Fritz X: The World’s First Precision-Guided Missile Took Out the Italian Navy’s Flagship
The Fritz X was a German radio-guided anti-ship missile that went by many names: Ruhrstahl SD 1400 X, PC 1400X, Kramer X-1 and FX 1400.…
Operation Bodenplatte: The New Year’s Day ‘Hangover Raid’ That Devastated the Luftwaffe
Launched as part of the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Bodenplatte was meant to devastate Allied airfields in the Low Countries. While Wehrmacht soldiers were fighting…
Sonderkommando ‘Elbe’ – Germany’s Aerial Kamikaze Force
Japanese kamikaze pilots were well known during the Second World War for their sacrificial bombing tactics against enemy naval vessels. They would put their aircraft…
Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer Was the Luftwaffe’s Best Night Fighter Pilot
Between World War I and II, a number of advancements were made in aviation. Despite this, there were still some conditions that made flying difficult,…
All Five of the Second World War’s Triple Aces in a Day Flew for the German Luftwaffe
The Second World War saw thousands of air battles between pilots. Germany, which started the conflict in 1939 with its invasion of Poland, held a…
Operation Wikinger: The Kriegsmarine’s Disastrous Mission in the North Sea
The Luftwaffe was the main arm and, arguably, the most dangerous aspect of the German military. Another branch intended to be just as strong was…
Junkers Ju 87Bs Utilized Psychological Warfare Against Allied Ground Troops
The Germans during the Second World War hoped to take over the world, and they didn’t just plan to do so by using military force.…