The V-2, Fritz X, and Henschel Hs 293 appear as answers to defenses that made close approach increasingly dangerous. Against ships, fighters and overlapping 40 mm gun coverage pushed attacking aircraft toward longer release ranges, where conventional weapons became less likely to hit. Guided glide weapons offered a way to recover accuracy while keeping the launch aircraft outside the densest part of the defensive envelope. This pressure to penetrate layered defenses is a more direct ancestor of postwar missile development than the unrotated projectile itself.
Notable Point · 29:19-31:45
Fritz X and Hs 293 pushed attacks beyond Allied defenses
German guided weapons tried to preserve anti-ship striking power as fighters and overlapping gun defenses forced aircraft to release from farther away.