Fritz FX 1400 X

A Fritz X bomb being dropped in a trial run

The FX 1400 X 'Fritz' was a guided bomb that was used by Germany during World War II.

Description

The Fritz X was a guided glide bomb with and had a 320 kilogram warhead mounted at the front of the bomb. To stabilize itself inflight, the Fritz X also had various radio controlled flaps. If the weapon should score a direct hit, it could penetrate as much as 130mm worth of armor. In total there were four fins on the weapon, each having a length of 1.35 meters with a complex tail system for better control and a gyroscope to keep maintain stability. 

The total weight of the Fritz X was around 1,300 kilograms with a total length of 3.3 meters. While operational range was technically up to five kilometers, a much closer strike was far better for accuracy. When launched, the bomb could reach speeds of up to 343 meters per second. 

Notably, the controls on the Fritz X allowed for multiple to be launched without interference due to the weapon's ability to operate on multiple radio channels. To track the weapon inflight, flares were placed on the rear control surfaces, though in the field, the reliability of these flares was questionable to say the least. The guidance system required a 24 Volt battery to operate. While the weapon certainly pioneered anti-ship weaponry and guided bombs in general, its accuracy was only fair. Though some reports say that the Fritz X had a 90% chance of hitting within 30 meters of its target in combat. The final detriment to the the Fritz X's potential for attacking Allied shipping was the lack of capable aircraft and crew skilled enough to use the bomb. In the end, the main aircraft that were used to deliver Fritz X bombs were the He 111, Do 217, and some examples of He 177.

History

The idea of creating a weapon that could accurately target shipping while at the same time being able to penetrate the armor of the ship. Testing of radio controlled weapons to fulfill this role began as early as 1938. The predecessor of the Fritz X, the SD-1400 was developed. Testing was long and laborious with 600 of the 1,386 examples of Fritz X and SD-1400 produced being used for testing purposes only. The first combat operation involving the Fritz X was in 1943 in Sicily against Allied shipping. Following the Italian armistice however, the Fritz X was used to destroy the remaining ships of the Italian fleet.

For example, the battleship Roma was one of the ships to be sunk in these attacks in an attempt to flee to safety in Malta. The next target were Allied ships landing troops in mainland Italy where numerous were hit with devastating effects. However, in time, the Hs 293 ended up to be used more often than the Fritz X. Furthermore, after obtaining several examples after combat in Italy, the Allies developed special jammers and other countermeasures to reduce the effectiveness of the Fritz X. Its career had ended in early 1944 and it was phased out of service.