Place of origin United States Length 11.7 feet (3.6 m) | Wars World War II | |
Type anti-ship missile / guided bomb In service never used operationally Weight 2,555 pounds (1,159 kg) | ||
GB-8 was a precision guided munition developed by the United States during World War II. It was one of the precursors of modern anti-ship missiles.
Following German success with the Hs-293 and Fritz-X, the U.S. began developing several similar weapons, such as Felix, Azon, Gargoyle, GB-4, and GB-8.
GB-8 was intended as a clear-weather, good-visibility weapon to attack heavily defended targets. It featured a plywood airframe with twin booms and fins with a single elevator. The warhead was a 2,000 pounds (910 kg) general-purpose (GP) bomb.
The bomb was steered by radio command guidance, the operator tracking it by means of red and white flares in the booms. It was intended to be carried externally, under the wing of a B-17 or B-25. Release was at about 281 kilometres per hour (175 mph) and between 10,000–15,000 feet (3,000–4,600 m) altitude, giving a range of 17 mi (27 km), with an average flight time of four minutes. The Pacific War ended before it entered combat.