Past notes: drones
They monitor crops, detect storms, fight in wars… and close down airports. Julian Humphrys on the history of drones
When did Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAVs, first make an appearance in our skies?
The first unmanned flights for military purposes date from the 19th century. In 1806, Captain Thomas Cochrane released a series of kites from his ship, HMS Pallas, to drop propaganda leaflets over France. In 1849, the Austrians filled 200 unmanned balloons with explosives and launched them against Venice, and in 1898 the Americans used kites with cameras during their war with Mexico. Radio- controlled flight can be traced back to the same year, when the Serbian-American inventor Nikola Tesla patented his wireless remote- control system.
How about unmanned aircraft?
Some pilotless aircraft were built during the First World War, and in January 1918 the US army started work on an aerial torpedo, but the end of the war halted development. Nevertheless, research into unmanned aircraft continued, and in the 1930s the British produced a number of radio- controlled target planes, notably the de Havilland DH82B, or ‘Queen Bee’.
Why do we call them drones?
The term drone (a male bee) was first applied to UAVs by Lieutenant Commander Delmar Fahrney in 1936. This was probably in homage to Britain’s Queen Bee, as Fahrney was in charge of developing something similar for the US navy.
What caused the expansion in their use?
The needs of the military. During the Second World War, actor Reginald Denny’s Radioplane Company produced 9,400 drones for use as gunnery targets. One of its employees was the future Marilyn Monroe, who was first ‘discovered’ after featuring in a PR photograph with one of the company’s drones. Technological advances saw an expansion in their capabilities and UAVs were deployed for reconnaissance during Vietnam. Since 9/11 they have also been employed for targeted attacks – a controversial use, since innocent civilians may be killed. Their non-military uses have also mushroomed, and now include filming, mapping, policing, search and rescue, delivering goods and, it seems, disrupting airports.