UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCES (USAAF) IN BRITAIN, 1942-1945

A remote-controlled drone protoype based on a B-17 Flying Fortress airframe takes off from Hilo Naval Air Station in Hawaii on the 6th of August 1946 to fly to Muroc Army Air Field, California, remotely controlled by USAF personnel nearby. Handwritten caption on reverse: 'Prototype.' Printed caption on reverse: '60717 USAF - Pilotless Aircraft Starts 2600-Mile Flight (Photo 1 of 4). A crewless B-17 Flying Fortress "Drone" aircraft starts its record-breaking 2,600-mile flight from Hilo Naval Air Station, Hawaii, to Muroc Army Air Field, California, August 6, 1946. The drone, one of two which successfully completed "Operation Remote", setting an endurance record for remote controlled aircraft, is shown as it rises into the air shortly after take-off. The flight, which was under the direction of Brig. Gen. William L. Richardson, Chief of Army Air Forces, Guided Missile Division, lasted 14 hours and 55 minutes before the first plane touched down at Muroc. Both drones were veterans of the Bikini atom-bomb tests in which they were flown by remote-control into the radioactive bomb clouds. U.S. Air Force Photo.' On reverse: US Air Force 1361st Photographic Squadron, AAVS (MAC) Photo [Stamp].