Today, bombing by drones is common. This is an effective strategy for a number of reasons. The aircraft does not need to be manned, so it prevents soldiers from being harmed.
They are also much smaller than typical aircraft, which makes them harder to spot.
The idea of using small unmanned equipment to create a large ** is nothing new. In fact, it was pioneered by the Germans during World War II. This is the background of the Goliath tracking mine.
The Germans had tank superiority
During both the First and Second World Wars, tanks were indispensable, and no army had better tanks than the Germans. The Americans and the French focused on coming up with technologies that could counter these beasts of war, and Elmer Wicksham and Adolf Kegres worked on designing remote-controlled mines that could slide under tanks.
The superiority of German tanks led to the development of remotely controlled mines. The French land torpedoes "Crocodile Schneider" and "Aubrio Gabe" of the First World War era were not necessarily used to destroy tanks. They decided that the best use would be to let them through no man's land and into the enemy's trenches, at which point they would charge. Although these two models are expected to be used to destroy tanks, they are generally ineffective in this regard.
The American Wicksham land torpedo was patented in 1917, but only prototypes were built.
Germany invaded France in 1940, and they got the prototype of Schneider. It was decided to reverse-engineer the design, so that mobile mines could be placed remotely under the tank, instead of going into the trenches. These mines also need to be able to carry at least 50 kilograms of explosives.
Germany invaded France in May 1940. Mini-mines are capable of carrying 60 kg of explosives, have armor 5 mm thick and are controlled by joysticks. A 650-meter cable runs from the joystick to the rear of the unit. Initially, these mines were controlled by electric engines, but over time these engines were replaced by more efficient and reliable gasoline engines.
The German Army commissioned the production of these mines with the company Borgvo Automobiles. Soon, it became known that "Goliath" appeared on the battlefield. It's worth noting that it's designed to be a disposable** and will be used every time**.
The internal working principle of the Goliath tracked mine. The Germans produced a number of Goliath tracked mines, a total of 7,564 of which were made. They were destined to go wherever German tanks went. This included Italy, during the Warsaw Uprising, and on the beaches of Normandy – although most of the cables were cut off, making them inoperable.
Despite the money and manpower invested in the development of the Goliath tracked mine, the device was not so successful on the battlefield. These devices are slow, with a top speed of about 6 mph, and are easily detected by hostile forces. Similarly, when discovered, they can be taken out. The need for a rope to connect them to the joystick was also a problem, as it seriously hampered the distance traveled by the mines.
Giant tracked mines were used by the Germans on the day of the Normandy landing. Goliath is also quite large. In some ways, it's good because once they reach the goal, it's big. However, this also means that they are difficult to transport. The Allies were able to capture some Goliaths during the battle, but in the end, they felt that they were of little use other than to use them as aircraft tractors.
The idea behind Goliath continues
While the Goliath tracked mine wasn't particularly effective on the battlefield, the thought process behind the device inspired many others. As already mentioned, there are UAVs that can fly into enemy airspace and deploy bombs.
Remotely controlled bomb disposal unit deployed in Iraq in 2005. Bomb disposal robots have also been around for years, detonating and disposing of ** objects in a way that ensures the safety of the troops.