Which aircraft was the first to use precision guided weapons?

In 1943 the Do 217 became the first aircraft to use precision-guided munitions in combat: its radio-guided Fritz X bombs sank the Italian battleship Roma in the Mediterranean. The Fritz X ranks among the first precision-guided weapons used in combat. Almost every attack mission with the weapon relied on the Do 217 K-2 medium-range bomber, and in a few cases, towards the end of its service history, the K-3 and M-11 variants of the Do 217 were also used.

Only the Do 217, the He 177 and the Focke-Wulf Fw 200 could carry an Hs 293/4 or a Fritz X. A specialised anti-ship version, derived from the K-1, was conceived specifically for the Fritz X: it received fared mounting points that allowed it to carry two of these bombs inside the engines, along with the FuG 203 Kehl guidance system.

The Fritz X was guided by means of a Kehl-Straßburg radio-control link, which sent signals to the movable spoilers located on the thick vertical and horizontal tail surfaces. The bombardier had to keep the target in sight at all times, and the aircraft had to fly towards the target on a steady heading. An experienced bombardier could bring 50% of the bombs within 15 m (50 ft) of the aiming point.