One day in 1945, the crew of the aircraft carrier Intrepid gathered on deck for a group picture with what looks like a model airplane, not too much larger than the radio-controlled planes that hobbyists had been flying since the 1930s. It was a drone. Named for the buzzing sound it made in flight, and manufactured in the thousands during World War II, it served as a remote-controlled target for gunners. The toylike drone had a nifty feature. If the gunners failed to bring down the drone, an operator on deck could send a radio signal that released a small parachute, allowing the drone to float down, ready for pickup and reuse.

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