Q&A · 3:21:17-3:23:12

Counting ships lost to the Hs 293 guided bomb

A rapid ship-by-ship review produces about twelve probable losses, with several cases uncertain between Hs 293, Fritz X, and torpedo attack.

Question

How many ships were lost to the Henschel Hs 293 guided weapon?

Short answer

About twelve probable losses, depending on how disputed attacks and scuttled damaged ships are counted.

Notes

The count includes ships sunk outright and ships scuttled after irreparable damage, rather than limiting the total to vessels that disappeared immediately. It also marks disputed cases such as Janus instead of pretending every weapon attribution is certain. Working through the examples produces a provisional total of about twelve losses. That result must be read against the weapon's limited deployment, because many ships were damaged and relatively few Hs 293 rounds were available.