WI the allies had V1's and V2's

mats

Banned
what if some british spies found plans for these weapons and send them back for reverse engenering?
 
IOTL, the Americans reverse-engineered the V-1 and fired off a few captured V-2s. Republic Aviation built 1,391 V-1-duplicates (from an original contract to build 800, they built the remaining 591 after the war) known as JB-2, which the Navy planned to use in support of the invasion of Japan. I suppose that they would be used as tactical weapons, fired from ships, in support of D-Day and landings in the Pacific.
 

The Dude

Banned
IOTL, the Americans reverse-engineered the V-1 and fired off a few captured V-2s. Republic Aviation built 1,391 V-1-duplicates (from an original contract to build 800, they built the remaining 591 after the war) known as JB-2, which the Navy planned to use in support of the invasion of Japan. I suppose that they would be used as tactical weapons, fired from ships, in support of D-Day and landings in the Pacific.
I think Mats wanted the Allies to have rockets early on, in which case a more plausible POD, imho, would be the American (or British) government listening to Goddard.
 
They would be counter productive when you can already mount a much more effective campaign with normal bombers. They would be useful if the allies lost air control over Germany however...
 
I think Mats wanted the Allies to have rockets early on, in which case a more plausible POD, imho, would be the American (or British) government listening to Goddard.

My source was meant to explain on what I based my conjecture of how the rockets would be used.

Again, judging by OTL doctrine about the V-1, tactical weapon in support of invasions.
 

mats

Banned
i'm talking here that the british had them as secret weapon before the war started (if there were plans for V1's and V2's already before the war)
 
The V2 was been work on since the late 30s, but it wasnt till the 43 till they were are to test one. V1 start in 41or42 if memory serve well. But as far as I know UK or US didnt have wartime rocket programs. The Uk did get some details in 1939 from the Oslo Report but I dont thank they did anything with the info about rockets till after the war.
 

Bearcat

Banned
Personally I think its wasted resources. Neither was all that decisive, and any new tech is expensive. As I recall, we largely turned Germany and Japan into moonscapes anyway. I doubt we make the rubble any quicker or any smaller using rockets. And the industrial effort has to detract from something else, maybe something more important. Though it sometimes seems like it reading about the war, the US did not have unlimited resources.
 
The V2 doesn't have the range to hit targets in Germany. This means that if the British did by some POD have it in 1939, it would mostly be used tactically.

Come to think of it, I don't see them using the rockets in France. I bet they'd wait until the Battle of Dunkirk, then use them against the German forces outside the city. You'll probably see them used in decent numbers against German airfields in Flanders and around Calais during the Battle of Britain. I wouldn't expect them to do much material damage, but they'll keep the Germans on their toes.

After the Battle of Britain I agree with the rest of the assessments. They'll be used in support of coastal invasions and the like.
 
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Markus

Banned
The V2 was a nice toy but too complicated for the kind of massed attacks needed to set a town on fire. Maybe you could do it with a V1? That one was certainly simpler and it would have saved a hell a lot of RAF servicemen.

Still, the most effective rocket to have in 1939/40 would be something like this: http://www.designation-systems.net/dusrm/app4/5in-rockets.html

Fits under any fighter and much easier to aim than a bomb. IMO just perfect for attacks on smaller ships, especially fast ones.
 
It would be hard to use them properly. Lack of accuracy would prevent them from being used against industry or airfields. Using them against forces on the ground would make these problems even bigger (in addition to being time sensitive targets), plus low accuracy would limit their use in France for fear of hitting friendly French. Blindly firing them against cities wouldn't go down well (with bombings you could claim that you at least aimed for military targets and bombs just missed them and hit civilians instead).

Soviets might use them tactically in preparation for offensive, against large concentrations or where going was expected to be tough. But then again, building them would be a massive drain on Soviet production and they would pass.
 

Markus

Banned
Forget what I said, the V1 had a range of just 150 miles. A british V1 has to have a range of at least 250 miles.

V1.jpg
 
Forget what I said, the V1 had a range of just 150 miles. A british V1 has to have a range of at least 250 miles.

A British "Super V-1" would perhaps not be a war winner but would have quite important effects. Countless of BC crewmen could be saved while Germans would have to dedicate (thanks to lack of prox fuze) even more resources for AA than in OTL.
 

NothingNow

Banned
A British "Super V-1" would perhaps not be a war winner but would have quite important effects. Countless of BC crewmen could be saved while Germans would have to dedicate (thanks to lack of prox fuze) even more resources for AA than in OTL.
Especially if you load them up with sub-munitions or Incendiary devices. Nuisance fires and random mayhem might turn out to be fairly useful for the war effort, even if it means blowing up dogs and putting fresh potholes in the streets of Berlin, Bremen or Hamburg on a daily basis.

Couldn't they be either Air launched over the Channel/North Sea or fitted with better wings to improve the range. ~5,000lbs is light enough that any decent twin engined bomber of the day could have launched one.

Anyway, Stretch one maybe ~15% and you'd probably get plenty of space for more fuel tanks, and thus get the range you're looking for. You'd want to upscale the wings and surfaces to match as well.

EDIT: The ALCM version of the "Super V-1" would provide more operational flexibility than a regular variety.
 
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the British Interplanetary Society is hindered to build and test rockets by several Laws,
like anti-fraud and fireworks regulation !

but wat if the BIS collaboration with British military and get permission for rocket test ?
similar like German "Verein für Raumschiffahrt" collaboration with Wehrmacht

in that case the BIS would build modular Solid rocket like in there 1939 proposal for Lunar rocket
http://www.astronautix.com/craft/bisander.htm
but as singel stage build from several modules,
advantages the warhead can increase by puting more module on stage.
wat V2 can't not do, its Warhead limited to one ton (2205 lb)
and it can build much faster and more units as complex V2

i like this Idea
Hitler got the frist "Vergeltungswaffe 2" fire on London
only to get first wave of RAF "Avenger MkII" missile in return...
 
It wouldn't be too big a step from an early one of these to an airdropped version, if only as a glide bomb to be launched outside the densest concentrations of flak.
 
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