Operation Aphrodite
| Aphrodite, BQ-7, BQ-8 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Radio-controlled aircraft as guided missiles |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1944 |
| Used by | United States Army Air Forces (Aphrodite) United States Navy (Anvil) |
| Specifications | |
| Warhead | Payload: around 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) Torpex |
Guidance system | Azon (TV sensor, radio control) Castor (radar & TV sensors, radio control) |
Aphrodite was the World War II code name of a United States Army Air Forces operation to use worn out Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated PB4Y bombers as radio controlled flying bombs against bunkers and other hardened or reinforced enemy facilities. A parallel project by the United States Navy was codenamed Anvil. The missions were not generally successful, and the intended targets in Europe were either overrun by the ground advance of Allied troops or disabled by conventional attacks by aircraft.