4. The Sperry-Hewitt flying torpedo
In 1916 Elmer Sperry, his son Lawrence, and their business partner Peter Hewitt, began work on an unmanned flying torpedo, controlled by Sperry’s gyroscopic automatic pilot. The elder Sperry worked with Hewitt on the US Navy’s Naval Consulting Board. The Navy expressed some interest in the idea of an unmanned aerial torpedo, but did not commit itself to explore the concept. After the United States entered World War I, Sperry succeeded in convincing the Navy to revisit the idea as a possible counter to the German U-Boat threat. By early autumn, 1917, Sperry-Hewitt was ready to present their flying torpedo for evaluation by the Navy.
The Naval Board of Ordnance was responsible for the evaluation of the potential weapon. It took the highly unusual step of inviting the Army to send a representative to witness the tests. The Army sent Lieutenant Colonel George Squier. Squier was the first officer of the United States Army to have earned a doctorate in electrical engineering, and the second military officer to ride in an airplane. In his case, Orville Wright flew the airplane. Squier was an enthusiastic supporter of military aviation. After witnessing the tests of the Sperry-Hewitt aerial torpedo, which the Navy rejected, Squier decided the concept was workable for the army.
