Flying Bombs

Modern cruise missiles (missiles with wings and small jet engines) can trace their history back to the flying bombs built during World War II (1939-1945). The V-1 flying bomb was a jet-powered plane without a pilot. It was given the name of “Buzz Bomb” or “Doodlebug”
because of the characteristic buzzing noise its engine produced.

The engine used in the V-1 was a type of jet called a pulsejet. Air entered the engine through shutters, and then fuel was sprayed into it and ignited. The explosion snapped the shutters closed at the front and forced the hot gases out of the engine’s tailpipe. Then the shutters opened, and the process started over again. This happened about 100 times every second.

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STINGERS

The smallest missiles are light enough to be carried by a soldier. Stinger is a portable missile system that soldiers can use to shoot down low-flying air­craft. A soldier holds the launcher on his shoulder and waits for the missile to lock onto the target. When the mis­sile is fired, a small rocket hurls it out of the launch tube. Then the launch rocket falls away, and the main rocket fires at a safe distance from the soldier. The missile accelerates to twice the speed of sound, guiding itself toward the heat given out by the target.

missile test range in New Mexico.

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When the V-1 had flown the right distance to reach the target, a guillotine (sharp blade) cut the cable linked to its elevator, a flap in the V-1’s tail that tilted to control its height. Once the cable was cut, a spring pulled the eleva­tor down and sent the bomb into a dive.