German Hs-293 & Fritz-X Guided Missile Book - Any Recommendations?

[hucks216]

Hello,
I have acquired a Wehrpass to a pilot who flew aircraft equipped with the Hs-293 anti-shipping missile and killed near Salerno and so now I am looking for any good books that cover the operations of this weapon - preferably in English and reasonably priced.
I am aware of the book Warriors & Wizards by Martin Bollinger so can anyone offer an opinion of this publication - does it offer a mission by mission analysis with appropriate detail (Staffel, crews involved etc) or does it cover the technical side of the efforts of the Allies to defeat the weapon?
I am also aware of the German language history of KG-100 and the very expensive 1957 publication History Of German Guided Missiles Development.

Any recommendations would be appreciated. Thank you.

[Nick Beale]

Bollinger's is a very interesting book and with some good analysis of the results achieved with these weapons and how it varied over time. He also explains how the Allies developed countermeasures. He's also included an impressive list of sources consulted.

Ulf Balke's "KG 100 'Wiking'" probably has more about individual crews and it does have loss tables for KG 100. The problem would be finding an affordable copy, I think.

[leonventer]

I'll second Nick's recommendations:

Bollinger's "Warriors and Wizards" is an excellent resource -- well researched and comprehensive. Specifies the Luftwaffe units involved in each action, but doesn't generally provide detail on individual crews or aircraft.

Balke's "Kampfgeschwader 100 'Wiking'" is a day-by-day account of the unit's activities, usually naming the commanding pilot and number of aircraft on each mission, and often including detailed loss information (e.g. pilot, aircraft type, unit code, and Wnr.)

Other worthwhile titles:

• "German Guided Missiles: Henschel Hs 293 and Ruhrstahl SD 1400X 'Fritz X'" by William Wolf (Merriam Press, 2006, 93 pages, ISBN: 978-1-4357-5826-1) Inexpensive softcover -- reads like a much-condensed version of Bollinger. Includes Allied Intelligence Reports on both missiles and some useful drawings.
• "41 Sekunden bis zum Einschlag: Als Bomberpilot im Kampfgeschwader 100 Wiking mit der geheimen Fernlenkbombe Fritz X" by Klaus Deumling (HEK Creativ Verlag, 2008, 110 pages, ISBN 978-3-932922-19-0) Describes training and operations with both the Hs 293 and Fritz X missiles.

Hope that helps,
Leon Venter

[hucks216]

Thanks for that Nick.

[hucks216]

Thanks for the 'seconding' and extra recommendations. A copy of Bollinger's book has been duely ordered.

[Erich]

as a preview Hucks. Bollingers work has been googled in some form :

http://books.google.com/books?id=Kk0...Wiking&f=false

E ~

[mjbollinger]

Thank you for the kind words regarding my book.

I concur that Balke is the definitive source for crew information -- for those missions flown by KG 100. His book does not include information on the KG 40 missions, which accounted for many of them starting in November 1943 (after Salerno).

To support my research, I attempted to compile a comprehensive database of each combat mission flown by KG 100 and KG 40 using glide bombs. This database integrated multiple Luftwaffe and RAN/USN sources and was checked against the available Luftwaffe original files on missions flown by each unit over time. I kept iterating the database until all of the information "fit" together.

When there were aircraft lost on a combat mission, I attempted to identify the aircraft and crew precisely as a means of configuration management across the different sources -- to eliminate the potential for double-counting and to make sure all losses were recorded. It was this "bottom up" database that provided the basis for the analysis in the book.

If this database would be of assistance to you, I'd be happy to make it available. I'd have to do some formatting and other cleanup first.

Marty Bollinger

Hi there - new member here. My son and I would like to model the Fritz X so we are looking for drawings and any other info that would be useful. I am going to purchase the Wolf book. Any other suggestions, sources? Thanks in advance.

Chris