   thumb|a german 'fritz x' glide bomb a glide bomb or stand-off bomb is an aerial weapon with aerodynamic surfaces to give it a flatter, gliding, flight path than that of a conventional bomb without such surfaces. this allows it to be released at a distance from the target rather than right over it, allowing a successful attack without the aircraft needing to survive until reaching the target. world war ii-era glide bombs like the german fritz x and henschel hs 293 pioneered the use of remote control systems, allowing the controlling aircraft to direct the bomb to a pinpoint target as a pioneering form of precision-guided munition. note that glide bombing, confusingly, does not refer to the use of glide bombs, but a style of shallow-angle dive bombing. ==early efforts== ===german designs=== ====world war i==== during october 1914, dr. wilhelm von siemens suggested what became known as the siemens torpedo glider, a wire-guided flying missile which would essentially have comprised a naval torpedo with an attached airframe. it was not intended to be flown into a target, but rather at a suitable altitude and position, a signal would be transmitted, causing the airframe components to detach from the torpedo which would then enter the water and continue towards its target. guidance signals were to be transmitted through a thin copper wire, and guide flares were to be carried to help control. siemens-schuckertwerke was already occupied with remote controlled boats (the fl-boats or fernlenkboote), and had some experience in this area. flight testing was performed under the supervision of an engineer called dorner from january 1915 onwards, using airships as carriers and different types of biplane and monoplane glider airframes to which a torpedo was fitted. the last test flight was performed on february 8, 1918. it was planned to use the r viii bomber as a carrier craft, but the  armistice stopped the project. ====world war ii==== =====development===== during world war ii the first operational glide bombs were developed by the germans as an anti-shipping weapon. ships are typically very difficult to attack: a direct hit or an extremely near miss is needed to do any serious damage, hitting a target as small as a ship was difficult in this period. at first dive bombers were used with some success in this role, but their successes were countered by ever-increasing anti-aircraft defenses on the royal navy ships they were attacking. by 1941 accurate bombing was as difficult as ever, with the added problem of evading anti-aircra
Aerial_bombs