The Hs 293 project was started in 1940, based on the "Gustav Schwartz Propellerwerke" glide bomb which was designed in 1939.
Variants
Hs 293A. The original version
Hs 293B was wire guided to prevent jamming; it was never put into production, because jamming was never serious enough to prevent the radio-guided version from being effective.
Hs 293C had a detachable warhead (also designated Hs 293A-2)
Hs 293D was television-guided. 20 were built and tested. It was never used operationally as it was unreliable.
Hs 293E an experimental model with different control surfaces; never put into series production.
Hs 293F a tailless variant; never got further than the design phase.
Hs 293H an experimental variant designed to be launched from one aircraft and controlled from another.
Hs 293V6 designed for launch from the Arado Ar 234 jet bomber.
The Hs 293 was intended to destroy unarmoured ships. (Compare with the Fritz X, which was intended for use against armoured targets, i.e. warships).
One drawback of the Hs 293 was that, after the missile was launched, the bomber had to fly in a straight level path, and thus could not manouvre to evade anti-aircraft guns.
On August 27, 1943, an Hs 293 was used in the first successful attack by a guided missile, sinking the British sloop HMS Egret.
Characteristics
Primary Function:
Contractor: Henschel
Power Plant: liquid-propellant rocket motor, 5.9 kN thrust for 10 s; subsequently glided to target
Length: 3.82 m
Diameter: 47 cm
Wing Span: 3.1 m
Launch Weight: 1045 kg
Speed: maximum 260 m/s
Warhead: 295 kg explosive
Range: at 2.2 km altitude 4.0 km; at 4.0 km altitude 5.5 km; at 5.0 km altitude 8.5 km;
Fuzes:
Guidance system: Kehl-Strassburg FuG 203/230; MCLOS using a Joystick
Henschel had proposed an unmanned bomber project which had been commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war.
In service trials, bomb aimers reported difficulties visually tracking the missiles against the ground and the sea, so a unit containing a flare was fitted in the tail unit which could be seen from the parent aircraft, but was not obvious to anti-aircraft gunners on the ground.
Henschel Hs.293 guided bombs were (together with "Fritz X" guided bombs) worked into the inventory of KG 100 which used Dornier Do.217 bombers to carry them.
Henschel took over the work of further developing this missile in early 1940, and it was decided to use some form of propulsion for the missile so that attacks at low altitude and increased range could be made.
Hs 293B: This was a wire-controlled version of the original radio-controlled series, designed to be used in the event of a jamming of the radio control mechanism of the original series of bombs.
Hs 293H: This missile was intended to be released and controlled in flight by one aircraft and detonated by a second observing aircraft, which would be flying in position where it would be easy to bserve the impact of the missile against the target.
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