What If / History Question : Axis technological cooperation during World War II ?

[eretzyegern]

What would happen if the Axis countries extensively cooperated on technology, shared it between themselves (such as aviation,naval and weapons technology and their schematics/plans/blueprints)?

Were there any serious proposals before and during the war?

 

[Garrison]

What would happen if the Axis countries extensively cooperated on technology, shared it between themselves (such as aviation,naval and weapons technology and their schematics/plans/blueprints)?

Were there any serious proposals before and during the war?

There were efforts to share technology between the Germans and the Japanese, but the latter lacked the time and resources to really make use of it, though they tried.

 

[Post]

There were efforts to share technology between the Germans and the Japanese, but the latter lacked the time and resources to really make use of it, though they tried.

The distance and the USSR and ocean between them probably didn't help either.

 

[Gillan1220]

Considering the Axis were on different parts of the globe and the Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Suez Canal, and the Med being controlled by the Royal Navy, it was difficult for the Axis to share technology. The Japanese did try to order Tiger tanks from Germany, but D-Day caused the sole Japanese Tiger to be bought back by Germany, where it was destroyed between 1944-45. If you consider it, Japan's Type 100 submachine gun is based on the WWI-era German MP-18, so somehow there was technology sharing even before WWII.

 

[nbcman]

What would happen if the Axis countries extensively cooperated on technology, shared it between themselves (such as aviation,naval and weapons technology and their schematics/plans/blueprints)?

Were there any serious proposals before and during the war?

The Germans and the Japanese did cooperate:

German–Japanese industrial co-operation before and during World War II - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Not as closely as the western Allies of course but there was collaboration in the 1930s and 1940s.

 

[tonycat77]

Considering the Axis were on different parts of the globe and the Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Suez Canal, and the Med being controlled by the Royal Navy, it was difficult for the Axis to share technology. The Japanese did try to order Tiger tanks from Germany, but D-Day caused the sole Japanese Tiger to be bought back by Germany, where it was destroyed between 1944-45. If you consider it, Japan's Type 100 submachine gun is based on the WWI-era German MP-18, so somehow there was technology sharing even before WWII.

Japan could had ordered some czech tanks or even a panzer 3 before barbarossa, that would've helped a lot.
Also get a panzerfaust production set up by 1943.
Guns too, the mg 151 was way superior to the old 20mm's they had, a zero with belt fed cannons would've changed a lot.
Also a better license for the DB601, get the full engine, with the proper fuel injection.
Italy too, they had a awful MG, bad tanks, and their airplanes were basically handmade until 1942.

 

[Gillan1220]

Japan could had ordered some czech tanks or even a panzer 3 before barbarossa, that would've helped a lot.
Also get a panzerfaust production set up by 1943.
Guns too, the mg 151 was way superior to the old 20mm's they had, a zero with belt fed cannons would've changed a lot.
Also a better license for the DB601, get the full engine, with the proper fuel injection.
Italy too, they had a awful MG, bad tanks, and their airplanes were basically handmade until 1942.

Japan did copy Czech ZB machine guns in which they incorporated it to the Type 97 and Type 99 LMG. The IJA could have used some Panzerfausts which would have killed some M4 Shermans in the Pacific. I read that the Japanese had problems countering American tanks save for a few A-T howitzers and suicidal tacticsl.

A lot of changes for Japanese aircraft with German engineering could have put in par with the Americans and the British.

I wonder why too the Italians did not have a cooperation with the Germans in terms of their military hardware.

 

[Bougnas]

I wonder why too the Italians did not have a cooperation with the Germans in terms of their military hardware.

Pride and greed.

No, really.

 

[tonycat77]

Japan did copy Czech ZB machine guns in which they incorporated it to the Type 97 and Type 99 LMG. The IJA could have used some Panzerfausts which would have killed some M4 Shermans in the Pacific. I read that the Japanese had problems countering American tanks save for a few A-T howitzers and suicidal tacticsl.

A lot of changes for Japanese aircraft with German engineering could have put in par with the Americans and the British.

I wonder why too the Italians did not have a cooperation with the Germans in terms of their military hardware.

Also A-A guns, if they had bought the 10.5cm or 128mm flak, the B-29 raids would be much more dangerous.

 

[Gillan1220]

Also A-A guns, if they had bought the 10.5cm or 128mm flak, the B-29 raids would be much more dangerous.

More B-29s would have been shot down.
This Quora thread puts the numbers around 300 but doesn't say what is the loss if it was crash or a complete shoot down.

How many B 29s were shot down?

Answer (1 of 2): I recommend a few good books on the B-29 Superfortress. 1) B-29 Hunters of the JAAF (Koji Takaki & Henry Sakaida), 2001. 2) B-29 Superfortress vs Ki-44 "Tojo" (Donald Nijboer), 2017 3) B-29 The Superfortress (Carl Berger), 1970 4) B-29 Combat Missions (Donald Nijboer & Steve Pace...

www.quora.com

Did the Japanese ever shoot down any American B-29’s?

Answer (1 of 6): Yes! The Japanese developed a few radar guided antiaircraft guns that were partially effective. Many of the B-29s brought down were by ramming by Japanese aircraft. When the US switched from daylight to night fire bombing, the losses dropped a lot. In addition, the P-51 sweeps sh...

www.quora.com

 

[Garrison]

Japan could had ordered some czech tanks or even a panzer 3 before barbarossa, that would've helped a lot.
Also get a panzerfaust production set up by 1943.
Guns too, the mg 151 was way superior to the old 20mm's they had, a zero with belt fed cannons would've changed a lot.
Also a better license for the DB601, get the full engine, with the proper fuel injection.
Italy too, they had a awful MG, bad tanks, and their airplanes were basically handmade until 1942.

If by ordered you mean shipped from Germany to Japan in numbers then how will they get past the Royal Navy? Germany does not have a large merchant marine and in the build up to Barbarossa the Heer needed every tank it could get. And given the limitations of Japanese raw materials and industry trying to mass produce bigger more powerful tanks is going to be a stretch.

 

[tonycat77]

If by ordered you mean shipped from Germany to Japan in numbers then how will they get past the Royal Navy? Germany does not have a large merchant marine and in the build up to Barbarossa the Heer needed every tank it could get. And given the limitations of Japanese raw materials and industry trying to mass produce bigger more powerful tanks is going to be a stretch.

They could use rail or air travel via the USSR.

 

[Gillan1220]

They could use rail or air travel via the USSR.

That would need Germany to secure the Leningrad-Moscow-Stalingrad area and the Trans-Siberian railway, neither of which Germany had the capability to do so. Impossible in the long run.

 

[Orcbuster]

I mean they did, but practical realities combined with the fact that they faced very distinct and different challenges meant that it didn't amount to much.

 

[Post]

That would need Germany to secure the Leningrad-Moscow-Stalingrad area and the Trans-Siberian railway, neither of which Germany had the capability to do so. Impossible in the long run.

@tonycat mentioned "before Barbarossa," which means it's possible the Soviets let it through.

 

[Gillan1220]

@tonycat mentioned "before Barbarossa," which means it's possible the Soviets let it through.

Oh my bad, I missed it. So we need a POD of an unholy alliance between Germany, Japan, and the USSR for this to happen?

 

[Garrison]

They could use rail or air travel via the USSR.

So you are proposing that either Germany has already won the war or the USSR is prepared to allow the arming of a country they were at war with within the last two years. And transporting tanks by air when the biggest cargo plane they have is a Ju 52?

 

[Riain]

I'd think the best thing the Germans could share with the Japanese is radar technology.

German radars were the best in the world until about 1941 and after that were still very good, with wavelengths down in the 10s of centimeters. They wouldn't have needed much in the war of transport, they could be knocked down and transported covertly.

One thing that might have really helped inter-Axis cooperation was if Ethiopia had been held for longer, that could have helped to provide a covert outlet to the Indian Ocean.

 

[Post]

So you are proposing that either Germany has already won the war or the USSR is prepared to allow the arming of a country they were at war with within the last two years. And transporting tanks by air when the biggest cargo plane they have is a Ju 52?

No, he was proposing before Barbarossa, i.e. before Germany was at war with the USSR.

 

[Post]

Oh my bad, I missed it. So we need a POD of an unholy alliance between Germany, Japan, and the USSR for this to happen?

Before Barbarossa the Germans and the USSR had an unholy alliance (non-agression pact and both attacked Poland). Issue might be the USSR and Japan had their 'borderincident' at Khalkin Ghol.