German rocket development at the end of WW II

[edwest4]

I find your statement about the A-4 development team difficult to believe. An American report published during the war stated "larger rockets are known to exist." A post-war British report stated that long-range rockets had been built. Based on my own studies, they were doing a number of things right up to the end. The supersonic DFS 346 was another project that was approaching the finish line. The Horten Ho XVIII was under construction at Kahla in April, 1945. (Source: Nurfluegel by Reimar Horten and Peter Selinger.)




Ed

 

[sagallacci]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

Well, some of that was the make-work I mentioned. Most of the big rocket work was actually done fairly early on and was also shelved early on, apperently by '42 all of that was reduced to little more than idle noodling. Likely the source of Allied reports and speculations. The late war stuff was simpler incrimental improvements on the base A4 and minor efforts on the extended range winged A4.
The Horton 18 project was a bit crazy, and sounds like it was playing on some of the Nazi top end that actually believed their own propaganda. I don't doubt that work may have been done on it, but there was never any realistic chance of anything coming out of it. Things like the DSF were pretty small investment efforts and actually had some real lead time developement rather than the last minute mad scramble of most of the end of war paper projects.

 

[Orionblamblam]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

I find your statement about the A-4 development team difficult to believe.

Why? The V-2 was developed and in production. The A-10 had long since been shelved. There were no major rocket development programs left; just little ones like the Taifun.

An American report published during the war stated "larger rockets are known to exist."

And an Iraqi nuclear weapons program was known to exist in 2003. Here's a hint: reports are sometimes wrong. The fog of war *really* doesn't help.

 

[sagallacci]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

Regarding the last days and the A4 in particular, anyone read Michael J. Neufeld's "The Rocket and the Reich"? He paints a fairly compelling picture of a nation and industry in collapse and confuse in the last months, hardly the conditions for last-minute marvels.

 

[Johnbr]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

I think the A10 died when Dr Walter Thiel was killed in the raid.I read that the British said even though they lost 68 aircraft that night it was Worth it because he was killed.Von Braun said the A4 was nothing Whit out hem. He was the Father of the A4s engine at the time of his death he was working on the A10s engine.

 

[edwest4]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

I suggest picking up a copy of IG Farben by Richard Sasuly. He was chief of financial intelligence and liaison of the Finance Division of United States Military Government. Published in 1947.


From page 6:

"On the outskirts of Munich, on one of the main roads leading into town, was a plant of the Bavarian Motor Works where jet engines were made. The building was a mess -- the roof destroyed, the walls partially caved in. Looking at it, one would think that here at least was one plant which could never again produce for war. On the inside the view was entirely different. Revetments had been built around the blocks of important machinery; the building itself had taken the whole beating and the plant had never stopped producing throughout the war."



From page 136:


"And the Strategic Bombing Survey demonstrated conclusively that the bulk of German capacity to produce was intact. In spite of all damage, German industrial capacity was greater at the end of the war than at the beginning. The greatest single bar to production was the breakdown of all transportation; and this had largely been brought about by the Germans when they blew up their own bridges."



Ed

 

[sagallacci]

Re: German rocket development at the end of WW II

True, the Allied bombing effort didn't impact manufacturing as much as hoped, but the quoted bits are misleading and perhaps a bit inaccurate, especially if attempting to apply them to the rest of Germany's infrastructure. Regarding the A4 engineers, they spent the last few months of the war being shuttled around the Reich after they evacuated Peenemude, twiddling their thumbs rather than working on anything.
Regarding the A10, it had been pretty much set aside in '39, and only mentioned on occasion later for political reasons during turf wars with the Luftwaffe but nothing was being done with it. Losing Thiel did hurt on-going engine work, but A10 was long moot at that point.