In November 1917, about six months after the US declared war on Germany, the United States Army aircraft board asked Charles Kettering of Dayton, Ohio to design an unmanned "flying machine" which could hit a target at a range of 40 miles (64 km).

Orville Wright acted as an aeronautical consultant on the project, while Elmer Ambrose Sperry designed the control and guidance system.

Before takeoff, technicians determined the distance to be traveled relative to the air, taking into account wind speed and direction along the flight path.

When a total revolution counter reached this value a cam dropped down which shut off the engine and retracted the bolts attaching the wings, which fell off.

The prototype Bug was completed and delivered to the Aviation Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1918, near the end of World War I.

[8] A full-size reproduction of a Bug is on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

[9] Data from National Museum of the United States Air Force[10]General characteristics Performance Armament 180 lb (82 kg) high explosive Media related to Kettering Bug at Wikimedia Commons