Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane
| Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane | |
|---|---|
| Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane in 1918 | |
| General information | |
| Type | Missile | 
| National origin | United States | 
| Designer | |
| Status | Development discontinued | 
| Primary user | United States Navy | 
| Number built | 7 Curtiss Model N-based prototypes 6 Curtiss-Sperry Flying Bomb prototypes | 
| History | |
| First flight | September 1917 | 
| Developed from | Curtiss Model N | 
The Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane was a project undertaken during World War I to develop a flying bomb, or pilotless aircraft capable of carrying explosives to its target. It is considered by some to be a precursor of the cruise missile. It was funded by the US Navy and created by Elmer Sperry.