[ARC5] WWII Homing Missiles

[J. Forster]

There was an AZON and a RAZON (azimuth only & range and azimuth,
respectively). However, they were not "Homing Missiles".

To me a Homing Missile means a unmanned vehicle, with an autonomous homing
seeker. Such a device is capable of tracking and hitting a target, even if
the target moves while the missile is on its way to the target.

AZON and RAZON were properly remote control or teleoperated missiles, as
were various TV guided vehicles (although some 'Nam TV systems apparently
had a centroid tracker, which would make them homing missiles).

The most famous missiles of WW II, the V1 and V2, were certainly not
homing... their aim points were set before launch and the flew on
autopilot without any terminal guidance. And landed pretty much anywhere.

-John

=================



> On 7/8/2012 10:16 PM, Robert Eleazer wrote:
>> There were only three true homing missiles used in WWII.
>>
>> The US. Navy was the first to use a homing missile in combat, with its
>> acoustic homing torpedo.  It was air launched, homed in on U-boats and
>> had a high success rate.
>>
>> The most sophisticated homing missile of WWII was the USN's Bat, which
>> was a true fire-and-forget radar guided weapon launched from PB4Y-2's of
>> VPB-109 late in the war.  I did some research on it at the Smithsonian,
>> went out to the USN China Lake facility where I photographed one that is
>> on display.
>>
>> The Germans had an acoustic homing torpedo that was designed to enable
>> U-boats to attack escort vessels but it was not as successful as the
>> USN's.
>>
>> The Germans, the USAAF and the USN had air to surface missiles but they
>> did not home on the target but employed an operator in an aircraft to
>> guide the missile.  Some of the missiles were modified B-17's and
>> B-24's.  The USN's modified B-24's used a more sophisticated approach,
>> TV guidance.
>>
>> Wayne
>>
>>
>>
> Was there not something called the AZON bomb?  I think it was TV or
> visually guided.  A very long time ago, I had a small control box with a
> little stick mounted on it.  Something like a R/C airplane control
> stick?  Wikipedia has some dope on it.
>
> de K3HVG
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