Pratt-Read LBE

Lore & Background

Late in 1940, the United States Navy began seriously considering the possibility of developing gliders that would be remotely controlled to carry bombs to a target, reducing the risk to aircrew. The concept called for the glider to be towed by an ordinary carrier-based aircraft to the target area, then released, to be guided via a TV camera in the glider's nose which would transmit signals to the carrier aircraft, an operator then using radio control to steer the aircraft to its target. Considered to be feasible, the project, called "Glomb" for "Glider-Bomb", became an official program in the late spring of 1941.

Following trials using conversions of existing gliders that proved the concept viable, Pratt-Read was awarded a contract in September 1943 for the development of a purpose-built Glomb, designated by the navy as LBE-1. Intended to carry between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds of bombs, the LBE-1 was a fairly conventional low-wing aircraft, fitted with fixed tricycle landing gear and perforated dive brakes of the type used by dive-bombers. In addition to its radio-command guidance, the LBE-1 could be flown by a pilot for training and evaluation.

Although the initial contract called for the production of 100 examples of the LBE-1, continued trials of the Glomb showed that the combination of the glider's low performance and technical issues with the intended television guidance system made the concept operationally unworkable; accordingly, the contract was reduced to only 35 aircraft in early 1945. In August 1945, with the end of World War II, the contract for production was cancelled entirely; only four LBE-1s would be completed, being used only for evaluation purposes.

Reader's Guide

The Pratt-Read LBE-1 represents an early attempt to develop a remotely guided precision weapon, a concept that would later mature into modern guided munitions. Its significance lies in the Navy's ambitious effort to reduce aircrew risk by using a towed, television-guided glider bomb. However, the program's failure highlights the technological limitations of the era: the glider's low performance and the unreliable television guidance system made the Glomb operationally unworkable. The production contract, initially for 100 aircraft, was reduced to 35 in early 1945 and then cancelled entirely in August 1945 at the end of World War II. Only four LBE-1s were completed, used solely for evaluation. The LBE-1 thus stands as a historical footnote—a promising but ultimately unsuccessful precursor to later guided weapons, demonstrating that the path to effective remote guidance required further advances in both airframe design and electronic control systems.

Did You Know?

• The LBE-1 was part of the US Navy's 'Glomb' (glider-bomb) program.
• Only four examples of the LBE-1 were ever built.