Fritz X

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Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X

Fritz X was a German air-launched anti-ship missile, deployed during World War II. Fritz X was an allied code-name; alternate names include Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, and could be considered to be one of the most important historical precursors to the smart bomb.

1 History
2 Combat Performance
3 Characteristics
4 Operators
5 See also

[edit] History

Development began in 1938.

[edit] Combat Performance

Fritz X was first used in combat in 1943.

The Italian battleship Roma was blown apart after fires started by Fritz X bombs detonated her magazines. The British battleship HMS Warspite at the Salerno landings was hit by three bombs but survived to be repaired and bombard the Atlantic Wall defences in June 1944. Bombs hit the American cruisers USS Philadelphia and Savannah. It sank the British light cruiser HMS Spartan.

The control system was susceptible to electronic countermeasures - either straightforward jamming which blocked the control signals from the bomber or spoofing in which the bomb was given a signal that sent the control surfaces to an extreme position, eg hard left or full down, sending the bomb out of control into a stall or spiralling dive. By the time of the Normandy landings the combination of allied fighters which kept the bombers at bay and ship-mounted jammers meant the bombs had no significant effect on the invasion fleet. Some accounts say that the Norwegian destroyer HNoMS Svenner was hit by a Fritz X at dawn, D-Day.

If it worked properly, the missile was able to pierce more than twenty inches of steel armor plate.

The closest Allied weapon to the Fritz X was the similar Azon weapon.