BATTY was the Eighth Air Force Code Name for testing of the GB-4 glide bomb. The GB-4 was an early "smart bomb," as we call them today, and consisted of an M34 2,000-pound (907 kg) GP bomb with wings and tail attached. The wing span was 12-feet (3.7 m) and total length with tail was 12-feet 2-inches (3.7 m). An operator in a B-17 had radio control of the flight surfaces of the GB-4 and a TV camera in the nose of the bomb transmitted images back to the bomber so the operator could steer it. The GB-4 weighed approximately 2,600-pounds (1,179 kg). The range of the TV transmitter was about 15 miles (24 km) and a GB-4 dropped from 15,000-feet (4,572 m) took an average of 6-minutes to hit the ground.
Three B-17Gs were modified in the US and flown to England in early 1944 but only one, B-17G-10-VE, s/n 42-40043, flew combat sorties with the GB-4. Two GB-4s could be carried by the Fort on underwing racks, one located between the fuselage and No. 2 engine and the second between the fuselage and No. 3 engine.
The BATTY missions were not successful. Three GB-4s were released over England and then on 13 August 1944, the port of Le Havre, France was attacked. The TV receiver in the B-17 was not working correctly and the picture was too faint to allow the operator to control the two bombs dropped. One landed 1 miles (1.6 km) short and the second landed about 1 mile to the right of the port.
The second mission, against the LaPallice U-boat pens described above, was really unsuccessful. The first bomb was dropped and the shutter on the TV camera closed preventing transmission of pictures; the second bomb dropped went into an uncontrollable spin.
The last BATTY mission was flown on 26 August against Ijmuiden, the Netherlands but the target area was covered with 8/10ths cloud cover and the mission was aborted. The Air Force then decided to "go back to the drawing boards" with the project. Bottom line is that it was a good idea but the technology required was not available.