DAYTON, Ohio - The VB-6 Felix Guided Bomb on display in the Research & Development Gallery at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Note: This exhibit is located in the Research & Development Gallery on a controlled-access portion of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. The gallery will close until further notice beginning May 1, 2013, as part of budget reduction requirements due to sequestration.
The Felix was a 1,000-pound bomb fitted with moveable control surfaces and an electronic device in the nose which caused the bomb to "home in" on targets giving off sufficient heat. Suitable targets would have been those producing sufficient internal heat (blast furnaces or coke ovens) or external heat (reradiation of solar heat from large roof areas such as factories.) Although the Felix showed promise, its development was not completed before World War II ended, and the project was cancelled before any were used in combat.
