[ARC5] WWII Airborne Television

[Robert Eleazer]

The item, SA-34/AXT-2, assuming it was for airborne television in WWII appears to me to be a USN item.

Both the USAAF and USN used remote controlled heavy bombers as guided missiles in WWII, from bases in England.  The USAAF used B-17's, with smoke pots in the wings to enable the operator in another B-17 to see the missile to guide it.

The USN used B-24's as the missiles and employed a TV system to provide  guidance information to the remote operators located in PV Harpoon aircraft.

Neither approach was successful.  B-17's and B-24's are not designed for steep dive attacks, among other things.  The USAAF managed to at least scare the ke-rap out of, if not kill, some German AA gunners and the USN managed to blow up JFK's elder brother, Joe.

The best reference work I know of on the subject is Aphrodite: Desperate Mission, a very interesting book that came out in the early 1970's.

Regards,

Wayne
WB5WSV