V-1 buzz bomb in 1939

I am watching a tape over the war as it was felt in London. I got to thinking that there was a real potential that if the V-1 had been operational at the time of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain could have gone differently. Over 30,000 V-1s were manufactured, flack was ineffectual, fewer than 300 taken out by barrage balloons, and aircraft was rarely effective other than the tricky manuevers by the Tempests. Only roughly a third of the V-1 were launched and manufacturing was under the most difficult conditions.

What effect might it have on the outcome if the Germans were to use their bombers to concentrate on military targets and used the V-1s between raids. The Brits would have to fly against both targets, yet the German airmen would have more rest. That the Germans came close to gaining complete air control is well known, but now it would also be affecting morale that the Germans could continue to bomb without any loss of manpower.

There would also be a potential with Britain out of the way to lauch V-1s against the Russians.

 

A few points on the V-1. AA was very effective on them. Particularly when heavier guns were using VT fuzing. Once the likely flight paths were known almost none got past the flak batteries. The V-1 flies at relatively low altitude and in a nice straight steady speed line making it an ideal flak target.

Originally, the US had a working, flying copy of the V-1 (manufactured by Ford Motor Company as the VB-2) just 60 days after the first launch. The US then initiated a plan to manufacture 5000 per month and launch them back on Germany. But, this was cancelled once a closer look made it apparent that it was not cost effective (maybe there is a lesson the Germans could have learned from that exercise).

The US (MIT this time) also came up with a wild plan to set up a strong electromagnetic field around London using a 30 MW power station and about 300 miles of disused railway track. Again, the effectiveness of flak alone rendered the need to jam V-1s moot.

 

The V-1 also had no targeting controls. You just put in the amount of fuel you think it will get it to a target and then launch it and it comes down anywhere. London and Antwert were large cities so you could hit something but if you want to hit an airfield or ship then the V-1 was useless.

It worked the same way as a Skud missle by more psychologlical warfare than a military threat to a target. If the Germans put chemical or biological warheads on it then it would be a larger threat to the allies.

Also in 1939 Germany did not control the coast so it did not have the range to go from Germany to the UK. By 1941 the Germans could have used it.

 

The V-1 used a mix of extremely complicated and detailed calculations to determine target acquisition. A propellor fuse on the V-1 would cut out the engine at the predetermined distance and it would fall to the target.

Considering that of 10,000 that were launched, over 3,000 made it to the London area, mostly Croyton, killing over 6,000 and wounding over 17,000, it had both a psychological and physical effect. The destruction of property was very effective, though indiscriminate. Considering the effective rates of bombers at this time, that is not a real bad record. It can also be assumed that further improvements would be made as things progressed.

Flak was not very effective on the V-1s until they received the new models from the USA in 1944, and then it was the radar guided controls and proximatey fuses that were the key. Aircraft was effective and one pilot had over 500 credited tips, however, that only changed the target. Also it required aircraft that could fly over 400 mph, which were not really available at that time.

My main point is that when the V-1s were actually employed, we had a foothold on the continent and our most effective stopping of the buzz bombs was capturing the launch sites. If they had been deployed prior to US involvement, it could have been a major change of the situation.

The only thing that kept Germany from gaining control of the air over Britain was insane switch to bombing London. If the V-1 had satisfied Hitler's lust to attack London, the Luftwaffen forces could have concentrated on destruction of the RAF. Once total air control was gained, it would have been easier to take out targets at will. That could mean destruction of the shipyards and ports that were essential to bring in supplies. Especially, if the Germans were to increase their aircraft range. Even if the British held out until the US became involved, it would not allow the buildup of American troops and supplies. I think that the British would have few options and may wind up surrendering the homeland to take refuge like the French.

 

No, its one of the greatest myths of WW2.
On the day of the switch to bombing London RAF Fighter Command had 150 more operational fighters than at the start of the battle.
The Luftwaffe was losing the battle even then.

 

In my humble opinion the V1 project was more or less a waste of time, effort and resources. But this is a "what if" if indeed the Germans had developed the V-1 as an effective weapon by 1939, and was used in the context of the Battle of Britain then the obvious choice was to use it at night, freeing up the German night campaign.

The direction of the Battle of Britain could have gone like this.

1, Luftwaffe concentrates on Radar installations, RAF & RN bases and centres of industry plus the aircraft manufacturing and maintenance facilities during daylight operations.

2, V-1 buzz bombs operate at night as they don't need sunlight for direction and could be used against targets such as RN Ports in Southern Britain, as well as say Ashford and Canterbury as they were major hubs of rail and road juntures in southeastern Britian (making deployment of troops into a proposed German bridgehead tough).

Just a thought on the matter, i know it aint the most convincing senario but i like it.

 

Actually the V-1, while it was never going to be a war winning weapon, did force the Allies to devote a lot of valuable resources to combat it.
The latter V-2, on the other hand, was possibly the least cost-effective weapon of WW2

The Luftwaffe tried this, and it didn't work. Modern historians now take the view that the BOB was far less of a close thing than was thought at the time, as the British over-estimated the Luftwaffe's strength, while the German's under-estimated the strength of Fighter Command.

V-1's didn't have the accuracy for specific targets, its only use was as a terror weapon.

 

I did not mentioned the V-2 because it would actually be a problem for the Germans. When the V-2s started hitting GB, it worried the US leadership that they could be soon capable of rockets that could reach American soil.

I think daytime V-1 attacks would be better, but round the clock has advantages. I also think that the Germans could use buzz bomb attacks to distract resources while they committed raids on key installations.

I also do not think that the big problem was the number of aircraft, but the number of combat ready pilots for the British in the conflict. The V-1 is by no means an efficient weapon, but it did have its uses. The only question is whether or not an early massive usage of it, combined with more intelligent campaigns by the Germans, could have made a big difference.

 

I just made a post about the Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg IV (piloted version of the V-1) in the Weapons of World War II forum under the thread titled: Most Stupid Weapon of World War II. Would someone care to include it in "this" discussion so I can re-direct from "that" one? You all are talking about the V-2 as well as the V-1 here, so I didn't think you would mind.?.?.?.

 

Redcoat

Yes the Luftwaffe did indeed attack radar installations but it was only peicemeal at best as Herman Goring did not consider the radar installaions worthy targets and quickly ordered to switch to other targets allowing the restoration of that valuable defensive weapon, had the Luftwaffe concentrated on destroying the radar installations and did so then that would give the Luftwaffe a decided advantage as their formations could not be detected untill they crossed the English Coast, but we'll never know.

 

We fed Germany with false information like if the V1's were on target we would tell them they under shot, so the next wave would over shoot the target area. The Germans failed to put a device in to the V1's which would make them swing from side to side making them a lot harder to shoot down. I forget what it was called but it starts with a (g).

But as we all know Hitler's terror weapons had very little military value to them and they soaked up resources needed else where. In Hitler's eyes they looked great but were a wast of money.

If the V1 was around in 1939 I'm sure it would had a hell of a lot more problems with it.

 

gyroscope,maybe??

 

The device is indeed a Gyroscope, but that would not make the V-1 swing from side to side, the Gyropscope was installed to keep the V-1 flying level as it directly influenced the lateral controls.

 

I may have spelled this wrong guys.

The device I was thinking of which would have made the V1 swing from side to side was a ginka.