Fritz X
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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.
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History
Development began in 1938.
Inventory
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.
Characteristics
- Primary Function: air-launched anti-ship missile
- Contractor: Ruhrstahl
- Power Plant: HWK 109-507B rocket engine
- Length: 3.32 m
- Diameter: 85.3 cm
- Wing Span: 1.49 m
- Launch Weight: 1362 kg
- Speed: 343 m/s
- Warhead: 320 kg amatol explosive, armour-piercing
- Range: 5 km
- Fuzes:
- Guidance system: Kehl-Strassburg FuG 203/230; MCLOS
- Unit Cost:
- Date Deployed: 1943
Operators
- Template:DEU-1935: Operated by the Luftwaffe on Heinkel He 111, Dornier Do 217
See also
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