on radio-guided weapons began in different places. But the Munitions Inventions Department decided to create a main center for the Royal Flying Corps's radio-guided weapons. This secret place was the Experimental Works in Feltham.

Their main job was radio-guided systems. But they also helped with other things, like testing special bullets. Archibald Low was in charge of the Feltham team. He had at least 30 experts working for him. They had vehicles and military security. They even used a balloon facility to test radio signals. Low was a skilled RFC Observer. His team included talented inventors and engineers.

Many senior officers praised Low's work. Sir Henry Norman, 1st Baronet wrote in 1918 that Low had "extensive and profound scientific knowledge" and a "great gift on imaginative invention."

The work started in 1915 in a garage in Chiswick. By 1916, it was so promising that the RFC took over buildings in Feltham. Later, the Experimental Works moved to Archibald Low's own place in Feltham. All the Navy's work was done there in 1918 too.

1918 Aircraft-Controlled Unmanned Boats

In 1917, the focus for Low's control system changed. The new goal was to fight submarines. Low and Ernest Bowen joined the Royal Navy. They adapted the AT system to control Royal Navy Distance Control Boats (DCB) from the air. These DCBs were a type of Coastal Motor Boat filled with explosives.

Thornycroft designed these new DCBs to carry the heavy explosives. The boats were considered fragile but could sail in good weather. The AT work was then moved to the Royal Flying Corps radio unit at Biggin Hill. But the Feltham Works, still under Low's command, continued to develop and produce the equipment.

The control system for the boats was clever. Signals from the "mother" aircraft would make a gyroscope on the boat change its direction. If the boat wasn't heading in the right direction, an electric motor would turn the rudder. This made the boat steer itself to stay on the correct path. This system worked even if waves, wind, or tides tried to push the boat off course.

Three of these DCBs were converted 12-meter (40-foot) Coastal Motor Boats: Number 3, 9, and 13.

The trials were very successful. The DCB weapon was seen as "capable of control up to the moment of hitting." Admiral Edward Stafford Fitzherbert praised Archibald Low in March 1918. He said Low had given about 14 patents to the military. He also lent his entire lab and staff to the Admiralty. Three of Low's inventions were accepted for service, including the control gear for the DCBs.

The Royal Navy's D.C.B. Section

The Royal Navy set up a secret Distantly Controlled Boat (D.C.B.) Section. It was part of the Signals School in Portsmouth. Their job was to develop air-to-boat radio control systems. This section was based at Calshot and led by Eric Gascoigne Robinson VC.

By September 1917, large shore facilities were made ready for DCB trials in the Thames Estuary. Airfield facilities were also requested for the 'mother' aircraft. The DCB Section had access to many vessels, including a submarine (HMS C4), and support from aircraft, pilots, and trained radio operators. They successfully guided unmanned boats in the busy waters around Portsmouth Harbour.

Between May 28 and May 31, 1918, the Royal Navy Dover Command conducted trials. Operators in Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 aircraft controlled the boats. Important naval officers, including Acting Vice-Admiral Sir Roger J. B. Keyes, were on board a DCB while it was remotely controlled. They even steered the boats through "gates" made by other boats. Many high-ranking officials watched these trials.

The Navy thought these new weapons could be used to block harbors or attack enemy ships. Captain Dudley Pound's report in April 1918 suggested using 4 DCBs at a time. Each boat would carry a much heavier explosive charge than any torpedo. He suggested targets like enemy vessels in Emden, Zeebrugge, and Ostend. He also said these boats would be useful until aircraft could carry large torpedoes.

A report from September 1918 confirmed that "Wireless controlling gear for steering a vessel from an aircraft, ship or shore station, is an accomplished fact." The main developers were Captain Ryan and Captain Low. The DCB Section also used ideas from other inventors.

Captain Low mentioned how much overtime his team worked to supply the radio control units for the DCBs. He said his men would need "at least two days' rest" after finishing the work.

Preparing for D.C.B. Operations

Operations in northern areas might be difficult in winter. So, commanders in charge of target areas were told about the DCBs. This included Admiral Sir Somerset Arthur Gough-Calthorpe in the Mediterranean in October 1918. However, no DCB operations were carried out before the war ended.

After the War

Before the Feltham Experimental Works closed, John Knowles Im Thurn wrote to Archibald Low in May 1919. He said it was a shame the war ended too soon for Low's expanded lab to play its important role. He also said Low's "extraordinary ability and originality" would be a great loss. The Works closed on October 13, 1919.

A report from March 1920 said that aircraft carrying explosives could be controlled wirelessly, just like the DCBs. But they didn't think these would be a big threat to large warships. The report also noted that it was hard for enemies to block the wireless control. This was because each boat used a different radio frequency. They also found that many boats could be controlled at once. Two could be controlled by one aircraft, and three could be steered close together without problems. Up to eight boats could be handled in a group if they were not too close.

The committee concluded that the DCB weapon was special because it could be controlled "up to the moment of hitting." This meant it deserved continued research to become a powerful "shallow or surface-running torpedo of great size."

Links to Future Drone Developments

In 1921, the R.A.E. started working on unmanned aircraft again. They used their "1917 Type Aerial Target" planes with a stronger engine. In 1925, they developed the 'Larynx' drone. By 1933, a Fairey Queen IIIF drone survived a major Navy gunnery test without damage.

After more tests, the world's first fleet of drones was created in 1935. These were the de Havilland DH.82 Queen Bees. Their control system came from the same early work as the 1917 Aerial Target. They were also launched from a special ramp. Over 400 Queen Bees were used before World War II to test anti-aircraft defenses. A 1939 article said Britain was far ahead of other countries in this area.

The next big step was the first US target drone fleets during World War II. Four veterans of the RFC (and its later form, the Royal Air Force) connect the 1917 Aerial Target to these US drones. Duncan Pitcher, who was Archibald Low's boss on the RFC Aerial Target project, was the best man for Robert Loraine in 1921. Loraine and Reginald Denny (who started the Radioplane Company in California) had a lot in common. Both were British actors who became successful in the USA. They were both RFC veterans and were flying and making films in Hollywood in the 1930s. That's when Denny became interested in radio-controlled aircraft. Denny's company, Radioplane, made the first mass-produced drones for the US Army and Navy in the 1940s. This company was later bought by Northrop Grumman, which makes the RQ-4 Global Hawk drone today.

The Royal Navy also kept developing its remote control technology. The battleship HMS Agamemnon was even turned into a remote-controlled target ship in 1920.

Imperial War Museum Exhibition

On June 29, 1955, Low and Lord Brabazon gave a model of the AT and other items from the Feltham Unit to the Imperial War Museum. These items, including the control system that flew in March 1917, were for a planned exhibition.

Surviving Artifacts and Photos

The Royal Flying Corps' Aerial Target was the world's first unmanned aircraft (UAV) to fly under ground control. A photo of this 1917 Aerial Target, which had a 6.7-meter (22-foot) wingspan, still exists. Parts of it were saved by Low and are still around, along with old photos, though they are not on public display. One of the 1918 Distance Control Boats, CMB9/DCB1, has been saved and carefully restored.

Recent Discoveries

Until 2016, most people thought the RFC Aerial Target project had failed. The Imperial War Museum's online images of the Feltham items weren't shown as a collection. Before 2019, no one had published details of the RFC's secret patents or shown that they matched the museum's collection. Also, it wasn't known that the Feltham Works had adapted their system to control the Royal Navy DCBs. Details about the mysterious Feltham Works were in the National Archives but not published. Now, researchers have found out about the Feltham Works' success and how it influenced later drone developments at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. The possible influence of Pitcher and Loraine on Denny's drone work was recognized in 2019. The Imperial War Museum now states that "The Aerial Target... became the first drone to fly under control when it was tested in March 1917. The pilot (in control of the flight from the ground) on this occasion was the future world speed record holder Henry Segrave".

Historical Importance

During World War I, the Aerial Targets and later DCBs were developed to fight back against German air bombings and naval blockades of Britain. The AT projects involved major aircraft companies, new engine development, and control system work by the Feltham Works. This project continued through the toughest years of the war. The Feltham Works also provided radio controls for floating mines.

The Feltham Works was a key starting point for the R.A.E., which took over the Feltham patents and drone hardware. They continued developing Remote Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) between the wars, leading to the fleet of Queen Bee RPVs. In 1976, Low was added to the International Space Hall of Fame. He is often called the "Father of Radio Guidance Systems."

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