British unmanned aerial vehicles of World War I

Soon after its re-purposing from the Army Balloon Factory to the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912, designers at this Farnborough base turned their thoughts to flying an unmanned aircraft. During the First World War this pioneering work resulted in trials of remotely controlled aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps and unmanned boats for the Royal Navy that were controlled from 'mother' aircraft. By the end of the war in 1918 Britain had successfully flown and controlled a drone aircraft and a number of fast unmanned motor boats operating in close flotilla formation had been individually controlled by radio from operators flying in "mother" aircraft. This work then continued in the inter war years. rdf:langString