Fritz X - History

History

The Fritz X was a further development of the high-explosive bomb SD 1400 (Splitterbombe, dickwandig, 1400 kg). It was a penetration weapon intended to be used against heavily protected targets such as heavy cruisers and battleships. It was given a more aerodynamic nose, four stub wings, and a box shaped tail unit. The Luftwaffe recognized the difficulty of hitting moving ships during the Spanish Civil War. Dipl. engineer Max Kramer, who worked at the DVL, had been experimenting since 1938 with remote-controlled free-falling 250 kg bombs, and in 1939 fitted radio-controlled spoilers. In 1940, Ruhrstahl was invited to join the development, since they already had experience in the development and production of unguided bombs.

The dual-axis, single-joystick-equipped Funkgerät 203 Kehl series of radio-control transmitter sets on board the deploying aircraft, were used to send the control signals to the Fritz-X, with the ordnance itself picking up the signals through a Funkgerät 230 Straßburg receiver, named for the city, within it to send the signals on to the movable surfaces in the Fritz-X's tail fin structure.