What if the Luftwaffe used Zeppelins in World War II
- Thread starter Hongfan91
- Start date
theirishdreamer
Banned
hmmm
Well that was a bad investment the Luftwaffe made.
Day 1: Zepelin fleet launches
Day 1 +1 hour: Lots of burning Zeppelins
Day 1 +2 hour: Germans shoot whoever decided this strategy. Unless its der Fuhrer whereupon they shoot someone useful instead.
Well that was a bad investment the Luftwaffe made.
Day 1: Zepelin fleet launches
Day 1 +1 hour: Lots of burning Zeppelins
Day 1 +2 hour: Germans shoot whoever decided this strategy. Unless its der Fuhrer whereupon they shoot someone useful instead.
It'll be funny watching the Zeppelins try to outrun fighter planes, though.
EDIT: wait, how about modified Zeppelins that can go really high altitudes? Like, really high? Like 100km high?
100km or about 62 miles is typically regarded as the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space. The first man-made objects to cross that line were V-2 rockets. If you put a Zeppelin up that high (God only knows how you would) they would be lucky to bomb, like, the United Kingdom, much less London or parts of it.
Someone hoping time travelling Nazis get inspired to build zeppelin fleets.
It'll be funny watching the Zeppelins try to outrun fighter planes, though.
EDIT: wait, how about modified Zeppelins that can go really high altitudes? Like, really high? Like 100km high?
Probably not control its direction very well - at the mercy of the winds etc
And yes Zepps would suck vs then modern tracer and cannon fire / AAA
Even if the lifting gas were helium (and thus not susceptible to tracer rounds igniting it), machine guns would rip holes in the fabric.
If the Brits wanted to be really effective, 20mm cannon with chain shot would do a real number on the airships.
If the Brits wanted to be really effective, 20mm cannon with chain shot would do a real number on the airships.
Well the good news is that Bomber Command now has a use for its less than successful twin engine bombers designs (replace the bombardier station with a solid nose and a couple heavy machine gun or 20mm cannon firing all tracers). Boom.
The heretofore reviled Defiant (A fighter with NO forward firing guns? Seriously?) will now be Death on a Pale Horse.
German Zeppelin designs had a max altitude of ~20,000 feet. While it is possible to get more altitude, the design complexities related to the gas cells (particularly expansion/contraction) make it something of a losing proposition. There is also the reality that any Reich airship would be required to use hydrogen (helium was more or less an American monopoly and its export was forbidden from 1938 forward to all belligerent countries).
By 1935 airships were nothing but manned target sleeves.
The heretofore reviled Defiant (A fighter with NO forward firing guns? Seriously?) will now be Death on a Pale Horse.
German Zeppelin designs had a max altitude of ~20,000 feet. While it is possible to get more altitude, the design complexities related to the gas cells (particularly expansion/contraction) make it something of a losing proposition. There is also the reality that any Reich airship would be required to use hydrogen (helium was more or less an American monopoly and its export was forbidden from 1938 forward to all belligerent countries).
By 1935 airships were nothing but manned target sleeves.
mmmhhh...cargo Zeppelins bringing in Panzers.......
With a fueling stop in the Frisian islands no doubt.
In the Great War, the RNAS operated a model of Avro 504 known as the C which convinced the Germans that Zeps were not the future. During WWII, many pilots received their first training flights in the Avro 504, and conversion to "C" standard wasn't that tough. Even today, the Shuttleworth collection maintains a flyable, but unarmed 504 ready for conversion to Zeppelin Killer, should the occasion arise. Like Baden-Powell always said. "Be Prepared."
Zeppelins?? I think not
Zeppelins are a complete and utter waste of materials, fuel, and manpower. The zeppelin would easily be shot down by the Spitfires and the Hurricanes the RAF had.
Zeppelins are a complete and utter waste of materials, fuel, and manpower. The zeppelin would easily be shot down by the Spitfires and the Hurricanes the RAF had.