What is "flying bomb"

n. any early guided missile, but especially the V-1

n. a small jet-propelled winged missile that carries a bomb [syn: buzz bomb, robot bomb, doodlebug, V-1]

A flying bomb is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle or aircraft carrying a large explosive warhead, a precursor to contemporary cruise missiles. In contrast to a bomber aircraft, which is intended to release bombs and then return to its base for re-use, a flying bomb crashes into its target and is therefore itself destroyed in its attack.

The term flying bomb is most frequently associated with two specific Second World War weapons, the German V-1 and the Japanese Ohka. The former was unpiloted, as the first known cruise missile ever deployed in anger; the latter carried a pilot on a kamikaze mission.