Tag Archives: WWI

The Kettering Bug – The World’s First Drone

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In 1917, the US Army asked Charles F. Kettering to design an unmanned “flying machine” which could hit a target from 40 miles away. Kettering designed the Kettering Aerial Torpedo (later known as the Kettering Bug) and it was built by the Dayton-Wright Airplane Company, with Orville Wright acting as the aeronautical consultant on the project. The Kettering Bug was a predecessor of today’s cruise missiles and UAVs.

Launched using a dolly-and-track system (similar to how the first flight was launched), the Bug was capable of striking targets up to 75 miles away and could travel at speeds of 50 miles per hour. The Bug consisted of an engine, fuselage, and wings and cost about $400 each to produce. The fuselage was made out of papier-mache and wood laminates, and the wings were built out of cardboard. The Bug also had a small onboard gyroscope to guide the Bug to its target.
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This Day in History – April 19, 1919

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One hundred years ago today, Leslie Leroy Irvin successfully tested the Type-A parachute by jumping from an airplane. The new chute performed without issue, but Irvin broke his ankle upon landing.

During WWI, Irvin joined the Parachute Research Team of the Army Air Service. The expanding aviation industry created a need for parachutes in the event of aircraft failure. Irvin helped develop the Airplane Free-Fall Parachute Type-A. This parachute incorporated 3 elements:

  • Parachutes needed to be stored in a pack on the user’s back
  • A ripcord, to manually deploy the parachute a safe distance away from the plane.
  • A pilot chute that would draw the main canopy out of the main pack.

Irvin was so confident in this product that he volunteered to test it himself. With pilot James Floyd Smith at the controls, Irvin jumped. As a result of his jump, the new parachute was put into production. Months later, Irvin formed the Irving Air Chute Company in Buffalo, New York.

A popular story is that the company was intended to be named the Irvin Air Chute Company, but a secretary spelled Irvin’s name wrong and he never bothered to correct it. According to the company, the earliest man to be saved by an Irving Parachute was William O’Connor at McCook Field.