Welcome to the WWII Forums! Log in or Sign up to interact with the community.

Hitler decides on a bombing mission to the US

Discussion in 'What If - European Theater - Western Front & Atlan' started by T. A. Gardner, Oct 2, 2007.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. tikilal

    tikilal Ace

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2007
    Messages:
    1,133
    Likes Received:
    66
    The German effort to develop long range bombers was intnded primarily for use against the US. Why? Because any strike of this type was a propaganda tool. After what the Germans had done to the western part of Russia who would care about 5 tons of bombs out in the middle of Siberia, if the government even told people that it happened. The US however was never hit with anything larger than an artillery shell, and there would be no way to cover up the bombing of a big US city.


    So I dont think Russian industry had anything to worry about.
     
  2. Roddoss72

    Roddoss72 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2006
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    5
    At last a tiny bit of bending to my will hahahahah.

    Seriously though, i have thought about it and it is getting off topic but Za you have gave me inspiration and a senario, the Luftwaffe instead of going after industry east of the Urals decide to smash all railway and major road networks West and South of the Urals, make the transportation network the target, not industry, you can make an Su-122 but it is useless if you can't get it to the front, this includes the Central and Far Eastern Asian Commands which made up the numbers 1943 onwards.

    Back on topic, if by accounts that the 3 or 4 Me-264's had been destroyed, and that the BV-222 was grounded for lack of fuel or outright destroyed then i am afraid that the bombing mission on America could only be carried out by well trained carrier pigeons with tiny devices strapped to their legs.
     
    Za Rodinu likes this.
  3. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

    Joined:
    May 12, 2003
    Messages:
    8,809
    Likes Received:
    372
    Location:
    Portugal
    See? you're even developing a sense of humor. Positive rep on the way as a reward. Welcome back from assholedom :D

    Then think some more! to render a transportation network useless, like the Western Allies dd in France pre-invasion for instance, you are not doing for straight stretches of line, you go for marshalling yards. And even for this you need a continuous effort taking months of constant bombing.

    Line stretches can be repaired in the same day, and nothing keeps you from kepin paralell streches a couple hundred meters apart as back up. The Lend Lease cornucopia thankfully provided enoguh railstock for that and more. Think Ho Chi Minh Trail and how effective bombing that was.

    Now marshalling yards and hubs are another matter. They are made up of complex signalling and switching mechanisms (at the time mostly mechanical, not electrical), and the sidings themselves are a thing out of these world, made up of speciall alloy steels to stand lateral stresss, etc. So a marshalling yard is a sensitive animal, you have to have a large stockpile of everything to keep it under repair. But then as I said above the W.A. took a lot of effort to kick their targets down, would the LW be able to maintain the same effort? I guess not.

    Besides, the Rusians being Russians and the Lend Lease faucet being pouring, what would keep them from building redundant yards for the same plant?

    So, good idea but no cigar. The Germs still lose the war.

    Source? a few years in railway construction, but never got bombed though :)
     
  4. Neon Knight

    Neon Knight Member

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2007
    Messages:
    112
    Likes Received:
    13
    makes me laugh imagine the nazis bombers wander around the immensity of the central asia plains and looking for a railroad.... they would have get lost there.... maybe a couple of bombers would have ended up bombing the great chinese wall, thinking it was a railway :D.

    Nobody had detailed map of soviet union, i mean realistic maps. As many other paranoid dictators, stalin had deliberately modified greographic maps of the country. Without mentioning (already said here) the impossibility to manage an effective spy network behind soviet lines.
     
    Za Rodinu likes this.
  5. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

    Joined:
    May 12, 2003
    Messages:
    8,809
    Likes Received:
    372
    Location:
    Portugal

    [​IMG]
     
  6. Sloniksp

    Sloniksp Ставка

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2006
    Messages:
    6,321
    Likes Received:
    460
    Also ( I know we are a little off topic, but I cant resist ) When british diplomats came back to Moscow after the battle, they were amazed as to how little damage the city itself sustained compaired to London. Germany was far more successul in providing air support for ground aperations then actual bombing campaings against cities or infrastructure... On the Ost Front at least.
     
  7. tikilal

    tikilal Ace

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2007
    Messages:
    1,133
    Likes Received:
    66
    Dont for get bridges, also good targets but that is more work for fighter bombers.
     
  8. Roddoss72

    Roddoss72 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 29, 2006
    Messages:
    364
    Likes Received:
    5
    Hey Za Rodinu how dare you, i like being from assholedom, it is a piece of shyte but its home and besides the rents cheap. hahahahahahahah.
     
  9. Za Rodinu

    Za Rodinu Aquila non capit muscas

    Joined:
    May 12, 2003
    Messages:
    8,809
    Likes Received:
    372
    Location:
    Portugal
    In WW2 and after terms my impression is bridges took a hell of a lot of work to bomb out, they could only be more or less vulnerable when the Yanks brought in the Bullpup missile in Vietnam!

    Besides a bridg if not pulverised can be relatively easily repaired, paralells can be built, so you have to go and bomb them over ad over again.

    No, Better waint until you get F-111 and Paveway :)

    :rofl:
     
  10. Shadow Master

    Shadow Master Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2006
    Messages:
    287
    Likes Received:
    19
    Hmmm...

    This seems vaguely familiar...{tounge in cheek humor}

    Sorta a German "Doolittle" raid. My own spin.
    Sub(s) in gulf of Mexico, hit the oil refineries/tankers along US gulf coast. 1/2 dozen bombers hitting different targets still will be just a pinprick compared to what a large force could do, but could be interesting results...
     
  11. Carl W Schwamberger

    Carl W Schwamberger Ace

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2007
    Messages:
    1,051
    Likes Received:
    81
    Dead reckoning could get them into the general area. As they get under 500 miles the civilian radio stations can be used as a navigation guide. Using the US air navigation beacons would have required some preknowledge of the transmitter locations and frequencys and signals. But a civlian radio station will do.

    Cloud cover over the target would be a different problem.
     
  12. lwd

    lwd Ace

    Joined:
    Jul 24, 2007
    Messages:
    12,322
    Likes Received:
    1,245
    Location:
    Michigan
    Dead reckoning might allow them to find the right continent. If you can't shoot the stars or sun/moon and don't have any ground references a fairly minor wind can have a significant impact on that long of flight and if they are flying at 30,000 feet they are likely to hit the jet stream which is anything but a minor wind. It's also long enough that a compass isn't going to be a great deal of help. Given the duration of the flight it would take extraordinarily good luck for them to have a successful round trip. If they launched say a dozen planes independently they'd probably be lucky to get one or two back although several would likely drop their bombs somewhere in North America. As for civilian radio didn't most radio stations go off the air at night during the 40's? Of course there were a couple powerful ones out of New York that might actually more than make up for that. On the other hand AM radio at night can be tricky with skips and all sometimes a local radio can be hear on the other side of the country. Not sure what this would do for navigation. Also from what I've read early on the US was concerned about attacks not just on the East Coast but the Great Lakes locks AA and radar positions were established as well as airfields built. I am not sure what other measures were taken.
     
  13. von Rundstedt

    von Rundstedt Dishonorably Discharged

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2007
    Messages:
    678
    Likes Received:
    29
    Spot on one aspect and that civilian radio would be dodgy at best, i have tried to listen AM radion at night and it continually fades in and out and that is circa 2007 not 1940's, the only radio that could be useful would be the thousands of ham radio operators, i guess if you had say had on each aircraft an English speaking German that could at least produce a half decent American accent, it could fool ham radio operators to talk long enough to guide the bombers to their targets.

    Plus unlike the interior of the Soviet Union, America produced substantial detailed maps throuth their motoring organisations and other civilian agencies to allow German aircraft to launch raids on America. Then if all goes well and Germany can do it, would they do it with conventional or atomic weaponary.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page