They sure gave the US a boost into the sciences - engineering fields of aerodynamics and rocketry. Interesting they got a Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet.
Fortunately these developments came to little to late and ended up benefited us more than Germany.
Although the many thousands killed in England by the V weapons and allied pilots shot down by the ME-262 are still a tragedy.
I am less convinced about German technical superiority than I have ever been, certainly the V2 was impressive but out side of that much of their technology was pointless (for example the Goliath remote control tank that had a nasty habit of doing a U-turn on the battlefield and detonating back where it started).
There was nothing overly special about the V1, Jet engines had been around since the mid to late 1930s and in terms of rocketry Russia was at least a match for the Germans.
Seen another version of this previously, think this is in Ohio.Good post. The aircraft that caught my eye was the USAAF's "Dominator". Hadn't realized that any made it to Europe.
here's a nice article about that:
German superiority, myth or fact?
· People tend to glorify the Tigers 1 and 2 as Germany best tanks but they weren’t they were hard to produce and subject to breakdown. The Panther “Panzer V AUSF G” was the best all around tank of World War 2.
Henschel’s HS 293 Radio-controlled Glide Bomb was the most effective guided weapon of the war a bomb that destroyed numerous destroyers and trading ships."
The Horten Ho 229 described by many as “the world’s first stealth bomber”, was the first pure flying wing plane to be powered by a jet engine. Like many of Germanys advanced weapons it came out to late to make an impact in the war.
The Tiger II I have yet to see too many people glorifying but I tend to think that the Tiger I was glorified for a reason which is that the Tiger I worked.
Everywhere German armour was fielded allied troops broke out in "Tiger Fever" it was a tank that although outdated by the time it took the field (designed in 1937) it remained a potent weapon until the last day of the war and it scared the c**p out of those that faced it.
So while the Panther G was/is considered by many to be the finest medium tank of the war (which I think disagree with) no one broke out in "Panther fever".
I am not sure "numerous" is the right word, it sunk about 25-30 ships in 2 years of operation.
Given the number of allied ships out there I think I would call that a failure.
Umm it never flew in combat and only had a handful of flights under power I am not sure it can be called the worlds first anything nor would I consider it a "war altering weapon".
I wont argue that the Germans initiated some amazing technological steps forward but they were all too little too late and built at a time when all they really did was consume resources that were in short supply and would have been better spent on existing weapons. The end result was a myriad of systems none of which were produced in significant numbers to be effective and most still in the development phase that were just as dangerous to those who used them as they were to the enemy.
I have always hated the argument that the Me-262 was a weapon that could have turned the tide of the air war had it been introduced earlier because it ignores the fact that the allies would have responded to it.
Meteor development was a few months behind that of the Me-262 and given the resources the allies had at their disposal I have little doubt they would have rushed it into service thus negating many of the benefits the Me-262 would have given the Luftwaffe.
Personally I think that from 1942 on the only thing that could have saved the Germans from defeat was an atomic bomb and I am convinced that the only thing that kept German in the war after 1942 was the quality of the German soldier and very little else.
They didn't.Good post. The aircraft that caught my eye was the USAAF's "Dominator". Hadn't realized that any made it to Europe.
Repeat: I believe this was in Ohio.I realize that none flew on combat operations in Europe during the war, but I found it interesting that the USAAF expended the effort to get what was basically a backup aircraft to Europe for a celebratory airshow.
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