German Guided Missiles

Although not as well-known as the V-1 buzz bomb and the V-2 missile, the first German missiles to see combat were anti-ship missiles, the Henschel Hs.293 guided missile and the Fritz-X guided bomb. These began to see extensive combat in the Mediterranean in 1943. In their most famous use, the Italian battleship Roma was sunk by a Fritz-X attack in September 1943 when Italy attempted to switch sides. The serious threat posed by these missiles led to a vigorous but little known 'Wizard War' by the Allies to develop electronic counter-measures, the first effort of its kind.

This book covers the great variety of secret and largely unknown German missile programs: GUIDED MISSILES: Ruhrstahl/Kramer X1 "Fritz-X", Henschel Hs 293, Hs 294, Hs 295 and Henschel "Zitterrochen", Blohm und Voss Bv 226, Bv 246 "Hagelkorn" and Lippisch GB-3/L, Blohm und Voss Bv 143, Henschel G.T. 1200 and other gliding torpedos, Arado E-377 and E-377a, Mistel Me 262 A-1/A-2 and Me 262 A-1a/Ju 287b-1, Fieseler Fi 103 Series; PILOTED MISSILES: Blohm und Voss Bv 40, Daimler-Benz Projekt E and F, Messerschmitt Me 328, "Gleiter Bombenflugzeug" 1945, Projekt "Reichenberg" Series, Sombold So 344, Zeppelin "Rammer"; BALLISTIC MISSILES: EMW A-3/A-5, EMW A 4/A 4b, EMW A 5/A 8, EMW A 7/A 9/A 10, Blohm und Voss "Manuell Gesteuertes RAketen Projektil"; ANTI-AIRCRAFT MISSILES: Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-4, Ruhrstahl/Kramer X-7 "Rotkappchen", Henschel Hs 298 V1 and V2, Henschel Hs 117 "Schmetterling", Messerschmitt "Enzian", Rheinmetall-Borsig F-25 and F-55 "Feuerlilie", Rheinmetall-Borsig "Rheintochter" I and III, Rheinmetall-Borsig "Hecht" 2700, EMW C2 "Wasserfall".