Project Pigeon: A WWII Experiment

Did the U.S. Army ever use pigeons to guide missiles? It sounds wild — but it’s mostly

a military experiment, not a battlefield reality.During World War II, psychologist B.F.

Skinner was funded to explore “Project Pigeon” — an idea to train pigeons to steer a bomb

or missile by pecking at screens showing the target. The pigeons were conditioned to recognize

enemy ships and peck to keep the weapon on course. The project even received about $25,000

in funding, and early tests showed some promise. But military leaders canceled it in 1944

— and again later when the Navy tried to revive it — because electronic guidance systems were far

more reliable and practical. So while the U.S. military experimented with pigeon‑guided