GB-4 (
Glide Bomb
A glide bomb or stand-off bomb is a standoff weapon with flight control surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. This allows it to be released at a distance from the target rat ...
No.4) was a
precision guided munition
A precision-guided munition (PGM, smart weapon, smart munition, smart bomb) is a guided munition intended to precisely hit a specific target, to minimize collateral damage and increase lethality against intended targets. During the First Gul ...
developed by the United States during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
GB-4s used a
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
guidance system with the weapon being steered by a TV
bombardier operating a joystick in the launch aircraft.
The first GB-4s (then known as MX-607s) were tested at
Eglin Air Force Base
Eglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.
The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing). The ...
during August of 1943.
During testing the GB-4's
circular error probable accuracy was found to be .
The type was ordered into production on the 15 January 1944. Although approved for operational use, the typed suffered from reliability problems throughout testing.
The GB-4 was briefly used in combat
by the
388th Bomber Group,
based in eastern England, but its performance was deemed unsatisfactory.
1,200 GB-4's were delivered to the
USAAF
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
however poor combat results lead to a decision to halt further deliveries in February 1945.
See also
*
Fritz X
Fritz X was the most common name for a German guided anti-ship glide bomb used during World War II. ''Fritz X'' was the world's first precision guided weapon deployed in combat and the first to sink a ship in combat. ''Fritz X'' was a nickname us ...
*
GB-1
}
The GB-1, also known as the "Grapefruit bomb" and as XM-108,379th 2000 p.39. was a glide bomb produced by Aeronca Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Intended to allow bombers to release bombs from outside the rang ...
*
Azon
AZON (or Azon), from "azimuth only", was one of the world's first guided weapons, deployed by the Allies and contemporary with the German Fritz X.
Officially designated VB-1 ("Vertical Bomb 1"), it was invented by Major Henry J. Rand and Thoma ...
*
VB-6 Felix
The VB-6 Felix was a precision-guided munition developed by the United States during World War II. It used an infrared seeker to attack targets like blast furnaces or the metal roofs of large factories. The war ended before it could be used operat ...
References
{{US WWII guided bombs
World War II aerial bombs of the United States
World War II weapons of the United States
Guided bombs of the United States
Television guided weapons