Was there automatic landing in 1937?

Short answer

Yes, at least in one unmanned aircraft: the Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp, a flying target, carried an automatic landing device made up of a trailing aerial that was triggered when the weight of its end touched the runway. Its landplane version first flew on 11 June 1937.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

Airspeed Queen Wasp

An unmanned flying target

Yes: the Airspeed AS.30 Queen Wasp, an unmanned target aircraft built by Airspeed in Portsmouth, incorporated an automatic landing device. It was built to meet Air Ministry specification Q.32/35, which called for a pilotless target to replace the de Havilland Queen Bee, derived from the Tiger Moth. The landplane prototype first flew on 11 June 1937 and the seaplane version did so on 19 October of the same year. The registrations of both were K8887 and K8888.

How it landed with no one on board

After take-off, a trailing receiving aerial was unwound, acting as the automatic landing device: it was triggered when the weight of the aerial's end touched the runway. The radio control system was complex and included several backup safety devices to ensure that the operation of the radio and the batteries was not interrupted.

Very few built

A production series of ten aircraft was begun, with military serial numbers P5441 to P5450. Only three more aircraft were completed and delivered to the Royal Air Force.