1. Guided Weapons
Around the same time, the U.S. Navy deployed an even more sophisticated anti-ship bomb called the Bat, which used radar to isolate the target without the need of a human operator. Another anti-ship homing weapon was the Zaunkoenig torpedo, which was fitted to German U-boats from 1943 onward. It used underwater sound waves rather than radar to locate the target.
2. Long-Range Missiles
The V-2 was one of two long-range weapons deployed by the Germans, the other being the V-1 flying bomb. Both the V-1 and the V-2 were launched in the thousands, mainly against London and the port city of Antwerp in Belgium.
The V-1 was the ancestor of today’s cruise missiles, while the V-2 was the world’s first ballistic missile.
3. Airborne Units
Hermann Göring, as head of the Luftwaffe, formed the first parachute regiments in 1935. During the Spanish Civil War, the Germans had gained experience in air-landings, primarily using the Junkers Ju-52. It was this plane that was to be the workhorse of the German paratroopers during WWII. A Luftwaffe general, Kurt Student, was given charge of airborne training.
The Germans launched what can be classed as the first airborne ‘attack’ in history on March 12th, 1938 when German paratroopers seized and captured an airfield at Wagram in Austria during the Anschluss, the peaceful take-over of Austria.
When the Germans attacked Poland and gave the world its first glimpse of Blitzkrieg in September 1939, paratroopers played no part despite many rumors that areas of Poland had been captured by paratroopers. In the attack on Western Europe, the German paratroopers were used in the attack on Norway in April 1940 when they captured airfields at Oslo and Stavanger.
In the attack on the Netherlands, German paratroopers played a major role isolating the city of The Hague and in Belgium, they seized vital bridges and glider troops took the strategic fort at Eben Emael.
The Germans used paratroopers to attack Crete; this was the first time that paratroopers were given the task of attacking and defeating a complete target. At the time, it was the largest airborne attack in history. Though the island was taken after heavy fighting, the Germans took very heavy casualties (25%) and Hitler lost faith in this form of attack. On the orders of Hitler, German paratroopers were sent to Russia where they fought as ground troops.
Ironically enough, the use of the German paratroopers on Crete was one of the reasons why the Allies began experimenting with Airborne divisions.
4. Helicopters
The intended roles of the Hummingbird included the ferrying of items between ships and aerial reconnaissance. However, as the war progressed, the Luftwaffe began considering converting the Fl 282 for battlefield use. Until this time the craft had been flown by a single pilot, but by then a position for an observer was added at the very rear of the craft, resulting in the B-2 version. Later the B-2 proved a useful artillery spotting aircraft and an observation unit was established in 1945 comprising three Fl 282 and three Fa 223 helicopters.
Good handling in bad weather led the German Air Ministry to issue a contract in 1944 to BMW to produce 1,000 units. However, allied bombing raids destroyed the company’s Munich plant after producing just 24 machines.
After the war, Anton Flettner emigrated to the United States and became the chief designer for Kaman Aircraft, creating the Kaman HH-43 Huskie. Intermeshing rotors have become noted with Kaman helicopters, which continues this concept.
5. Rockets
After the Second World War ended, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) launched Operation Paperclip, a program in which over 1,500 German scientists, engineers, and technicians from Nazi Germany and other countries were brought to the United States for employment.
It was conducted by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency and in the context of the Cold War. One of the purposes of Operation Paperclip was to deny the German scientific expertise and knowledge to the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, the United Kingdom. Another goal was to prevent post-war Germany from redeveloping its military research capabilities. The Soviet Union had competing extraction programs known as “trophy brigades” and Operation Osoaviakhim.
The stolen V-2s and their creators like Wernher von Braun paved the way for U.S. rocket programs from the Redstone rockets to the Saturn and Apollo missions which ultimately brought US Astronauts to the moon.
6. Methamphetamine
The German army physiologist Otto Ranke almost immediately realized its military value: the methamphetamine compound could keep fighters (pilots, in particular) alert on little sleep; it could also keep an entire military force feeling euphoric. Not a bad thing when the Germans were suffering catastrophe after catastrophe. Meth, Spiegel puts it, “was the ideal war drug.”
Pervitin became colloquially known among the German troops as “Stuka-Tablets” and “Herman-Göring-Pills.”
Due to the psychological and stimulant effects of methamphetamine, Obetrol became a popular diet pill in America in the 1950s and 1960s.
7. Jet power
Design work had started before World War II began, but engine problems, metallurgical problems and top-level interference kept the aircraft from operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944.
The Me-262 was faster and more heavily-armed than any Allied fighter, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor. Pilots of this aircraft claimed a total of 542 allied kills, though claims for the number are often higher than what was actually shot down.
Captured Me 262s were studied, and flight tested by the major powers and influenced the designs of many post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet. The U.S. also captured the Arado Ar 234 jet-powered bomber, which technology would go on to be found in the U.S. Army Air Force’s B-45s and B-47s.
8. Night Vision
As early as 1939, the first night vision devices were introduced by the German army. The first devices were being developed by AEG starting in 1935. By the end of World War II, the German army had equipped approximately 50 Mark V Panther tanks, which saw combat on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. The “Vampir” man-portable system for infantrymen was being used with STG-44 Sturmgewehr assault rifles.
The ZG 1229 Vampir weighed about 5 lbs and was fitted with lugs at the weapons production facility. The soldier carrying this was known as night-hunter. As well as the sight and infrared spotlight, there was a wooden cased battery for the light, and a second battery fitted inside a gas mask container to power the image converter. This was all strapped to a Tragegestell 39.
The searchlight consisted of a conventional tungsten light source shining through a filter permitting only infrared light. The sensor was not sensitive to body heat because it operated in the upper infrared (light) spectrum rather than in the lower infrared (heat) spectrum.
The Vampir gear was used for the first time in combat in February 1945. 310 units had been delivered to the Wehrmacht in the final stages of the war. Eastern Front veteran reports consist of snipers shooting at night with the aid of ‘peculiar non-shining torches coupled with enormous optical sights’ mounted on their rifles. Similar infrared gear was fitted both to MG34 and MG42 machine guns.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου