WI no V2?

It is generally agreed that the V2 rocket program was a considerable waste of resources for Germany. This question has two parts, first, if it had not been launched, where would the money have gone, and what effect would it have had? Second, what would have been the best use of it in your opinion?
 
It is generally agreed that the V2 rocket program was a considerable waste of resources for Germany. This question has two parts, first, if it had not been launched, where would the money have gone, and what effect would it have had? Second, what would have been the best use of it in your opinion?
Germany has slightly better supply on the western front, soviets occupy up to rhineland, allies push to rhineland.
When war ends, Soviets occupy all of Berlin, and all of germany excluding rhineland. France aquires rhineland.

No Space Race, Soviets = Americans in terms of cold war, no ICBMs

Private corporations are first into space sometime in 80s or 90s
 
Not sure about the short-term, but in the long-run:

Von Braun's team probably keep designing rockets on a theoretical basis, and maybe get hired by the French or West Germany down the line for the early European program, if they don't immigrate to the US.

The Soviets probably build the R-7 series of ICBM more-or-less on-schedule, though the Scud might get butterflied (it was the most similar to the V-2 of the USSR's OTL arsenal). They still need a nuclear deterrent to counter the US's bomber force.

The US also develops missiles, though a couple of the OTL boosters won't exist, so other contracts will go out.

If I had to make a guess about the short-term, though, Hitler probably takes the money/fuel/aluminum that went into the OTL program and pisses it away on some other delusional fantasy about striking back at the British. Maybe V-3 cannons, or more Amerika Bomber prototypes.
 
If I had to make a guess about the short-term, though, Hitler probably takes the money/fuel/aluminum that went into the OTL program and pisses it away on some other delusional fantasy about striking back at the British. Maybe V-3 cannons, or more Amerika Bomber prototypes.

Even if he doesn't, the money/fuel/aluminum probably gets pissed away as a consequence of how generally diffused and unfocused German arms procurement was. Hitler's fantasies at least gave the German armaments industry some direction, even if a wasteful and confused one, which is more then could be said about the rest of OKH and OKW.
 
Germany has slightly better supply on the western front, soviets occupy up to rhineland, allies push to rhineland.
When war ends, Soviets occupy all of Berlin, and all of germany excluding rhineland.
Um, if the money goes into any defensive project it will be to the detriment of both the Allies and the Soviets, so no.
 
IIRC Von Braun had at least concept for rocket interceptor? so probably a more developed version of Komet?

and some type of rocket artillery along lines of Wasserfall?
 
Thanks to all who replied. It seems that most concentrated on the first part of the question, where the resources would have gone. Moving on to the second, what, in your opinion, would have been the best way to use them? What effect would such use have had?
 
War might last 2 or 4 more weeks. A ton of money, fuel, and lives were wasted on it. Simply fueling all the grounded aircraft and building more spare parts would have been a a better use, but Hitler would have blown his wad on something...probably the electric u-boat.
 
Moving on to the second, what, in your opinion, would have been the best way to use them? What effect would such use have had?

Given the nature of the resources involved (namely the aluminum)? Aircraft. What effect it would have had? Zilch. The Luftwaffe was broken not for a want of aircraft, they always had plenty of those, but for a lack of skilled pilots and fuel.

The fuel doesn't matter at all. There really isn't anything else in WW2 that liquid rocket fuel can be used for.
 
Given the nature of the resources involved (namely the aluminum)? Aircraft. What effect it would have had? Zilch. The Luftwaffe was broken not for a want of aircraft, they always had plenty of those, but for a lack of skilled pilots and fuel.

The fuel doesn't matter at all. There really isn't anything else in WW2 that liquid rocket fuel can be used for.

Is there anything else you prefer to spend the money on then?
 
There really isn't anything else in WW2 that liquid rocket fuel can be used for.

The V-2 burned a 75% Ethanol/25% water mixture as its fuel. Ethanol could conceivably have been used in internal combustion engines, though I'm not sure it ever was in WWII, or as a feedstock for making something else. If nothing else, the potatoes needed to refine it can be eaten.
 

TFSmith121

Banned
There's also manpower; both in terms of the manufacturing

Given the nature of the resources involved (namely the aluminum)? Aircraft. What effect it would have had? Zilch. The Luftwaffe was broken not for a want of aircraft, they always had plenty of those, but for a lack of skilled pilots and fuel.

The fuel doesn't matter at all. There really isn't anything else in WW2 that liquid rocket fuel can be used for.

There's also manpower; both in terms of the manufacturing labor force (including the slave labor at places like Dora) and the troops that formed the operational V2 batteries, etc.

Presumably the manufacturing labor can produce something more useful for the German war effort than the missiles, and the Germans always needed infantry replacements.

Best,
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
They probably would have been better off simply using those resources to build more Panzer IVs. Not that it would have helped them much in the end.
 
Ethanol could have been used for other rockets...even the potatoes could have been fed to animals. The energy required to distill the potatoes and build the rockets could have been to build more tanks, more guns, refine more fuel. The raw brainpower, precious metals, and money could have went towards better jet engine research--putting Germany perhaps a year ahead of where they were, which means jets come into play before the Luftwaffe is totally screwed.
 
Interesting replies, all. About the Wasserfall missiles, could they have been made to work if they had been given the V2's resources? What effect would they have had on the air war?
 

Deleted member 1487

Interesting replies, all. About the Wasserfall missiles, could they have been made to work if they had been given the V2's resources? What effect would they have had on the air war?
Speer and others thought so, but who really knows? If they worked they would likely have shut down daylight bombing around where they were stationed and probably hampered mass night bombing
 
Best case wasserfall is ready by May 1944 and deployed around synthetic fuel production sites so fuel production remains at serviceable levels. I imagine that Berlin, Essen and Hamburg would get protection as more batteries and control systems become available.

Would be a morale boost for these cities for sure.

I imagine the extra fuel would be handy in the autumn in the eastern front especially where fuel shortages were really hurting air cover, perhaps the Germans hold on to more of Hungary, i.e Budapest doesn't fall.

Allied tactics would change with fighter sweeps and lesser targets becoming more popular.

Maybe the Germans can hold out another 8 weeks.

Post war changes:
Soviets can't get into the war before the Japanese surrender. Might have some interesting butterflies in Chinese civil war or Korea.

An operational deployment of a surface to air missile system is going to give clout to such systems post war, even out to 80s era Reagan star wars.
 
Wasserfall is good if it works, but you can't stick them over every single vulnerable point, because there are too many.
 
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