Radio-Controlled

Radio control is the use of radio signals to remotely control another device. The term is used frequently to refer to the control of model cars, boats, airplanes, and helicopters from a user-held control box (radio). more...

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Industrial, military, and scientific research organizations make use of radio-controlled vehicles as well.

History

The possibility of radio remote control was appreciated almost as soon as the first demonstrations of radio itself; the credit for the first to suggest radio control of aircraft may belong to Patrick Young Alexander as early as 1888. Nikola Tesla patented a radio-control scheme as early as 1899. In 1917, Archibald Low as head of the RFC Experimental Works, was the first person to use radio control successfully on an aircraft. In the 1920s, various radio-controlled ships were used for naval artillery target practice.

In 1904, Bat, a Windermere steam launch, was controlled using experimental radio control by its inventor, Jack Kitchen.

Soviet Red Army used remotely controlled teletanks during 1930s in the Winter War and early stage of World War II. A teletank is controlled by radio from a control tank at a distance of 500–1,500 meters, the two constituting a telemechanical group. Teletanks were used by the Soviet Red Army in the Winter War and fielded at least two teletank battalions at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. There were also remotely controlled cutters and experimental remotely controlled planes in the Red Army.

In the 1930s Britain developed the radio controlled Queen Bee gunnery target aircraft, a remotely controlled unmanned Tiger Moth aircraft for a fleet's guns to practice shooting-at. The Queen Bee was superseded by the similarly named Queen Wasp, a later, purpose built, target aircraft of higher performance.

Military applications in the Second World War

Radio control was further developed during World War II, primarily by the Germans who used it in a number of missile projects. Their main effort was the development of radio-controlled missiles and glide bombs for use against shipping, a target that is otherwise both difficult and dangerous to attack. However by the end of the war the Luftwaffe was having similar problems attacking allied bombers, and developed a number of radio-controlled anti-aircraft missiles, none of which saw service.

The effectiveness of the Luftwaffe systems was greatly reduced by British efforts to jam their radio signals. After initial overwhelming successes, the British launched a number of commando raids to collect the missile radio sets. Jammers were then installed on British ships, and the weapons basically "stopped working". The German development teams then turned to wire guidance once they realized what was going on, but these systems were not ready for deployment until the war had already moved to France.

Read more at Wikipedia.org