This topic sounds like science fiction, but it is a genuine—and fascinating—chapter of World War II military history. The project, primarily known as Project Pigeon (and later Project Orcon), was an attempt by the behaviorist psychologist B.F. Skinner to develop organic guidance systems for missiles using trained pigeons.

Here is a detailed explanation of the strategic role, technological mechanics, and ultimate fate of pigeon-guided missiles during World War II.

1. The Strategic Context: The Guidance Problem

To understand why the U.S. military would consider using birds to fly missiles, one must understand the technological limitations of the early 1940s.

• Inaccurate Bombing: During WWII, aerial bombing was notoriously inaccurate. "Precision bombing" was a relative term; bombers often had to drop thousands of pounds of explosives just to ensure a single target was hit.
• The Dawn of Missiles: Germany was developing the V-1 and V-2 rockets, but these were largely "fire and forget" weapons with rudimentary guidance. The Allies needed a way to guide a bomb after it had been dropped to ensure it hit a maneuvering ship or a small factory.
• Lack of Digital Computing: Transistors and microchips did not exist. Radar was bulky and heavy. There were no computers small enough or fast enough to process visual data in real-time to steer a missile.

The Solution: B.F. Skinner, America’s most famous behavioral psychologist, proposed that since electronic computers were unavailable, the military should use "organic computers"—the brains of pigeons.

2. Project Pigeon: The Concept

The project was funded by the National Defense Research Committee (NDRC). Skinner’s premise was based on operant conditioning, the theory that behavior could be shaped by reward and punishment.

The "Pilot"

Skinner chose pigeons for three strategic reasons: 1. Vision: Pigeons have excellent eyesight and color perception. 2. Resilience: They are calm under pressure, resistant to G-forces, and can function amidst loud noise and chaotic vibration. 3. Availability: They were cheap, plentiful, and easy to train.

The Training Process

Pigeons were placed in a training harness in front of a screen. An image of a target (such as a battleship) was projected onto the screen. * The pigeons were trained to peck at the image of the target. * When they pecked the center of the target, they were rewarded with a grain of food. * Through rigorous conditioning, they learned to peck frantically and continuously at the target, even if it moved across the screen.

3. The Mechanics: How the Missile Worked

The actual device, dubbed the "Pelican" (because the nose cone was large enough to hold the mechanism), was a glider-bomb designed to be dropped from an aircraft.

The Control System: * The Nose Cone: The missile's nose contained three distinct compartments, each housing a trained pigeon. (Three were used for redundancy and "democratic" voting). * The Lens System: A lens on the outside of the nose cone projected an image of the ground directly onto screens in front of the birds. * The Feedback Loop: As the bomb fell, the pigeons would see the target. They would peck at it. * If the target was in the center of the screen, the pecks were centered, and the missile flew straight. * If the target drifted to the left, the pigeon would peck to the left. * The Steering: The screens were mounted on pivots connected to the missile's steering fins. The physical force of the pecking, amplified by pneumatic valves, would adjust the fins. If the bird pecked left, the fins shifted to steer the missile left until the target was centered again.

The "Democracy" of Three: By using three birds, Skinner eliminated the risk of one bird getting distracted or making an error. The guidance system operated on a majority vote—the steering fins would only respond if at least two of the three pigeons agreed on the direction.

4. Strategic Advantages vs. Military Skepticism

Despite the ingenuity, the project faced a massive cultural hurdle: The Giggle Factor.

Theoretical Strategic Advantages: * Jam-Proof: unlike early radio-controlled weapons, a pigeon cannot be "jammed" electronically by the enemy. * Intelligence: Pigeons could distinguish between a friendly ship and an enemy ship based on silhouette, something primitive radar could not do. * Cost-Effective: The guidance system (the bird) cost pennies and required only corn for maintenance.

The Skepticism: General military leadership found it difficult to take the project seriously. The idea of trusting high-explosive ordnance to a bird seemed absurd to traditional commanders. During a demonstration in Washington D.C., the pigeons performed flawlessly, but the bizarre nature of the project alienated the brass.

5. The Outcome and Legacy

Project Pigeon was cancelled on October 8, 1944. The military decided to divert funding to radar-based guidance systems (like the "Bat" radar-guided bomb). While radar was less reliable than the pigeons at the time, the military felt it had more long-term potential and was more "scientific" than relying on animals.

Post-War Revival (Project Orcon): Amazingly, the project was revived by the U.S. Navy in 1948 under the name Project Orcon (ORganic CONtrol). The Navy was worried that enemy electronic jamming would render radar useless. However, by 1953, electronic guidance systems had improved enough to render the pigeon system obsolete, and it was cancelled for good.

Summary

The strategic role of pigeon-guided missiles was potential rather than actual. They were never used in combat.

However, Project Pigeon remains significant for two reasons: 1. Proof of Concept: It proved that biological entities could interface with machines to perform complex feedback-loop tasks (an early precursor to cybernetics). 2. Touchscreen Technology: The conductive glass screens Skinner developed to register the pigeons' pecks were an early, primitive form of the touchscreen technology we use on smartphones today.

Skinner famously lamented the project's failure not because of the technology, but because of the optics: "Our problem," he said, "was no one would take us seriously."