293. Drones Aren’t Modern: The Victorian Origins of Unmanned Warfare with Mark Piesing

293. Drones Aren’t Modern: The Victorian Origins of Unmanned Warfare with Mark Piesing

From History Rage by Paul Bavill

May 10, 2026 · 53 min · Season 22 · Episode 4

About this episode

This episode explores the Victorian origins of drones and unmanned warfare with aviation historian Mark Piesing.

Drones didn’t start in Silicon Valley — they began with Victorians and war Drones feel like the defining weapon of the 21st century — cheap, disposable, and terrifyingly effective. But what if that belief is completely wrong? In this episode of History Rage , aviation historian and journalist Mark Piesing explodes the modern myth surrounding drones and reveals a truth that stretches back more than 120 years . Long before satellites, digital cameras, or GPS, Victorian engineers were already imagining — and building — pilotless weapons designed to change warfare forever. From Nikola Tesla’s radio-controlled boats in the 1890s , to British attack drones planned during the First World War , this episode traces how unmanned warfare evolved through failed experiments, secret Cold War programmes, and nuclear testing — long before the Predator ever flew. Mark explains why the “father of the drone” was a British engineer targeted by German assassins , how Marilyn Monroe began her career on a drone production line , and why US Navy admirals were signing orders for thousands of attack drones before the Battle of Midway . Along the way, Paul and Mark explore why these technologies repeatedly…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Bavill

Guest: Mark Piesing

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: US Navy, British

Places: Ukraine

More episodes of History Rage

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the History Rage podcast page.