Submarine launched V1 Hit NY and maybe DC

Had the Nazis wanted to could they have found a means of firing V1s from a surfaced submarine and hitting the US.

I am tending to assume that the consequences would have been that the war might have been fractionally shorter because some stuff actually relevant for the evil regimes war effort would not have been produced.

The US would be a bit more pissed.

A number of innocent Americans would be killed.

The real issue is how much difference would it have made the US attitudes?
 

hammo1j

Donor
Like the Amerika Bomber concept its going to be a pretty suicidical mission for the Kriegsmarine U Boat.

We are not talking about a Polaris style launch here but I assume you would have to surface 300 milles or so off the US coast and then set up and aim a V1 which I assume would be externally stowed. You would need a calm sea for this - ideal conditions for the submarine hunters.

I think the idea would be the same - hit the enemy on a raw nerve and hope they panic and change a winning strategy in some way.
 
Had the Nazis wanted to could they have found a means of firing V1s from a surfaced submarine and hitting the US.

I'm glad you stipulated hitting the U.S. and nothing more precise than that. :)

The errors inherent in shooting a V-1 from a U-boat are such that even hitting New York is beyond the attainable level of accuracy. That's restricted by navigational errors in the U-boat causing mislocation of the firing point (and thus the course and range to the impact point), the errors caused by the rolling of the U-boat in the North Atlantic swell as the missiles are fired which could easily cause a 30 degree course error. Then we have the inherent inaccuracy of the missile itself. Put all that together (plus the fact that the range of the V-1 is 150 miles, not 300 which puts the submarine lethally close to the US) and its easy to see a situation where nobody would be aware the missile had been fired until somebody finds the crater and wreckage years later. The submarine's chance of survival isn't high either

Overall effect even assuming the missile actually hot something remotely valuable? Nil.
 
I'm glad you stipulated hitting the U.S. and nothing more precise than that. :)

The errors inherent in shooting a V-1 from a U-boat are such that even hitting New York is beyond the attainable level of accuracy. That's restricted by navigational errors in the U-boat causing mislocation of the firing point (and thus the course and range to the impact point), the errors caused by the rolling of the U-boat in the North Atlantic swell as the missiles are fired which could easily cause a 30 degree course error. Then we have the inherent inaccuracy of the missile itself. Put all that together (plus the fact that the range of the V-1 is 150 miles, not 300 which puts the submarine lethally close to the US) and its easy to see a situation where nobody would be aware the missile had been fired until somebody finds the crater and wreckage years later. The submarine's chance of survival isn't high either

Overall effect even assuming the missile actually hot something remotely valuable? Nil.

Agree mostly, although if the V-1's serve more purposes than IRL there's a chance the Germans will invest more resources in getting the missile itself more accurate.
Although unless you start building huge submarines, the naval part is going to stay inaccurate. If the Germans decide to do that, it's mostly good news for the Allies and the Soviets; less tanks and other usefull things for the Germans.

Does anybody know how long it took to fire a V-1? It wouldn't suprise me if it took 3 hours or so, making it basically a suicide mission for the submarine.
 
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