The Kettering Bug
The Kettering aerial torpedo (better known as the Kettering bug) was the first unmanned airplane, designed by Charles Kettering to act as a flying bomb or what we now call missiles. The first successful flight occurred October 22, 1918, in Dayton, Ohio. What we have pictured is the U. S. Army working on the second Kettering bug. The caption on the back reads Kettering “aerial torpedo” U. S. Army second directed missile first successful flight occurred 22 Oct, 1918 at Dayton Ohio. It carried 180 pounds of explosives and it had a gyroscope guidance system. The U. S. Army never used the Kettering bug because they were worried about the unreliability of the craft while flying over troops with explosives.
To learn more about the Kettering bug and to see a life-size model visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, or visit their website.
Series: Historical Photograph Files and Press Clippings Files, 1945-1977.Group 181: Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments, 1784-2000. (National Archives Identifier 295598).
