The Second World War.

[billybunter]

I watched a TV program a while back about Hitler's desire to go into space. And there are photos of "flying saucer" type vehicles that some claim were back engineered from crashed alien craft. BMW still has the drawings and they made the engines. some say he wanted a supersonic craft that could out fly aeroplanes and bomb England.

[rotobott]

Originally Posted by billybunter

I watched a TV program a while back about Hitler's desire to go into space. And there are photos of "flying saucer" type vehicles that some claim were back engineered from crashed alien craft. BMW still has the drawings and they made the engines. some say he wanted a supersonic craft that could out fly aeroplanes and bomb England.

BB needs to sleep

[lothian]

Originally Posted by billybunter

I watched a TV program a while back about Hitler's desire to go into space. And there are photos of "flying saucer" type vehicles that some claim were back engineered from crashed alien craft. BMW still has the drawings and they made the engines. some say he wanted a supersonic craft that could out fly aeroplanes and bomb England.

Much the same has been claimed about the F117 stealth fighter. At the end of the war many German aircraft designers produced a lot of weird and wonderful designs most of which were no more than sketches. I have heard it said the main reason that these outlandish aircraft were proposed was that the designers and engineers were pandering to Hitlers obession with miracle weapons. As long as they kept coming up with ideas no matter how fantastic it, kept them from being drafted and sent to the Eastern front.

[billybunter]

Hence the Americans falsifying documents on Nazis under Project Paper clip and bringing them to US to get their expertise. The murdered were brushed under the carpet.

[squigg58]

Originally Posted by billybunter

I watched a TV program a while back about Hitler's desire to go into space. And there are photos of "flying saucer" type vehicles that some claim were back engineered from crashed alien craft. BMW still has the drawings and they made the engines. some say he wanted a supersonic craft that could out fly aeroplanes and bomb England.

There are a lot of programmes, books, websites etc. which talk about German "wonder-weapons" of WWII, but many of these weapons are simply design studies, and when it comes to those design studies, there's also a lot of complete garbage spouted by so called experts who really should know better! I remember watching a documentary a couple of years ago which showed an artist's impression of a German flying disc design. The craft was twin-engined and had large diameter props. The presenter then excitedly posed a question: "Had the Vought V173 "Flying Pancake" been built built using top-secret German designs captured at the end of the war?"

Well, the war ended in 1945, and the V-173 first flew in 1942 ... so I'm guessing the answer is no!

With regard to Hitler's desires, he wanted a lot of things and became increasingly desperate; hoping that some wonder weapon would turn the tide of the war. It's hardly surprising that he approved work on increasingly outlandish designs. Of course, some of the technologies were amazing but however "clever" something is, it's relatively pointless if you can't use it effectively.

The V2 was an incredible design, but it "only" had a 2,200lb warhead at a time when a Lancaster could carry a 22,000lb Grand Slam (although I think only half of that was the actual explosives ... so let's call it an 11,000lb warhead). Yes, a Lancaster could be shot down, and a V2 couldn't, but (with luck) the Lancaster could drop it's bombs, head back to base, and do the same again the next night. It was also a relatively simple design and could be built in large numbers. (The same, of course, applies to US and Russian bombers, but I'm just using the Lancaster as an example). The point is; the Allies didn't actually need a ballistic missile as they had effective bomber forces. Hitler did need the V2 because his options for hitting the Allies were getting a bit thin on the ground as the war progressed.

You could apply the same argument to the Me163. It was certainly spectacular, but was a point interceptor so only any good as a defensive fighter, and a lot of effort went into making something that had no real impact on the course of the war. Some fuel would have been of more use to the Luftwaffe!

So, the Germans had some amazing design-studies (as did the Allies!) but there's a lot to be said for a simple design which is cheap to build, easy to build, easy to operate and which does the job. A prime example was the T-34. No reverse-engineered alien technology. No complex new propulsion system. Just a bloody effective tank!

[billybunter]

I never said I believed all the info. It was an interesting program that's all.

[palo5]

Originally Posted by squigg58

With regard to Hitler's desires, he wanted a lot of things and became increasingly desperate; hoping that some wonder weapon would turn the tide of the war

Clearly Stalin was smarter, because he built a gazillion of these

[rodak]

Don't know if this has been posted but...The ME-262 Flies again!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYXd60D_kgQ

I can't say anything good about "Nazi Germany"
But their science was quite amazing.

The Coolest looking aircraft of WW2

[billybunter]

For me the Spitfire is the iconic plane of WW2

[ultrawildcat]

Originally Posted by jokerman

The second world war as we know it began on the first of September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland & lasted until the second of September 1945 When Japan finally surrendered. It cost millions of lives & divided Europe in two. It also saw the end of the old empires & the emergence of the U.S.A & the USSR as superpowers.

sorry to disagree, but WW2 began Nov 11, 1918, the day WW1 ended