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On September 9, 1943, as the tides of war shifted dramatically in Europe, Italy’s Royal Navy battleship Roma met its tragic end. But what makes this sinking so significant isn’t just the loss of a mighty warship—it was the first instance in history when a guided missile was used to destroy a major warship. The events surrounding the sinking of RN Roma marked a pivotal moment in naval warfare, heralding the dawn of guided attack technology.
Roma, Italy’s most powerful battleship at the time, was a symbol of Italian naval pride. Launched in 1940, she was a modern, heavily armed vessel, equipped with nine 15-inch guns and heavily armored to withstand naval combat. The ship had seen little action up to that point, but her fate would be sealed in the Mediterranean as Italy’s position in the war became increasingly precarious.
By September 1943, Italy had switched sides, signing an armistice with the Allies. As part of the terms, the Italian fleet, including Roma, was ordered to move to Allied-controlled waters to prevent it from falling into German hands. However, the Germans had other plans. Their response was swift and deadly, aimed at crippling Italy’s naval capabilities. The battle took place in the context of Germany’s larger plan to maintain control over the Mediterranean and strike at the Italian fleet.
On the fateful day of September 9, Roma was part of an escort mission to protect other Italian ships as they sailed towards the Allied-controlled port of Malta. As the ship steamed through the Mediterranean, a new and terrifying weapon was launched against her: a German V-2 rocket-powered guided missile—the first of its kind to be used in combat against a major warship.
The weapon, the Fritz X, was an early precursor to modern guided bombs. It was essentially a 1,000-kilogram bomb with a guidance system, dropped from a Luftwaffe aircraft and directed toward its target via radio control. While not yet the highly sophisticated smart bombs we think of today, the Fritz X was a revolutionary step forward in precision bombing, offering the ability to hit a target with far greater accuracy than any traditional bomb.
At around 16:00, a Luftwaffe Dornier Do 217 bomber, flying at high altitude, released its Fritz X missile, which plunged toward Roma from above. The missile hit the ship’s upper decks, striking near the aft section. The explosion was catastrophic. Within seconds, the massive blast caused a series of violent fires and secondary explosions, some of which likely came from the ship’s own munitions stores. The devastation was immense. Roma was soon engulfed in flames, her hull severely damaged.
In a desperate attempt to save the ship, the crew tried to get the ship under control, but the damage was too severe. Within 40 minutes, Roma capsized and sank to the bottom of the sea, taking 1,352 crew members with her. Only 596 men survived the tragedy. The ship's demise was swift, a chilling reminder of how new technological advances could bring destruction in ways previously unimaginable.
The Fritz X missile that sank Roma was a precursor to modern precision-guided munitions. Although it was crude by today’s standards, its success demonstrated the effectiveness of guided attacks on heavily armored targets. It was one of the first instances where the power of technology—specifically guidance systems—was harnessed to target and eliminate enemy assets with surgical precision, something that would evolve exponentially in the decades to come.
In the wake of Roma’s sinking, the use of guided missiles would slowly become more common, eventually leading to the development of highly advanced systems that would revolutionize warfare in the 21st century. But for the sailors aboard Roma, that tragic day in 1943 marked the end of their ship’s story—and the beginning of a new era in the way wars would be fought from the skies. The sinking of Roma became a grim reminder of the unpredictable future of warfare, where technology would increasingly shape the outcome of battle.