Fritz X 1940

A truly wonderful image...

...A fly by wire Fritz...

...Cartoon of a Stormtrooper descending on a target from a Ju-52 on a wire unreeling from a spinneret in his backpack...

Thank you, BlairWitch749!
 
a lot; but germany had severe copper shortages and had to rely on large amounts of pillaging; and using 4 miles worth for a single 1000lb bomb is about as ineffecient as humanly possible

Is it? Finnish Army had stockpile of some 200 000 km's of telephone wire alone in 1941, being a small and fairly ill equipped compared to German military. That's alone enough for some 31 000 Fritz-X's, assuming 6,5km cable for each. Guidance cables are of lighter weight than telephone wire.
 
Is it? Finnish Army had stockpile of some 200 000 km's of telephone wire alone in 1941, being a small and fairly ill equipped compared to German military. That's alone enough for some 31 000 Fritz-X's, assuming 6,5km cable for each. Guidance cables are of lighter weight than telephone wire.

the germans had severe shortages of copper in 1939; I think this was reduced as they gobbled up poland and france;

given the unbelievable cost implied in my proposal, they would have to be confined to elite units; and probably reserved only for strikes on capital ships
 
a lot; but germany had severe copper shortages and had to rely on large amounts of pillaging; and using 4 miles worth for a single 1000lb bomb is about as ineffecient as humanly possible

Copper was also needed for U-Boat construction and was in such short supply Adm. Donitz ordered the melting down of copper statues of "dubious value"...
 
The Japanese Carrier planes are too small to carry the weapons, therefore this is irrelevant, though their land based air is a different story

The Vals, true, but the Kates are (barely) big enough to do it. And the Japanese could make their version of the Fritz-X small enough to be carried by Vals, although there wouldn't be much point to it; dive-bombing is already fairly accurate and safer for the attacking aircraft.

You are correct, though; the Bettys and Emilys would be deadly threats with these weapons, especially the HS-293, which can be launched from outside the range of AA. The US would certainly launch a crash program to develop countermeasures, which would probably be in place by mid-to-late 1942. They would also develop their own equivalent weapons, and the Japanese would develop countermeasures as well.

Expect a lot more ship losses on both sides, especially in the first months of the war. Then a continuous arms race in these guided weapons and countermeasures, with the US having the advantage due to its larger resource base.
 
The Vals, true, but the Kates are (barely) big enough to do it. And the Japanese could make their version of the Fritz-X small enough to be carried by Vals, although there wouldn't be much point to it; dive-bombing is already fairly accurate and safer for the attacking aircraft.

You are correct, though; the Bettys and Emilys would be deadly threats with these weapons, especially the HS-293, which can be launched from outside the range of AA. The US would certainly launch a crash program to develop countermeasures, which would probably be in place by mid-to-late 1942. They would also develop their own equivalent weapons, and the Japanese would develop countermeasures as well.

Expect a lot more ship losses on both sides, especially in the first months of the war. Then a continuous arms race in these guided weapons and countermeasures, with the US having the advantage due to its larger resource base.
Barely able to carry the device alone, what about control equipment?

Also I never saw an example of a Kate carrying over 800kg or ordinance, both the Fritz X and Hs 293 are over 1000 kg
 
Barely able to carry the device alone, what about control equipment?

Also I never saw an example of a Kate carrying over 800kg or ordinance, both the Fritz X and Hs 293 are over 1000 kg

That would be because that is it's ordinance limit. Also the Betty has an ordinance limit of 1000kg so it would be hard pressed to carry either of these weapons plus the control equipment. No way the Kate or any of the other Japanese torpedo bombers could do it.
 
given the unbelievable cost implied in my proposal, they would have to be confined to elite units; and probably reserved only for strikes on capital ships

How many kg's of copper was consumed by a single normal 500kg bomb? Or by a single servo motor? Copper would definitely not be a limit. Manufacturing capability of electronic equipment required might be. Hitting probability of even primitive PGM is also a way higher than with a normal bomb, thus reducing the wastage.
 
If Fritz-X and the HS-293 are available in 1940, then the Kanalkampf is going to go more in the Germans' favor, but that was a minor affair anyway. The effect on the Battle of Britain is going to be minimal, since they're primarily anti-ship weapons and the action is taking place over land.


I was reading the above with intrest,if fritz-x can be used against ships(ie point targets) at sea,why couldnt they be used against point targets over land? I might be missing something here, but there must be some point targets of value in the UK during the BoB, am not arguing that it will change anything or cause the mamal to be launched ect ect ,but could we see specialist PGM gruppe roving over the UK striking (for the period) precision targets?

Secondly if we do, what happens when the wallies find an unexploded bomb? I mean theres lots of german targets that it could be used against, power stations,bridges ect ect

I await your thoughts :)
 
...if fritz-x can be used against ships(ie point targets) at sea,why couldnt they be used against point targets over land?

Ijn principle they probably could be.
One issue that springs to mind is that camouflage is much easier with land targets. We're talking weapons guided by the unassisted Mk I eyeball here, it doesn't take a lot to degrade it's effectiveness. Terrain can also have an effect - some targets can only be attacked from certain angles, which makes defending them easier. There's also a lot more places AA defences can be placed to make the attack more difficult.
So it's certainly possible, but not an automatic success.
 
That would be because that is it's ordinance limit. Also the Betty has an ordinance limit of 1000kg so it would be hard pressed to carry either of these weapons plus the control equipment. No way the Kate or any of the other Japanese torpedo bombers could do it.

While the book limit for the G4M is 1000kg, the Ohka weighed 2140kg with a 1200kg warhead.

MXY7_Ohka__launch.jpg
 
While the book limit for the G4M is 1000kg, the Ohka weighed 2140kg with a 1200kg warhead.

Yes, modified G4Ms that carried about 1/2 the fuel of a normal, in 1945. So with those caveats sure, they could modify G4Ms to carry them. With the control equipment needed and then stick around pointed in the right direction to direct the guided weapon onto the target...in a aircraft nicknamed the "Flying Cigar" because it caught fire so easily. The advantage to the Ohka from a Japanese perspective is it was a fire and forget weapon - the launching bomber didn't need to stick around. While the Fritz-X and the HS-293 are nowhere near fire and forget, in fact they are "fire and fly level so you don't jostle the guy flying the bomb otherwise it will miss." weapons. Air cover would make these much harder to use, if Japan had them in the early part of the war it would make a difference - but I don't see Germany giving this tech up early in the war, and by 1943-1944 it will not make much of a difference.
 
That would be because that is it's ordinance limit. Also the Betty has an ordinance limit of 1000kg so it would be hard pressed to carry either of these weapons plus the control equipment. No way the Kate or any of the other Japanese torpedo bombers could do it.

True of the standard Fritz-X, but I was positing a slightly smaller version for the Japanese, about 700kg. The Kates would be appropriate platforms with their three man crews; the radio operator could easily be given the control apparatus; it isn't that bulky or heavy. You would lose some range with that heavy a payload, but Japanese aircraft have pretty long ranges, so that isn't too much of a problem.

The HS-293 is already about as small as it can be and still remain effective, so its use is going to be confined to larger aircraft such as Bettys and Emilys. It's intended for lightly protected targets such as merchant vessels, which are low priority for the Japanese, so its use will be minor at best.

Once the Allies establish air superiority the effectiveness of these weapons will shrink to virtually nil for the Japanese, while the US versions which are certain to follow will be lethal.

On a wholly unrelated note, the Fritz-X could be used against ground targets, but most are low value compared to shipping; you just don't get enough bang for the buck that way. Plus the gentle flight path required will make the bomber very vulnerable to attack.
 
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