Aphrodite and Anvil were theWorld War IIcode names ofUnited States Army Air Forces andUnited States Navy operations to useB-17 andPB4Y bombers asprecision-guided munitions against bunkers such as those ofOperation Crossbow.
The plan called for B-17 aircraft which had been taken out of operational service (various nicknames existed such as ‘robot’, ‘baby’, ‘drone’ or ‘weary Willy’) to be loaded to capacity withexplosives, and flown by radio control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as GermanU-boatpens andV-weaponsites. It was hoped that this would match the British success withTallboyandGrand Slamsupersonic ground penetration bombs but the project was dangerous, expensive and unsuccessful
