From the August 26, 2015, We Are the Mighty.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) were used during World War II, but there were four programs for them as far back as World War I.
The first two were in the United Kingdom and involved gliders designed to explode when they hit the ground. Both efforts were unsuccessful and they were not used in warfare.
The first American program was an attempt to create an aerial torpedo and was led by Elmer Sperry ( inventor of the auto-pilot), Peter C. Hewitt (specialist in radio signals and vacuum tubes) and Carl Norden (who created the famous World War II bombsights. The UAV could fly 50 miles with a 300 pound bomb.
The Army, meanwhile. developed the "Kettering Bug" with the help of Charles Kettering and Orville Wright.
Both systems had problems and were not completed before the war ended.
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