Well, that would be the first tank! As I’m sure most have you have heard at the end of the First World War, the British Army introduced a new revolutionary weapon – the tank. However, it is a little a known fact that those early tanks’ means of communication with the headquarters were homing pigeons.
Yap, every tank that went to battle in WW1 had standing orders to pack shelves, bullets, and a cage full of homing pigeons.
Bonus fact 1: Cher Ami (meaning dear friend in French) was a homing pigeon that was “recruited” to the US Army in WW1. After delivering no less than 12 important messages and wounded in battle, it was awarded the Croix de Guerre Medal with a palm Oak Leaf Cluster.
Bonus fact 2: In November 2019 Cher Ami became one of the first winners of the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery, bestowed on her posthumously at a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Today you can find its stuffed body at the Smithsonian Institution
Cher Ami with its Meddle for Bravery in Battle