WunderWaffen, how plausible were they?

The supertanks were silly but could be built. But what about the crazy stuff like the suborbital bomber? Suppose Germany had the USA's resources and willing to pour it in like with the Manhattan Project. Could a working suborbital bomber be made?

There still isn't a working suborbital bomber, so I would say that no one could have developed one during the 1940's. Consider how long it took to get people into low earth orbit, and that was with small capsules.

Did the destruction of the Third Reich remove a scientific establishment that was decades ahead of the rest of the world? Or look at the USA; are the ethnic German people here any less capable than the ethnic Germans in Germany?

Thinking about jets, I'm coming to the opinion that no one's jet aircraft in WW-II were that capable. Jet technology was in its infancy. If the war had lasted into 1946-47, it would be different, especially for the side that was doing better.

Hmm, anyone know how long the P-80A's were in service? I'm thinking it was the -C model that fought in Korea.

dilvish
 

burmafrd

Banned
If Doenitz had recognized the huge advantage the Schnorkel gave the UBoat and had been able to convince Hitler to give it priority late in 1940, that could have made a big difference. I cannot think of anything else that came early enough in the war to do otherwise.
 
If Doenitz had recognized the huge advantage the Schnorkel gave the UBoat and had been able to convince Hitler to give it priority late in 1940, that could have made a big difference. I cannot think of anything else that came early enough in the war to do otherwise.

While snort would have been useful during early war, it was only in about 1943 when radar equipped planes flying at night became a real menace (above all, in Bay of Biscay). Of course an earlier introduction would have meant that early bugs would have been sorted out in time. What puzzles me more is that by 1941 it was becoming clear that Allied convoy defenses were becoming much tougher and the happy times were over, why didn't Dönitz grab the problem then? Just more submerged speed and better fire control apparatus to allow for submerged attacks against convoys would have done wonders.

Personally I think Dönitz had too much luck until 1942. First there was the fall of France and new u-boat bases against weakened convoy escort. Then when attacks against convoys became troubled there was the US entry into the war and the abysmal early performance of the USN ASW effort.
 
Of the Supertanks, only the Maus could really be produced. And, provided that they had managed to work out the serious issues of not having an engine powerful enough to go over 13 KPH in ideal conditions as well as not being able to cross most bridges (though it did have a snorkal allowing... limited fording provided it worked) it could have gone into production. It does have the distinction of actually getting to the "working prototype" level.

Thats not to say it would have been EFFECTIVE, aside from its weight and being damm slow it would be just as vulnerable to air attack as any other tank... among other things.
 
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