What are the Germany's "Wonder Weapons"?

[Lkefct]

There has been some debate about the late war AA missle projects whether they where employed or not. The general concencious was not, but there are a few reports that make you wonder if some of their test shots might not have been aimed at Allied bombers. I remember one was termed successful, but did not specifically say what successful meant.

[Grzesio]

Well, the possible combat use of German AA missiles seems very improbable for me.
Which missiles could it be and where could they be launched? These Fla-Raketen were generally concentrated in Peenemünde (plus Rheinmetall test station in Leba) - there was really no opportunity to use these missiles there.
The four missiles of the Vesuv-Programm were really not sufficently developed for combat use - I cannot remember the exact number of Wasserfalls launched, but I think there were approx. 26-28 of them. Then we have 38 ground launched Schmetterlings (only 28 trials of all 59 conducted on ground and in air were succesful), the Rheintochter R I had too small ceiling while R III probably never received an appropriate sustainer engine (and only 7 were ever launched in Leba and/or Peenemünde). The Enzian was faulty enough, with serious stability problems - only 24 were launched from Greifswalder Oie, of these merely 16 had guidance systems - and only 30% didn't fail.
And so Enzian and Rheintochter programs were stopped by kammler on February 6, 1945, we have also to remember that E-Stelle Karshagen as well as Leba had to be evacuated in the same month, seriously disrupting rocket trials.
So I just wonder, where are these missiles that could be used in combat? Where and when?

Regards

Grzesio

[zmija]

Soviet SA-1 missile is a copy of Wasserfall. So Wasserfall is a suface to air missile.

[M.Rausch]

Which missiles could it be and where could they be launched?

The Wasserfall was almost finalized and it had over 50 test launches from ground. The shortage for this rocket were the special heat-resistent control surfaces. The production had to be shared with the V2 and Hitler decided that the V2 should have priority.

These Fla-Raketen were generally concentrated in Peenemünde (plus Rheinmetall test station in Leba) - there was really no opportunity to use these missiles there.

There were complete plans for fixed positions around industrial centres like the Ruhrgebiet, including the construction plans for the single positions and the materials like steel and concrete needed to built them...

[Grzesio]

The Wasserfall was almost finalized and it had over 50 test launches from ground. The shortage for this rocket were the special heat-resistent control surfaces. The production had to be shared with the V2 and Hitler decided that the V2 should have priority.

Well, I'd be far more cautious as far as number of Wasserfalls is concerned. After a lot of reading on the subject I'd accept 28 launches by February 1945 (although one can also read about 35-50).
The shortage of graphite for gas rudders would'n be a big problem anyway, as a later W-10 version had no these rudders at all. The Wasserfall program lacked everything from materials by technology to manpower. One could say, the Schmetterling was almost finalized, but the Wasserfall was not so advanced for sure, especially when Kammler ordered a modified version to be produced on February 6, 1945 (actually no SAMs are listed in this document as ready for production, all are in development status). Then, nothing better than MCLOS method was actually utilized to guide Wasserfalls - greatly insufficient as for my taste.

There were complete plans for fixed positions around industrial centres like the Ruhrgebiet, including the construction plans for the single positions and the materials like steel and concrete needed to built them...

Yes, there were plans... Sadly there's a loooong way from plans to reality, I'm afraid. Especially if we talk about probable actual use of Fla-Raketen during the war. And we cannot forget about shortage of fuel, for example - it was established by Sonderstab Dornberger in March 1945 that only 300 Schmetterlings could have been be produced monthly, as far as available fuel production was concerned (and Hs 117 needed approx. 80 kg of liquid propellants as opposed to some 2000 kg of Wasserfall W-5).

Regards

Grzesio

[mackie]

[quote="HansvonLuck"]Germany held high hopes for these "Wonder Weapons" during the last years of war.

My question is:
Other than V1, V2 and Jet aircrafts, were there other equipments considered as "Wonder weapons"?[/quote]



-new U-BOOT XXIII were "wonderboote".....

[Sauron]

Also we perhaps we can include the X-7 Rotkapchen, the first guided anti-tank missile, and the X-4 AAM, although they were never used in combat.

[oxoter]

Much has been said about wonder weapons (Wunderwaffen) but most came too late and in too small quantities. They show it quite rightfully on http://www.nazi-secret.com

[Dave Bender]

The V1, V2, Type XXI submarine etc. did not play a major part in the war. The real German "Wonder Weapons" are the more mundane items that were inexpensive to mass produce yet highly effective.

Me-109 Fighter.
Fw-190F and Fw-190G ground attack aircraft
Ju-88A light bomber
Ju-88D strategic recon aircraft
Ju-88C and Ju-88G night fighter

MG42 machinegun
Panzerfaust
S Mine
8cm GrW34 mortar.
10.5cm leFH 18/40 light field howitzer.
Stug III assault gun.
7.5cm/48 Pak40 anti tank gun.

2cm Flakvierling38.
3.7cm Flak43
8.8cm Flak18

[stellung]

The following article appeared in the New York Times, dated December 5, 1944.

Headline: "ROCKETS IN REICH DEFENSE

"U.S. Bomber Crews See 'Lots' of Them, Also Nazi Jet Planes

"LONDON, Dec. 4 (AP) -- The Nazis shot "baby V-2's" or anti-aircraft rockets at formations of American Flying Fortresses that attacked Mainz, one of the German rail cities pounded by the Allied air fleets today.

"' We got a lot more rockets than we usually do,' said Lieut. Robert Dams of Milwaukee, a bombardier.

"' The flak was light, but the Nazis mingled it with rockets which left heavy trails of bluish white smoke,' related Lieut. David Barnett of Bromley, Ky., a navigator."

[Andor]

More than a 100,000 patents of things the world never knew was then stolen by america form Germany after the war.
Ja was it not for Werner von Braun would there ever have been a nasa??
Sorry but I had to put my knife in .....!

[nebelwerferXXX]

Production of Robots:
V-1 Flying bomb...30,000
V-2 Rocket...10,000
Goliath demolition tank...7,500

[phylo_roadking]

Ja was it not for Werner von Braun would there ever have been a nasa??

Of course - the US Army and USAAF both had their OWN rocket programmes, for example...still had even though NASA pressed forward with manned space research, and the USAAF still has its own great degree of independence.

Goliath demolition tank...7,500

You're calling THAT a wonder weapon???

[nebelwerferXXX]

Battle honor of the Goliath:
Warsaw Uprising, 1 August - 3 October 1944
Polish side: 15,000 killed
German side: 10,000 killed, 7,000 missing and 9,000 wounded

[phylo_roadking]

Battle honor of the Goliath:
Warsaw Uprising, 1 August - 3 October 1944
Polish side: 15,000 killed
German side: 10,000 killed, 7,000 missing and 9,000 wounded

Ahem....are you saying that the Goliath killed 10,000 Germans?

Or have you perhaps posted up the TOTAL losss on both sides from all manners of manmade mayhem?