German U-boats launch V-2's on New York in 1945

Pretty much the same result as a 1980s Russian Ballistic Sub launching a nuke. Within minutes the sub is down. Remember it has to evade anti-U-boat patrols along the Eastern Seaboard, hardly having any time to surface. Its crews would be very badly pressed in a journey that dangerous and that long.
The V2 : Is it disassembled first or towed? If it is towed then the Sub will have to be bigger. Maybe if it is disassembled, the Germans will need 2-3 subs and rocket scientists. So it's towed then.

I just watched something about cruise missile testing in the (?) 1960s and they took a quite long time to assemble cruise missiles.

I am probably wrong about the date though. It seems the Indonesian dubbing in the tv was a bit muddled up, they didn't put the date.
 
SSB U-boats

The idea sounds implausibe as U-boats were too small. The idea of U-boat launched V1s has been developed in hidden history scenarios where the attack obviously fails. A V1 is essentially a cruise missile without a brain launched by someone with a brain arguably a cruise missile is the converse

Lets examine the consequences of either. Germany was loosing the war and the high command must have been aware of it. Britain had suffered countless V1 and V2 hits on London and they merely stiffened our resolve to fight. Many V2 missed the target anyway. Some high ranking figures were already trying to obtain some kind of safe exit e.g Himmler negotiating with the Swedes for the exit of some jews or even seeking terms as Doenitz tried to in 1945. The Americans would have fought on and Germany would have paid with heavier reperations
 
I remember reading about this too. Technically this could work, but:

1) Building the special containers was impossible by this point in the war.
2) The U-Boats towing these would have to avoid dectection, which by this time was again unlikely.
3) The U-Boat and container had to remain surfaced to prep and fire the missile. Again, given constant aerial patrols they'd certainly be spotted long before they were ready to launch.
4) As mentioned, accuracy would be a major problem.
5) This is untried technology and as mentioned the Soviets needed time to work out the bugs. These would certainly have had so many teething problems getting the system to work was unlikely (assuming the container didn't sink on the way).
6) And even if they had worked, a few V-2's would only be worth some propaganda value. And as already mentioned, Allied reprisals would be harsh.

The Germans did mount a Nebelwerfer rack and fire it. The US built the V-1 as the "Loon" postwar and it was fitted to a few subs.
 

Markus

Banned
Impossible? Not really, no. Germany was actually planning on putting V-2's on
their U-boats.

Impossible indeed! After 42 the waters along the US coast were well guareded and in 43 the Battle of the Atlantic was lost. Furthermore the technical difficulties of building a missle armed sub in the late war when all sorts of materials are in short supply are monumental. And even if you do it ULTRA ensures the allies know some subs are moving towards the US. In OTL that triggered a massive and successfull ASW effort.

But for the sake of the argument say it was done. The results would be utterly, totally and completely horrible, so bad I´m barely able to write about the unspeakable horros that we´d still suffer from to this very day:


Even in OTL WW2 lead to a lot of crap being made by a certain industry, but can you imagine all the shitty movies that operation would have inspired? :eek:
 
My first thought was that the u-boat would blow up and sink, having seen footage of V2 launches on land. I suppose it must be possible to build some sort of blast chamber or something so that the back-blow doesn't sink the sub, but I'd certainly not put any bets on that a V2 launched in such a fashion would actually head off in anywhere near the direction you would want it to...

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 

~The Doctor~

What if the Nazis nuked London in 1939, launched ICBM's at Washington in 1944, and kicked the Draka back to the Stone Age in 1949? Would the Race abandon Earth in 1960, or would the United Nations Space Corps be too weak to fight against the alien invaders? Would Joe Featherston III rise to power in the CSA in 1981, or would President-For-Life Ronald Reagan continue to prosecute his war against the Scientologists?

:rolleyes:
 

bard32

Banned
Do you know where Tom Clancy got the idea for The Hunt for Red October?
It's mentioned in the book. Back in 1975, a Red Navy political commisar, led a
mutiny on a Soviet guided missile cruiser, and attempted to defect to Finland.
There's a nonfiction book about it. I can't think of the name right now. However, the Germans, by 1945, IOTL, did have a lot of half-baked ideas that
didn't work out. Even if they could.
 
Pretty much the same result as a 1980s Russian Ballistic Sub launching a nuke. Within minutes the sub is down. Remember it has to evade anti-U-boat patrols along the Eastern Seaboard, hardly having any time to surface. Its crews would be very badly pressed in a journey that dangerous and that long.
In the 1980s the Soviet Union posessed Deltas IIIs/IVs and Typhoon SSBNs. Those did not have to surface to fire their nukes, like earlies Soviet designs and had long ranged missiles allowing them to stay pretty far off the Eastern Seaboard.
 
Back in 1975, a Red Navy political commisar, led a
mutiny on a Soviet guided missile cruiser, and attempted to defect to Finland.


What does this have to do with the Germans' ability to launch a V2 rocket from a U-boat in 1945?
 
The amount of half baked German ideas is incredible, I imagine they could fill many hundred books with it.

I imagine the kriegsmarine was not in a good state at this time.
 
In the 1980s the Soviet Union posessed Deltas IIIs/IVs and Typhoon SSBNs. Those did not have to surface to fire their nukes, like earlies Soviet designs and had long ranged missiles allowing them to stay pretty far off the Eastern Seaboard.

Heck the Typhoon's could fire their missiles from port if they wanted and still hit the U.S. (SS-20s with a range of 8,300 KMs :eek:)

Even if the the Germans managed to get over all the tech hurrtles of launching missiles at sea. I doubt it would have any impact other than some panic at home and some politcal shangians. Germany was beaten by 45 and Americans know it.
 

Markus

Banned
The amount of half baked German ideas is incredible, I imagine they could fill many hundred books with it.


That´s just because you are looking at it from the wrong perspective. WI you don´t work on some Überweapon? Of to Russia you go!
But if your company is making an important contribution ot the war effort you and your workers stay where they are and you get money and rescources.
 
The amount of half baked German ideas is incredible, I imagine they could fill many hundred books with it.

Ohhh, people have, believe me they have....... :(

Markus has the truth of it I think. The choice was

a) Embarrass everybody by suggesting a particularly lunatic idea was a war-winning weapon or

b) Serve as a private on the Russian Front.

I think the Wikipedia article suggesting that the V-2 launch canister idea was trialled is wrong. The Russians tried for years to get the idea working (Norman Friedmen mentions it in his book on the Cold War) and failed. Apparently, the problem is that when the missile fires, its exhaust destroys the launch canister. The catch is that it does so assymetrically and in doing so, the wreckage of the canister flips the missile out of control.
 
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