The Day Battleships Became Obsolete: Fritz-X & AZON Bombs in WWII World War II military and aviation history changed forever on September 9, 1943, when the Italian battleship Roma, a 900-foot, heavily armored giant, was struck by Germany’s revolutionary Fritz-X bomb. Developed by Dr. Max Kramer at Ruhrstahl, the 3,469-pound Fritz-X (FX-1400) carried a 660-pound armor-piercing warhead and used radio-controlled spoilers and a bright tail flare so a bombardier could steer it in flight. Dropped from