Operation Aphrodite was a secret program initiated by the United States Army Air Force late in World War II as a way to dispose of B-17s nearing the end of their operational lifespan. The plan called for dying B-17s to be filled with as much explosive as they could carry, and flown by radio control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as U-boat pens and V-1 missile sites.

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. Final assignment of responsibility was given to the 562nd Bomb Squadron at RAF Honington in Suffolk.

In preparation for their final mission, dying B-17s were stripped of all normal combat armament and filled with up to 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) of explosives: more than twice the normal bombload. Two television cameras were fitted in the cockpit, providing a view of the ground and the main instrument panel. This was transmitted back to the controlling 'mothership', so information could be provided on which to fly the missile. It would by taken aloft by a volunteer crew of two, who would bring it up to 2,000 ft (600 m), where control would be transferred to the 'mothership'. They would then parachute out of the cockpit, the canopy of which was removed to speed their exit. The 'mothership' would then direct the missile to its target, and lock it into a crash course.

Missions

When the training program was complete, the 562nd Squadron had ten drones and four 'motherships'. The first mission was flown on August 4 against a V-1 launch site in Pas-de-Calais. One plane lost control after the first crewman bailed, and crashed near Orford , making a huge crater and destroying more than 2 acres (8,000 m²) of the surrounding countryside; the second crewman was presumably incinerated. The view from the nose of the other drone was obscured as it came over the target, and it missed by several hundred feet. In the mission's next phase, one drone was shot down by flak due to a control malfunction and the other missed its target by a quarter mile (400 m).

On the second mission, flown two days later, Operation Aphrodite took a dangerous turn. Though crews were able to abandon the missiles without complications, a few minutes later one of the missiles lost control and fell into the sea. The other also lost control, but turned inland and began to circle the important industrial city Ipswich. After several minutes, it crashed harmlessly at sea.

Following the failure of the first missions due to control malfunctions, Doolittle decided to investigate. Most of his aides recommended changing to a different kind of control system. When these alterations had been implemented, Doolittle relaunched Aphrodite with an attack on Heligoland. On this raid, the second casualty of the operation was suffered, when one pilot's parachute failed to open. The missile also failed, most likely shot down by flak before reaching the target. The next raid, against targets in Heide, was plagued by problems with the control system. Three failed to reach their target due to malfunctions, but the fourth actually crashed near enough to cause significant damage and high casualties.

Another unsuccessful Aphrodite raid killed Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the oldest brother of John F. Kennedy, the future president of the USA. The B-24 Liberator he was flying exploded accidentally, killing Kennedy and his co-pilot.

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. Two more missions were flown, and both were failures as well. Bad weather and control problems caused misses. 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.

After the last mission, the Strategic Air Forces decided that the concept behind Operation Aphrodite was unfeasible, and scrapped the effort. Through the course of the Operation, only one drone had done any damage, and none had hit their targets. Furthermore, two crewman had been lost. The lack of success of the programme was largely due to the hardware available at the time, which wasn't up to the task.

See also

• B-17 Flying Fortress
  • B-17 Flying Fortress variants
• Smart bomb

References

• Gray, Edwin. Operation Aphrodite's B-17 "Smart Bomb". Aviation History, 1996.
• Jablonski, Edward. Flying Fortress. Doubleday, 1965.
• Wagner, Ray. American Combat Planes. Doubleday, 1982.
• Encylcopedia of American Aircraft