May 24, 2004

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  UK pondered suicide pigeon attacks
  

  
  

   British intelligence set up a 'pigeon committee' at the end of World War II to ensure expertise gained in the use of the birds to carry messages was not lost.

  
  

  Among MI14's proposals was the training of pigeons carrying explosives to fly into enemy searchlights. Meanwhile, pigeon enthusiast Wing Commander WDL Rayner suggested a 'bacteriological warfare agent' could be combined with the explosive. 

  
  

   Rayner's plan for a 400-pigeon loft where tests would be carried out was abandoned due to wrangling among the intelligence agencies over funding.

  
  

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  WARBIRD

  
  

  During WWII, the US military funded a program that researched a missile guidance system that used a pigeon to direct a rocket towards enemy boats and submarines. They were trained inside of a "Skinner box" and given food rewards (reinforcement) for correctly steering the missile in the right direction. If there were no ships in sight, they would simply keep the missile flying straight out over the ocean. When they did encounter an object, they would then peck at its location and guide the missile directly at it.

  
  

   This device actually worked and with amazing accuracy. The inventor of this system was sure to become a hero- that is until they discovered that the pigeon could not tell the difference between a US boat and an enemy boat.

  
  

   

  • 10:57 am
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