Petrol and rubber

[Mark V]

Theoretically, you can of course produce any amount of fuel and rubber as long as you have enough coal. The reason why Germany did not should be perfectly obvious - there was only so much construction capacity, machine tools, labor and time.

Exactly. The limitations of synthetic fuel/rubber production could not be described any better than that.

[oscar]

No sorry we dont have resources to build any fuelplants for our vehicles we only have resources to start an intercontintal balistic missile program!

Ofcourse there where resources!
the the only thing was that there were not used in the right way.

If you have resources To build 1000 planes but not to fuel for them, its better to build 500 planes and have fuel for them. The resources that should be used to build the next 500 planes are used to build an synthetic oil plant instead.

[David Thompson]

There's some interesting material on this topic in the US Strategic Bombing Survey ETO report in 1947, on-line at:

http://www.angelfire.com/super/ussbs/

[Mark V]

If you have resources To build 1000 planes but not to fuel for them, its better to build 500 planes and have fuel for them. The resources that should be used to build the next 500 planes are used to build an synthetic oil plant instead.

Germans didn't make miscalculation. In fact their avgas stock were slightly increasing in early-44 (they produced/imported more than Luftwaffe consumed), just before the Allied attacks against fuel industry started.

Mark V

[jmlima]

And weren't there very strong problems with the syntethic fuel?

You mean synthetic fuels suitability to engines ??

Synthetic fuel was/is as good as normal motor gasoline, avgas, or diesel.

I've read it on a book about the LAH wrote by Jean Mabire, they reported serious problems with synthetic fuel in the panzers, during the last offcensive in Hungary in 1945...

[Mark V]

And weren't there very strong problems with the syntethic fuel?

You mean synthetic fuels suitability to engines ??

Synthetic fuel was/is as good as normal motor gasoline, avgas, or diesel.

I've read it on a book about the LAH wrote by Jean Mabire, they reported serious problems with synthetic fuel in the panzers, during the last offcensive in Hungary in 1945...

I don't know about particular case but the timing of event explain it. In early 1945 German fuel supply was devastated and any stuff that even slightly resembled gasoline would had to suffice. I don't think the quality of gasoline at that desparate time tells anything about quality of German synthetic fuel on average.

It could had been dirty stuff, too low octane number, etc.. etc...

[oscar]

...making the panzers run on ethanol. Then the huge panzeroffensives could be made envirement-friendly without letting nasty chemicals in the air.

[Mark V]

...making the panzers run on ethanol. Then the huge panzeroffensives could be made envirement-friendly without letting nasty chemicals in the air.

Germans did use ethanol as (mixed with gasoline) a substitute fuel in Otto-engined vehicles, like many other countries ***. It was although impossible to replace gasoline...

Only those countries that had large and well developed wood processing industry, and countries that could cultivate sugar cane could produce ethanol truly in large quantities. In any case most of ethanol produced is always consumed as basic raw-material of chemical industry.

I did understand that you were not entirely serious... but not too far from reality either...


*** In Finland the famous "tracks" ("telaketju") which messed the brains of many of our soldiers - used as drinkable alcohol substitute. A true He-Man drink is a hard liquor shot blanded with touch of motor gasoline...

[Geoff Walden]

A fully functional petroleum refinery and synthetic fuel plant existed underground at Ebensee, Austria, in 1945. The US Army used these works to produce gasoline following the war.

Synthetic fuel plants, combine coal processing facilites, a chemical plant and an oil refinery. I can only imagine the amounts of work, labor, materials and costs to put even one of these complexes fully underground.
Given the machinery and processes involved I don't think you could, or would want to. One fire, bomb, accident, etc. and BOOM!

[Penn44]

A fully functional petroleum refinery and synthetic fuel plant existed underground at Ebensee, Austria, in 1945. The US Army used these works to produce gasoline following the war.

Geoff:

That is interesting. I have an interest in synthetic fuel production. What is your source?

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