In the early hours of September 9, 1943, the Italian Navy's fleet of battleships, cruisers, and destroyers embarked on their journey from their western Italian bases. Originally, their mission was to attack the Allies' Salerno invasion force. However, this objective was altered due to Italy's armistice with the Allies, and they were ordered to head for Sardinia instead.
The Germans, incensed by Italy's surrender and fearing the ships could be turned against them, hatched a plan to sink the fleet.
By the afternoon, six Dornier Do 217 medium bombers climbed to over 18,000 feet and released their payloads. To the Italians' astonishment, the bombs altered course, gliding towards the battleships as they frantically tried to evade them.
These were no ordinary weapons, but some of the world's first precision-guided munitions: the Fritz X radio-guided bombs.
And although Allied intelligence was aware of these weapons, it wasn't until this fateful attack that their terrifying power was fully realized. As the day drew to a close, the face of warfare had been permanently altered...
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