Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hence the reasons USA, UK and other Allied nations gave large numbers of Nazis a free pass after the war. This when after all they directly or whatever were responsible for slaughter of innocent thousands all over UK and Europe.
But as you say, bygones should be bygones when *other* more important things are on the table.
If the Germans were useful to the Allies in some post war capacity sometimes their war records were overlooked. In Cold War Europe the US employed some former Nazi intelligence officers with expertise and experience regarding the Soviet Union. The French even allowed members of the former SS to join the Foreign Legion and fight in Indo China against the Communist North Vietnamese.
But play with the thought for a moment if USA, Canada, UK or any of the other Allied nations/forces either got their first or even a bit after Germany. What potential targets from UK or other areas could it have been used? Would it have been possible at all to get the infrastructure and so forth built to be any use?
It should be of interest that after the first successful V-2 test, Wernher von Braun said, "The test was a success, but the rocket landed on the wrong planet!".
It should be of interest that after the first successful V-2 test, Wernher von Braun said, "The test was a success, but the rocket landed on the wrong planet!".
"I aim for the stars. Only sometimes I hit London."
The French even allowed members of the former SS to join the Foreign Legion and fight in Indo China against the Communist North Vietnamese.
There's a reason the Foreign Legion salutes Ich hatt' einen Kameraden as if it was a national anthem.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve McDonald
It should be of interest that after the first successful V-2 test, Wernher von Braun said, "The test was a success, but the rocket landed on the wrong planet!".
The V1 and V2 would've been totally irrelevant for the Allies due to massive aerial superiority. Furthermore Germany used the V-weapons in a strategic role and not a tactical role as they should've. Instead of destroying random city blocks in London, the nazis should've used them on the beaches of Normandy, supply lines and troop movements. Even if inaccurate, a hole in the road or a field kitchen destroyed has more value than destroying a building in London.
Or even discarding the whole project and focus more on getting fuel for the airplanes. After mid-1944 the problem wasn't that the Luftwaffe didn't have any planes or pilots, left they only lacked the fuel to get into the air.
Instead of destroying random city blocks in London, the nazis should've used them on the beaches of Normandy, supply lines and troop movements. Even if inaccurate, a hole in the road or a field kitchen destroyed has more value than destroying a building in London.
The V-2 had a CEP of 4.5 km - useless in a tactical role.
Quote:
Or even discarding the whole project...
That would have been the logical choice, but the more one reads about Nazi Germany, the clearer it becomes that - contrary to conventional wisdom - they just weren't that organized.
Quote:
After mid-1944 the problem wasn't that the Luftwaffe didn't have any planes or pilots, left they only lacked the fuel to get into the air.
The lack of fuel masked the lack of pilots. The Nazi practice of letting their best pilots keep flying in combat rather than pull them back to train new pilots was another mistake. This meant that they had a small and dwindling cadre of extremely deadly aces surrounded by hundreds of undertrained rookies - many of whom were saved by the fact that there was no fuel for them to take their aircraft into combat.
Yes. I know this and referred to all of this, but you are adding detail so thanks. I forgot to add the peacetime significance - it's not all about finding a better way to kill your fellow man. Space flight and exploration had it's origin in the V-2 rockets.
I’d like to interject that Dr. Robert Goddard built the first workable liquid fuel rocket, independently.
Of course if the nazis had developed a nuclear weapon and made it small enough to fit in an improved V-2 (and built them in sufficient numbers) the war obviously would’ve turned out differently.
Of course if the nazis had developed a nuclear weapon and made it small enough to fit in an improved V-2 (and built them in sufficient numbers) the war obviously would’ve turned out differently.
And if Lee had had Sopwith Camels, Gettysburg would've been different.
But he didn't. So it wasn't.
And he was about as far away from them as Hitler was from a nuclear-tipped V-2.
The German nuclear weapons 'program' (it barely even deserves that phraseology) was years behind that of the United States. And no American bomb was small enough to be delivered by a V-2 until the 1950s.
The first V rockets were fired about a week after D-Day. By then the allied were firmly ashore. At the Normandy breakout the German army retreated mainly back to Germany. Hitler ordered the 15th army to retreat up the Channel coast occupying Channel ports and particularly the Scheldt in Holland/Belgium to ensure the port of Antwerp is not used to deprive the allies of supply. The 15th never moved back to Germany. The Canadians chased the 15th liberating the Channel ports, which the 15th destroyed all.
The 15th controlled a part of Holland that the V rockets were launched from. There was great pressure in the UK to overrun the launching sites. A prime aim of Operation Market Garden was to overrun the launching sites, which it did. A 60 mile salient was driven into German lines, nearly isolating the German 15th army which was on the Dutch coast. The Germans never took back any territory taken in Market Garden. After Market Garden no V rockets fell on London.
The British took the port of Antwerp, 40 miles inland, intact, but the German 15th army held the approaches in the Scheldt, which would take time to clear. Once the German V rocket launching sites were overrun in Holland, now out of reach of London, the Germans aimed them at Antwerp. More V rockets fell on Antwerp than London.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
