The Pigeon-Guided Missile Concept
World War II, a bloody period of human history, led to many technological advancements and innovations. One of the proposed concepts was the pigeon-guided missile. Despite seeming absurd, this idea hinged on the well-known ability of pigeons to find their way home from unfamiliar locations.
The capabilities of these humble birds were to be utilized in a unique way. However, the basic idea was to train them to recognize certain shapes or structures and react to them accordingly. This approach aimed to achieve precision in delivering the explosives to the destined target.
It was perceived that pigeons would do this instinctively. Scientist received the task to come up with decisive, innovative, and often unconventional ways of crippling the enemy. The pigeon-guide missile system was one such idea generated during this time.
The man behind this initiative was B.F. Skinner, a renowned behaviorist. He proposed to the National Defense Research Committee that pigeons can be trained to guide missiles using their distinctive knack for pecking.
Traning of Pigeons
Skinner developed a system called 'Skinner Box' for training the pigeons. He used the box to award the birds for their desirable actions and behaivors - something he referred to as 'operant conditioning'. When a pigeon behaved in a predefined manner, it was fed, reinforcing the action.
This method of training relied heavily on rewarding the bird every time it successfully completed a task. The tasks consisted of identifying shapes or structures that were synonymous with potential targets.
The concept was to attach a small camera to the pigeon. The images captured would be used to lead the missile towards the destination. Over time, the pigeons were conditioned to recognize potential targets and respond accordingly.
This was done by continuously feeding the pigeons in Skinner's box. Like Pavlov's dog, these pigeons associated pecking at the right spots with being rewarded with food.
Implementing The Concept
Once the behavior of the pigeons was successfully modified, the next step was to implement this in real-life scenarios. The plan was to situate three pigeons inside the nose of the missile.
Their pecking behavior was connected to the steering mechanism of the missile. This implies that every time a pigeon pecked on the target, the missile would adjust its path. To ensure precision, an agreement of at least two pigeons was required for the missile to alter its course.
Skinner successfully demonstrated the mechanism to the military. The pigeon-guided system appeared to be working as expected. In the presence of high-ranking military officials, Skinner proved that these birds could potentially guide a projectile to its target.
Despite the successful demonstrations, the missile project never reached the implementation stage. The military was initially impressed, but they decided to pull the plug on the project due to various reasons.
Reasons for Project Termination
The main reason why the pigeon-guided missile project never went beyond the experimental stage was skepticism. The entire idea was perceived as too outlandish and untrustworthy.
Even though the pigeons successfully guided the missiles on numerous occasions, the higher-ups feared that the birds would be distracted during the actual mission. A single distraction would result in the total failure of the operation which was unacceptable.
Beside this, the invention of radar-guided missiles also contributed to the shelving of the pigeon idea. Radars were more reliable, easily controlled and did not get distracted. Ultimately, the project was abandoned and never saw the light of day.
After the project's termination, Skinner returned to Harvard University where he further developed his ideas. Although the idea did not see combat, the concept of conditioned response training continues to influence much of the training for animals today.
Final Thought
The pigeon-guided missile is a unique example of innovation and wild thinking during times of war. Despite its failure, the project serves as a reminder of the human capability to conceive, design, and implement a complex system which pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be possible.
While World War II saw many inventions that changed the world in some way, pigeon-guided bombs highlight the limits scientists and researchers were willing to go to have the upper hand in the conflict.
Though the project ceased to exist, the fascinating idea of utilizing the phenomenal homing instinct of birds as a missile guiding system continues to be a captivating part of human history.
Even with the success of the modern technology, the pigeon-guided missiles remain as a measure of human creativity and innovation during a time when the necessity indeed became the mother of invention.