We have already talked on several occasions about the animals used during wars, some with happy endings (Voytek) and other cruel ones (animals used as bombs), but today's borders on the tragicomic.
In 1944 the Project Pigeon was developed (Dove Project ) which consisted of putting pigeons inside a missile to guide it to its target (?). In addition, this project was not devised by the «illuminati on duty «, but by Burrhus F. Skinner , American philosopher, creator of the psychology school of experimental behavioral research (since I don't know how to explain it in a simple and coherent way, I won't add more…).
He trained several pigeons to peck, through stimuli, figures with the objective that the missile would have. At the front of the missile there were three compartments with one lens each and these lenses were connected to the missile's flight controls. A pigeon was put into each of the compartments and when it saw the target it pecked on the part of the lens in which it was projected (left, center or right) and depending on which part it pecked on, the missile would follow one course or another ( turn left, straight, or turn right) until you reach it. Here's a video to give you an idea:
The National Defense Research Committee appears to have bought into the project because it contributed $25,000 to the research. Although he had some success with the training, on October 8, 1944 the project was cancelled.
Even for the Americans he was very «eccentric «.
Source and images:io9, PSYBlog, National Museum of American History