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We've had repeated discussions about an improved German air defense system late in the war, but in reading a bit about it recently in this book:
http://www.abebooks.com/9780700614202/Flak-German-Anti-Aircraft-Defenses-1914-1945-0700614206/plp
there was a pretty minor buff that apparently would have had major consequences for the air war, which was the introduction of a Doppelzünder (double fuse) shell, which essentially was the normal FLAK shell with an added contact fuse and dramatically lowered the number of shells needed to shoot down a bomber:
In the final weeks of the war, the ammunition shortage within the flak arm became acute. The critical situation led the Luftwaffe to test a projectile with a contact and timed fuse (Doppelzünder), the same round that a member of Speer's ministry refused to support in 1944, based on safety considerations involved with the transportation of these munitions. During combat trials in Munich on April 9, heavy flak batteries using these rounds brought down thirteen aircraft at the cost of a mere 370 rounds per shootdown, an extraordinarily favorable ratio compared with the existing average of approximately 4,500 rounds.158

It seems like a remarkably easy addition even though it would make the shells somewhat more complex and expensive to make, but due to reduced ammo expenditure it would more than offset the decreased supply of shells.

If it were thought of and introduced after combat testing by mid-1942 what impact would that have had on the strategic air war? I'm assuming the attack was during the day by a bomber box, so the night missions might be less affected.

How would the Allies react and counter it? I've heard suggestions that they might turn more to Mosquito and medium bombers and avoid deeper raids, while turning to night attacks if they were less dangerous. Of course a significant issue in 1942-43 is the FLAK arm was limited in size compared to 1944-45, so while probably at peak efficiency in 1942-43 before Window and jamming was introduced, there weren't enough batteries to defend all cities and there was declining trained manpower, as men were combed out for the front leaving young boys, old men, and girls/women to work the guns; their training was not particularly thorough come 1943 when the comb outs really got going due to the raiding of training schools for equipment for the front.

Might the Allies grit out the losses and keep going because they could eventually rely on jamming, declining FLAK crew quality, gaps in defenses, and FLAK suppression missions?
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