Free shipping on all orders over $79* Limited Time Only

My Wish Lists Login / Join

The Pigeon Pilot : The birds trained to guide missiles by pecking - David Wing

The Pigeon Pilot

The birds trained to guide missiles by pecking

eBook | 28 January 2026

At a Glance

Format
ePUB

Age
0 - 2

eBook

$8.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $2.25 with

Instant Digital Delivery to your Kobo Reader App

"The Pigeon Pilot - The birds trained to guide missiles by pecking" reveals the secret WWII project that was too crazy to be true, yet actually worked. Before electronic guidance systems existed, the US military needed a way to steer bombs. Famous psychologist B.F. Skinner proposed the solution: Pigeons. Author David Wing describes the "Project Pigeon" (later Project Orcon). Skinner trained pigeons to peck at the image of an enemy ship projected on a screen inside the missile's nose cone. Their pecking mechanically steered the fins. The system was surprisingly accurate and resistant to jamming. "The Pigeon Pilot" explores the clash between radical science and military conservatism. Although the pigeons were perfect pilots, the generals couldn't stop laughing long enough to authorize the project. It is a story about the limits of innovation when it looks ridiculous.

on

You Can Find This eBook In

Non-Fiction Warfare & Defence

More in Warfare & Defence

Horse Soldiers : The Extraordinary Story of a Band of Special Forces Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan - Doug Stanton

eBOOK

Horse Soldiers

The Extraordinary Story of a Band of Special Forces Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan

eBook

$12.99

The Icarus Syndrome : A History of American Hubris - Peter Beinart

eBOOK

The Icarus Syndrome

A History of American Hubris

eBook

RRP $28.99

$23.99

17%
OFF

The War Against America : Saddam Hussein and the World Trade Center Attacks - Laurie Mylroie

eBOOK

The War Against America

Saddam Hussein and the World Trade Center Attacks

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

Mavericks of the Sky : The First Daring Pilots of the U.S. Air Mail - Barry Rosenberg

eBOOK

Mavericks of the Sky

The First Daring Pilots of the U.S. Air Mail

eBook

RRP $28.99

$23.99

17%
OFF

Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer : Experiencing the Mysteries of God and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of an Ancient Spirituality - Norris Chumley

eBOOK

Mysteries of the Jesus Prayer

Experiencing the Mysteries of God and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of an Ancient Spirituality

eBook

RRP $24.99

$20.99

16%
OFF

The Blitzkrieg Myth : How Hitler and the Allies Misread the Strategic Realities of World War II - John Mosier

eBOOK

The Blitzkrieg Myth

How Hitler and the Allies Misread the Strategic Realities of World War II

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

Cry from the Deep : The Sinking of the Kursk - Ramsey Flynn

eBOOK

Cry from the Deep

The Sinking of the Kursk

eBook

RRP $21.99

$17.99

18%
OFF

Cheney : The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President - Stephen F. Hayes

eBOOK

Cheney

The Untold Story of America's Most Powerful and Controversial Vice President

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

The Great Theft : Wrestling Islam from the Extremists - Khaled M. Abou El Fadl

eBOOK

The Great Theft

Wrestling Islam from the Extremists

eBook

$12.99

In the Hot Zone : One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars - Kevin Sites

eBOOK

In the Hot Zone

One Man, One Year, Twenty Wars

eBook

$8.99

Honoring Sergeant Carter : A Family's Journey to Uncover the Truth About an American Hero - Allene Carter

eBOOK

Honoring Sergeant Carter

A Family's Journey to Uncover the Truth About an American Hero

eBook

$5.99

A Question of Loyalty - Douglas C. Waller

eBOOK

A Question of Loyalty

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

Secret History of the Iraq War - Yossef Bodansky

eBOOK

Secret History of the Iraq War

eBook

$16.99

One Day the Soldiers Came : Voices of Children in War - Charles London

eBOOK

One Day the Soldiers Came

Voices of Children in War

eBook

RRP $24.99

$20.99

16%
OFF

A Short History of World War I : Short History - James L. Stokesbury

eBOOK

A Short History of World War I

Short History

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

Chain of Command : The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib - Seymour M. Hersh

eBOOK

Chain of Command

The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib

eBook

RRP $25.99

$20.99

19%
OFF

Over the Edge of the World : Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe - Laurence Bergreen

eBOOK

Over the Edge of the World

Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe

eBook

$2.99

Master Mind : The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare - Daniel Charles

eBOOK

Master Mind

The Rise and Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare

eBook

$13.99

Tyrants : The World's Worst Dictators - David Wallechinsky

eBOOK

Tyrants

The World's Worst Dictators

eBook

$5.99

Master of War : Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War - Suzanne Simons

eBOOK

Master of War

Blackwater USA's Erik Prince and the Business of War

eBook

RRP $21.99

$17.99

18%
OFF

To Keep the British Isles Afloat : FDR's Men in Churchill's London, 1941 - Thomas Parrish

eBOOK

To Keep the British Isles Afloat

FDR's Men in Churchill's London, 1941

eBook

RRP $24.99

$20.99

16%
OFF

Dying for Heaven : Holy Pleasure and Suicide Bombers—Why the Best Qualities of Religion Are Also Its Most Dangerous - Ariel Glucklich

eBOOK

Dying for Heaven

Holy Pleasure and Suicide Bombers—Why the Best Qualities of Religion Are Also Its Most Dangerous

eBook

$6.99

Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy : The Secret World of Corporate Espionage - Eamon Javers

eBOOK

Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy

The Secret World of Corporate Espionage

eBook

$9.99

Inside Gitmo : The True Story Behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay - Gordon Cucullu

eBOOK

Inside Gitmo

The True Story Behind the Myths of Guantanamo Bay

eBook

RRP $19.99

$16.99

15%
OFF

This product is categorised by

Non-Fiction Warfare & Defence