It was the most successful of the United States Army Air Forces Jet Bomb (JB) projects (JB-1 through JB-10) during World War II.

Postwar, the JB-2 played a significant role in the development of more advanced surface-to-surface tactical missile systems such as the MGM-1 Matador and later MGM-13 Mace.

The United States had known of the existence of a new German secret weapon since 22 August 1942 when a Danish naval officer discovered an early test version of the V-1 that had crashed on the island of Bornholm, in the Baltic Sea between Germany and Sweden, roughly 120 kilometers (75 miles) northeast of the V-1 test launch ramp at the Peenemünde Army Research Center, on Germany's Usedom Island.

A photograph and a detailed sketch of the V-1 test unit, the Fieseler Fi 103 V83 (Versuchs-83, the eighty-third prototype airframe) was sent to Britain.

This led to months of intelligence-gathering and intelligence-sifting which traced the weapon to the airfield at Peenemünde, on Germany's Baltic Coast, the top-secret German missile test and development site.

[1] As more intelligence data was obtained through aerial photography and sources inside Germany, the United States decided to develop a jet-powered flying bomb in 1943.

[1] Motivated by intelligence information supplied by the United Kingdom, Project MX-544 to create an American copy of the V-1 was initiated.

[5] By 8 September, the first of thirteen complete JB-2s, reverse engineered from the material received at Wright Field in July was assembled at Republic Aviation.

A similar, completely coincidental re-shaping, but with a much broader chord, was used for the same airframe component[6] of the manned Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg, original V-1 ordnance development.

[7] With its Ford-produced PJ31 pulsejet powerplant, the JB-2 was one of the first attempts at a powered cruise missile for potential usage in America's arsenal.

The missile was launched by a rocket-propelled sled along a 150 m (500 ft) long track, but seconds after release the JB-1 pitched up into a stall and crashed.

This was caused by an incorrectly calculated elevon setting for take-off, but the JB-1 program was subsequently stopped, mainly because the performance and reliability of the GE B1 turbojet engines were far below expectations.

In addition, the cost to produce the Ford copy of the Argus pulse-jet engine of the JB-2 was much less than the GE turbojets.

Moreover the air forces only wanted the JB-2 if it caused no curtailment of the supply of bombs, artillery shells, and personnel being shipped to Europe.

Included in the assault were the usual naval bombardment and air strikes augmented by rocket-firing aircraft and JB-2s.

A navalized version, designated KGW-1, was planned to be used against Japan from LSTs (Landing Ship, Tank) as well as escort carriers (CVEs).

[20] Planning for the post war development of Guided Missiles at Eglin had begun prior to VJ Day.

[10] Following the war the 1st Experimental Guided Missiles Group was created in January 1946 to replace the ad hoc units which had been at Range 64.

JB-2 testing at the Eglin Air Corps Proving Ground site on Santa Rosa Island did not begin until March 1947 over a year after launches at Range 64 ended.

While the unit waited for the opening of the facilities on Santa Rosa Island to be constructed the First Experimental Guided Missile Group was conducting cold weather testing at Ladd Field, Alaska, in Project Frigid.

At Ladd they successfully launched JB-2s off a 30 feet (9.1 m) long wooden ramp[21] JB-2 testing at Eglin the Santa Rosa Island Range Complex, Area A-10 began in March 1947.

[24] The initial land based launch facilities at Point Mugu closely resembled those at area A-10 at Eglin AAF.

The submarine to carry the LTV-N-2 was USS Cusk (SS-348) which successfully launched its first Loon on 12 February 1947, off Point Mugu, CA.

[34] After the United States Air Force became a fully independent arm of the National Military Establishment 18 September 1947, research continued with the development of unmanned aircraft and pilotless bombers, including the already available JB-2.

[35] The trailer ramp was the first step toward a system which would eventually be adapted for the forthcoming Martin MGM-1 Matador, the first operational surface-to-surface cruise missile built by the United States.

In the mid-1992, military crews uncovered the well-preserved wreckage of a JB-2 at a site on an Air Force-owned section of Santa Rosa Island.

Launch locations This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency