The AZON Project

Unofficial patch of the AZON Crews

The Azon Bomb consisted of the tail fin unit [pictured above] being bolted to a 1,000-pound GP bomb.  Four were usually carried, and the altitude was determined by weather conditions in the target area.  Normally, about 15,000 feet was required to apply adequate controls for the missile.  Crews were subjected to many alerts only to have a last-minute scrub because of weather.  Only seven of the sorties were considered successful, however, Azon is the father of “smart bombs” in use by military forces today around the world.  Therefore, a label of success must be applied to the total project, if not in terms of quantity, then most certainly one of quality.  To a man, the crews are proud of their all-out efforts for even a limited achievement.

The ten Azon aircraft and crews were en route to the CBI Theater when they were diverted to the ETO for bridge and dock missions as D-Day pre-invasion operations.  They went to Rackheath, home of the 467th BG, first, remained one day, then on to Horsham.  Training in local flight conditions and procedures began and continued for most of May, 1944.

Seven of the original ten aircraft met a grievous fate after the project was terminated in September.  Some of the crews left the program before it ended to fly regular combat missions with the [753rd] Squadron.  Most of the crews survived the war, although individual members and one crew did not.  Lt Jones and his crew were shot down over Holland 11 July 1944 while returning from a mission on Munich, Germany, and from his crew three gunners were never accounted for, another evaded capture and returned to base while four were POW’s until the war’s end.  Other Azon pilots volunteered for the top secret “Operation Aphrodite” project which was using the Azon unit to control crewless, explosive-laden B-17’s as radio controlled drones (pilots flew the B-17’s part way, then the “mother ship” B-24’s assumed radio control) to destroy selected targets in France.  It was an unsuccessful venture of short duration.

Those known to be involved were: Majors Holbrook and Rand, Captain Wilfred Tooman, and Lieutenants Larned and Hargis.  Some enlisted technicians also served in the project while on detached services from the 753rd Squadron.

The Azon (AZimuth ONly) unit consisted of remote controlled fins attached to a 1,000-pound General Purpose bomb, and bombardiers altered the bomb’s trajectory in flight with radio signals which moved the fins.  Also, a collar was added to its midsection for additional control.  Elevators were attached to the collar similar to preset trim tabs on the control surfaces of aircraft.  The elevators created a stabilizing effect on the falling bomb, allowing more ease in altering the missile’s azimuth.  Gyros prevented a weaving effect of the bomb as various corrections were made.  Compressed air kept the gyros spinning during the time of the fall.  The radio system was powered by a dry cell battery whose life was about three minutes – more than enough to exceed time for a thousand pound bomb to strike a target.

Additionally, a smoke generator marked the bomb’s flight path.  It produced a streamer of red, white, or green (yellow was added later) to distinguish between individual bombs being controlled.

The bomb only had one fuse — in its forward end.  Settings for the fuse were instantaneous.  Difficulty had been encountered early in the development stages using as little as one second delay, accounting for almost as many duds as explosive bombs.  This created disadvantages in some types of targets where a delay fuse would have a more destructive force – as in the armor-like surface of bridge spans or concrete construction.  But it did add a security factor, deemed necessary, in that the secret weapon would more likely be destroyed on contact rather than fall into enemy hands intact.

The Azon control system was designed to correct deflection errors, and testing indicated this could potentially be reduced to zero.  But it would not improve range errors.  Experience was said to have shown (in the latter stages of the program) that bombardiers were inclined to be a little careless in solving range problems.  Alternately, some bombardiers claimed the ability to shorten an Azon bomb’s flight, but few, if any, boasted of extending one’s range.

Weight of the control unit was only 96 pounds.  However, bulkiness of the fins and collar on an assembled bomb made it too large for transporting in the standard 1,000-pound bomb racks.  Thus, the aircraft had to be equipped with 2,000-pound bomb racks, and this normally limited the number they were able to carry to four.  On some occasions, however, five and even six were transported.

Each aircraft had three antennas mounted beneath its tail section for control purposes.  One transmitted a signal on 475 cycles for left deflection, one on 3,000 cycles for right deflection, and the third at 30-40 cycles to activate the smoke generating system.  All three frequencies were changed periodically to prevent jamming by enemy radio monitoring crews.

The transmitter was a standard Signal Corps type used in controlling model planes, ships, tanks, and drones.  With a power output of 25-watts, the unit was capable of sending on 15 different frequencies.  This equipment weighed 33 pounds, and modification to the B-24, for accommodating it, amounted to an additional 25 pounds.

Major Robert K. Holbrook was in charge of the ETO Project, and his assistant was Lieutenant David M. Baltimore.  Major Henry J. Rand and Mr. Thomas J. O’Donnell invented the Azon bomb and saw it through testing, production and its actual use in combat situations.

BC-1158 Transmitter

(Photo courtesy: J. Adrian Wylie)

The 10 Original AZON Crews

AZON Missions

753rd Squadron Narrative Summary of Operations

(L-R) #285 – Table Stuff,  #275 – Shack Time,  #165 – Cookie,  #456 – Dorothy Kay Special,  #066 – S.O.L. (closest to camera)

Photo courtesy: Sam Sox

753rd BOMBARDMENT SQUADRON (H)
SQUADRON HISTORY
MONTH OF JUNE 1944

MISSION OF 31 MAY 1944 (AZON No.1).  Inasmuch as this is the first mission of its type in which this squadron participated, it is being included in the June, rather than the May, summary of operations.

The following five targets, all bridges, were assigned the squadron, attacks to be made in the order that the targets are named: Melun, Verberie, Precy, Beaumont, and Mantes-Gassicourt.  Five aircraft, piloted by the following officers, were to participate: Lieutenants Shaw, DeNeffe, Larned, Tooman, and Lansing; Major F.M. O’Neill riding with Lt. Tooman was command pilot.  Five groups of P-51’s (48 aircraft) as fighter support had been especially briefed for this mission, and on making rendezvous with the bombers were to give each bomber a supporting force of eight aircraft per bomber, with eight more aircraft on top giving general support.  Bombing methods were to be by individual ships in trail, stepped up 200 feet each and from an altitude of 17,000 feet to 17,800 feet.

Bombing results were unfortunately not satisfactory.  Only four aircraft of the original five dispatched, arrived over the targets.  Lt. Shaw being forced to abort because of mechanical difficulties.  Target Number 1 (Melun) was attacked by three of the remaining aircraft, and two of the bombs fell on the northeast side of the river.  SAV (Strike Attack Vertical photograph) picked up two of the three bombs released and revealed that they fell within 2,000 feet of the MPI.  Target Number 2 was not attacked because of cloud coverage.  Target Number 3 was attacked by two aircraft, but no SAV’s were obtained.  Interrogation of crews revealed that one bomb fell short and the other hit southeast of the bridge about 300 feet from the MPI.  Target Number 4 was attacked by four aircraft with good results, bombs hitting in the center of the bridge and on tracks at the north end of the bridge.  Three aircraft attacked Target 5 and all three bombs were placed in the 1000 foot circle as shown by SAV.  A target of opportunity (bridge at Meuhlan) was attacked by one aircraft with poor results.

No enemy opposition was encountered and only meager inaccurate flak was sighted at one point.  Weather prevented successful execution of the mission, cloud cover varying from five to ten tenths around all targets, obscuring most of them and making bomb runs difficult.

AZON No. 2  1 June 1944.  Three tactical targets were assigned to the outfit for today’s mission, but the operation was scrubbed prior to briefing.

AZON No. 3  4 June 1944.  Today’s operational mission called for attacks on two tactical targets; the first a railway flyover and double line junction at Melun, France, and the second an embankment and bridge over the Seine River at Melun.  Six aircraft were dispatched and flown by the following pilots: Lieutenants Griffith, DeNeffe, Larned, Tooman, Shaw, and Lansing. Major O’Neill in Lt. DeNeffe’s ship was again flying as command pilot.  Lt. Griffith’s ship was forced to abort after being dispatched but before reaching the target due to hydraulic lines being [put] out by flak fifteen miles inside enemy territory.  A malfunction in the bomb rack of Lt. Larned’s ship caused three of his bombs to release at La Ferte, none being dropped on either target.  Target No. 1 was attacked by the remaining four aircraft with all four bombs hitting short an estimated range of from 200 to 1000 feet.  The same four aircraft then proceeded to Target No. 2, all of them attacking and one ship dropping three bombs.  Two crews reported near misses, possibly damaging the bridge, but the remainder of the bombs were off in azimuth.  No photo coverage was had on either target.  Flak was moderate and accurate from a battery of twelve to fourteen guns located about 1,000 yards south of Grandcamp.  Defenses at the A/D at Bretigny offered about the same opposition.  Enemy aircraft opposition was nil.

AZON No. 4  8 June 1944.  Fifteen A/C took off on today’s mission, but abandoned the operation at 0845 hours, position 4925N…0030W, due to unsatisfactory weather conditions and the lack of fighter support.

[AZON No. 5 – Information omitted from squadron records. This mission was to the same target but abandoned due to weather.]

AZON No. 6  14 June 1944.  Fifteen A/C took off in three sections of five each.  Numbers One and Two Sections remained together, attacking assigned target No. 2 (Hanim).  Number Three Section flew alone, attacking an unidentified target of opportunity.  Targets One, Two, Three, Four, and Five were obscured by cloud, which prevented bombing.  Ten A/C flew over Target No. 2, seven of them attacking; ships 408 and 141 failed due to malfunction, and 431 due to being too far off course.  An additional ship reported that, although he dropped, he was so far off course that it was impossible to bring his bomb closer than 800 feet from the target, even with maximum correction.  Section No. 3 was on course to [the] I.P., but after that they were apparently lost, and made exit from enemy territory seven miles east of Calais.  All five ships attacked a target of opportunity identified as St. Omer, Bethune, Aire, or 5050N-0158E.  A/C 285 dropped bombs at the last point by mistake.

Of thirteen bombs dropped, only one could have had damaging effect.  This fell 600 feet short of the center of the bridge at Hanim, landing on the tracks.  The trestle leading up to the bridge probably extended back that far.  Enemy A/C opposition was nil, and flak encountered was meager to moderate in intensity, continuous following type, and fairly accurate.

AZON No. 7 A 15 June 1944.  Fourteen AZON crews were assigned three targets today: Etaples, Peronne, and Doullens, all of which were railway bridges in France.  Eleven A/C attacked Target No. 1, seven Target No. 2, and only six attacked the third target.  The overall results should be considered fair to good.  Target No. 2 was destroyed by direct hits, and Nos. 1 and 3 were severely damaged by several near misses.  Bombing altitude was 21,000 feet, which is unusually high for an operation of this type.  No enemy A/C were encountered, but about one hundred were observed in an open field on both sides of a canal at 4915N-0012E.  The formation flew over two heavily defended areas without being fired on.  Flak was encountered, however, at Etaples and Doullans, being classified as meager and inaccurate to fair.  Defenses at Frevent offered slight opposition, but at Caen, although the flak was moderate, it was extremely accurate. Six aircraft received minor battle damage and one major.

AZON No. 8  18 June 1944.  Today’s mission was scrubbed.

AZON No. 9  22 June 1944.  Ten aircraft from this squadron were dispatched to attack bridges at Saumur and Tours, in France.  Nine planes reached the target, one being compelled to abort due to mechanical difficulty.  This was the most successful operation in which the outfit has participated.  Both bridges were rendered useless to the enemy by well-placed and direct hits.  No enemy aircraft were encountered.  Moderate continuous following flak was put up at La Havre, but it was inaccurate and ineffective.  At Tours, however, the flak was moderate and accurate.  Nine of the ten aircraft dispatched suffered battle damage.  SAV on both targets reveal excellent results.