“Unveiling the Secrets: How Innovations in Technology are Redefining the Future of Precision Weaponry”
Another Allied guided weapon tested during the war was the Aeronca Glide Bomb or GB-1, which was originally intended to achieve not greater accuracy but rather greater range. Little more than a standard 1,000 or 2,000 pound bomb fitted with 12-foot wooden wings, a twin-boom tail unit, and a simple autopilot, the GB-1 was designed to be released up to 32 kilometres from the target, allowing the attacking aircraft to avoid anti-aircraft defences. The weapon had the further advantage of being more likely to hit the sides of buildings and other structures, rather than just exploding harmlessly in the open like conventional vertically-dropped bombs.
Too large to fit in an aircraft’s bomb bay, the GB-1 was instead carried in pairs under the wings of a Boeing B-17 bomber. After the completion of initial testing, the first weapons were sent to England in September 1943 for use by the 41st combat bomb wing of the 8th Air Force. However, local commanders saw fighter aircraft as a greater threat than anti-aircraft guns and deemed the GB-1 too inaccurate, so the weapon was shelved. By early 1944, however, the Luftwaffe’s strength had become so depleted that it was decided to finally give the GB-1 a try. On May 28, 1944, the 41st attacked the Eifeltor Marshalling Yard at Cologne, with 54 B-17s releasing 108 GB-1s. Yet despite ideal conditions with little wind and good visibility, most of the weapons drifted far off target and only a handful actually struck the marshalling yard. Thus, while the bombers successfully avoided anti-aircraft fire and all returned safely to England, the GB-1 was deemed a failure. Nonetheless, more than 1000 more would be dropped over Germany before the end of the war.
