Many don't realize how dangerously close Hitler came to winning the Second World War. German technology was years ahead of ours. After the fall of Berlin we detained many of their scientist's and brought them here to America to work for us. I believe that one or more of them helped develope the Atomic Bomb. There are those that believe that if Hitler had won the Second World War, and defeated Europe, his sights would be fixed on America next. There are also those that believe that if he had deployed his Me262's in 100% intercept roles with "experienced" pilots, it would have been a bad day for the allies. I believe that I saw a show on the History Channel about some long range bombers that Germany was developing that could reach America, from Western Europe, and back without refueling.

Anyone else out there recall similar theories?

all i can say is the sooner the better. enough holding all of this stuff off, the faster technology is introduced the more war there is. bring it all on out at once so we can get it over with! 2012

Just now got around to rebuilding it huh... please..

Tell me that doesn't look like our stealth bombers?

Originally posted by skyeyes
Many don't realize how dangerously close Hitler came to winning the Second World War. German technology was years ahead of ours. After the fall of Berlin we detained many of their scientist's and brought them here to America to work for us. I believe that one or more of them helped develope the Atomic Bomb. There are those that believe that if Hitler had won the Second World War, and defeated Europe, his sights would be fixed on America next. There are also those that believe that if he had deployed his Me262's in 100% intercept roles with "experienced" pilots, it would have been a bad day for the allies. I believe that I saw a show on the History Channel about some long range bombers that Germany was developing that could reach America, from Western Europe, and back without refueling.

I don't agree. Hitler was close to winning the war in 1940 had he successfully invaded the UK, which he did not. In reality, Germany lost the war when they declared war on the US. Maybe they lost the war when Adolf came to power.

German (Nazi) technology was only ahead in some niche areas and these proved too insignificant in the great scheme of things.

The key technological and doctrinal areas for the allies were the atomic bomb, computers and crytology, radar, strategic bombing, manufacturing and access to resources, and the like. All German advances in e.g. submarine warfare were successfully countered through the application of technology and tactical change.

If the allies did not have air superiority over Europe then I am sure they would have developed equal / better jet aircraft (after all they did have their own examples), but why expend such resources when the goal of aerial dominance had been achieved. The Nazi's just wasted time and resources by developing a multiplicity of interesting aircraft which were of little use or value. The ME262 was good, but suffered from poor engines. It had no appreciable effect on the war, nor did the V2, nor (ultimately) did the gas chamber.

Nazi rockets were probably the only area of advance. However V1 rockets were countered by (e.g. the proximity fuse and radar assisted AA batteries) and V2 were just a waste of resources. The British Grandslam and Tallboy bombs probably had more value than the V2's.

Regards

After his UFO sighting in 1947, Kenneth Arnold described a group of boomerang-shaped craft. Does anyone else see the resemblance between what Arnold described and the Horten Ho's design?

Awesome aircraft and I can't wait to see the program.

Germans have held high standards in education and had institutes of higher learning pre dating the existence of the US. Even today, some of the best automobiles and their innovations resulted from German aeronautical engineers transcending into that nations Auto industry after WWII.

My Dad is German and my Mom is American. I always get into this discussion with my Dad whenever he gets on his pro German Rants...in how superior everything German is vs American. It all boils down to design philosophy.

My Grandfather who fought in Russia (where they froze their assess off) basically summed it up in that the extreme Russian weather had much to do with their loss against the Russians especially as their equipment froze and supplies dwindled.

Looking at this Horten plane in all of it's sleek design and beauty it is impressive.
But what hurt the Germans is that even though all of their products were superior in design. This came at a price in reliability. People don't realize how much German machinery in all of it's complexity and sophistication would fail in the field. And due to this sophistication, it made it even more difficult to repair in the field rendering it pretty much worthless.

As a poster has pointed out with the ME262, the first jet fighter plane (which had BMW engines by the way). Were very unreliable and when they did work, they were difficult to fly due to fuel delivery/throttle problems. This made them very susceptible to flaming out. And jets don't glide very well or for very long for that matter.

In fact, several were shot down by our P-51's because though fast, they were piloted by less experienced pilots towards the end of the war and still couldn't outrun bullets in conjunction with a skilled pilot.

Speaking of the P-51, this plane won the war for the US.
Why you might ask ? Vs the P-47 Thunderbolt or P-38 Lightning ?
The airfoil/wing design made the P-51 much more efficient allowing it to escort Bombers into Germany whereas the P-47 could not.
This lead to the inevitable destruction of the German Industrial base.
In fact , when Hermann Goering head of the Luftwaffe first saw the first American Bombers escorted by P-51 over Berlin. He said ..." We have lost the war".

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
Adolph Hitler, was yet another puppet dictator, albeit, one that got out of the control of his masters.

You don't know what you are talking about. Adolf was noone's puppet. You need to read a history book. Go to a library with books.

Originally posted by SpartanKingLeonidas
The Horten "flying wing" was at the tail end of WWII, but imagine if it had been put into operation.

Ah, on topic.

The Horton would not have had any effect to the war. Not one jot. The payload was too little to be an effective bomber, for a start. Furthermore, in 1945 the Nazi industrial base was in a terrible state with critical shortages of resources such as fuel and metals and increasingly reliant on slave labour. Nazi Germany was in terminal decline and in disarray.

This flying wing was not especially unique. A nice looking aircraft, but just one of many interesting designs and prototypes which the fragmented and incoherent Nazi's produced as they lurched into the final stages of collapse.

Please, stop trying to re-write history. Adolf started a terrible world war. It was not started by bankers, aliens or Noddy. Over the war there was enormous technological advances as each side played the game of "catch up" and invention. You just need to look at the documented history of the Battle of the Atlantic to appreciate how things evolved.

Regards

[edit on 27/6/2009 by paraphi]

[edit on 27/6/2009 by paraphi]

Looking at the picture they have made a fatal mistake.

Compare the size of the model with the size of the doors.
It's the whole boat in the basement thing all over again.

Also how have we managed to get to page 4 without anyone screaming any of the following words fake, photoshop, cgi?