Whilst carrier pigeons have seen usage by the Morridane armed forces, under the guise of the 'Morridane Homing Pigeon Service', for a fair few years it was noted just how easy it was for the birds to fall foul of enemy deployed birds of prey. Things got worse until 'Bally May' of 1913 when dozens of carrier pigeons were lost...despite the fact there wasn't even a war on.
Initially timed explosive packs were designed and fitted to the birds, though a few adjustments in the weight ratio and timer were required...not before extensive damage to property. Early combat tests were less than promising, various faults with the explosive packs result in severe wounds amongst the test crew as the leather straps broke. Many birds were needlessly lost when the timer was set wrongly with the pigeon flying back to its roost and taking a few of its fellows with it when the timer eventually triggered. A couple of pigeon lofts along with a fuel depot were also lost during the course of these early experiments.
The project was mothballed until the 1930s when it was decided that technology had advanced enough to attempt using radio-controlled detonators. After a redesign and further testing of a new pack, a series of trails were conducted that at first proved promising. Incidents common to the project's early years were rare and enemy warbirds quickly learnt to avoid Morridane carrier pigeons. Plans were made to adapt the project for a more offensive role, this was met with limited success as enemy forces ordered their sharpshooters to take out any bird they saw. Further more it was discovered that radio interference could trigger an early explosion, this became a common occurrence as radios saw more and more use by the military.
The project was eventually scrapped completely in 1936 and the team broken up and reassigned to other projects.
'Project Errol' Statistics
No. of Pigeons;
Used: 1,258
KIA: 1,176
WIA: 23
MIA: 16
No. of Personnel;
Involved: 20
KIA: 1 (Strap bomb landed amongst fuel cans on back of truck)
WIA: 13
MIA: 12 (Classified as 'AWOL' later found in nearby pub)
Estimated Property Damage: £25,000+
'Friendly Fire' Reports: 253
Estimated Enemy Losses
Warbirds;
KIA: 1 (Managed to sallow bomb)
WIA: 17
Personnel;
KIA: 0
WIA: 3 (Uncomfirmed)
Needs moar info on the enemy's flying hammer plane.
