Submarines and their Weapons - Aircraft of World War II

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Contents INTRODUCTION 6 CHAPTER ONE JET AIRCRAFT 8 CHAPTER TWO ROCKET-POWERED AIRCRAFT 34 CHAPTER THREE HYBRID AIRCRAFT AND GLIDERS 44 CHAPTER FOUR ROTARY-WING AIRCRAFT 52 CHAPTER FIVE SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES 60 CHAPTER SIX AIR-TO-AIR WEAPONS 84 CHAPTER SEVEN AIR-TO-SURFACE MISSILES 90 CHAPTER EIGHT SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES 100 CHAPTER NINE ARTILLERY 108 CHAPTER TEN TANKS AND ANTI-TANK WEAPONS 120 CHAPTER ELEVEN SUBMARINES AND THEIR WEAPONS 128 CHAPTER TWELVE NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS 138 INDEX 142
Introduction Before we begin to examine the large and diverse array of secret weapons produced in Germany before and during World War II, we should perhaps define what is meant by the term 'secret'. Most weapons are developed in secret - or at least, under conditions of stringent security - whether in times of peace or war, if only because, as the old adage has it, forewarned is forearmed. In Germany's case, there was an added imperative: the Versailles Treaty which, at the end of World War I, forbade her to develop (and even to possess) certain categories of weapons, such as aircraft and tanks. Development programmes for these weapons had to be carried out in absolute secrecy, since the ultimate risk (though probably a small one by the time these development programmes were under way) was the occupation of Germany by the victorious Allies. In many cases, up until the moment that Hitler signalled his intention to revoke the Treaty unilaterally, the projects were actually based outside Germany: in Holland, the Soviet Union, Sweden and in particular Switzerland. In the strict sense, then, when we address the topic of German secret weapons of World War II, we are faced with an enormous task. But the term 'secret weapons' has a more precise meaning in general use: it implies something which goes beyond the development of a piece of more or less mundane equipment in conditions of secrecy. It implies a genuinely new concept, something truly out of the ordinary, which simply could not work without a new understanding of physical science or chemistry; a new mastery of technology; or some great leap of creative, imaginative invention. In the place and at the time in question, there was certainly no lack of those. WUNDERWAFFEN Perhaps the alternative term frequently used in Germany at the time - Wunderwaffen - comes closer to defining the true nature of these secret devices, for they were often truly things of wonder, being either completely new and hitherto undreamed-of outside a small select group, or achieving previously unthinkable levels of performance thanks to breakthrough innovations in science and technology. Some of them, it is true, were 'ideas whose time had come', in that the basic principle was understood, but had not yet been successfully applied, and in these cases, teams of scientists and engineers in America, Britain and Germany (and sometimes elsewhere: there were several significant advances made by Italy) were engaged in a headlong race to get the first reliable working version onto the battlefield. The development of the jet aircraft and of radar, not to mention the development of nuclear fission, stand out amongst those. But in other areas, particularly in rocketry and the invention and perfection of the all-important guidance systems, Germany stood head and shoulders above the rest. Left: The Junkers Ju 287, with its forward-swept wings, was just one of a number of futuristic designs developed by German scientists and engineers in World War II.
Page 4 and 5: Roger Ford Publishing Company
Page 8: Her scientists made an enormous and
Page 11 and 12: JET AIRCRAFT developed during World
Page 13 and 14: JET AIRCRAFT stillborn Oil engine,
Page 15 and 16: JET AIRCRAFT the first all-jet Me 2
Page 17 and 18: JET AIRCRAFT Messerschmitt Me 262A-
Page 19 and 20: JET AIRCRAFT
Page 21 and 22: JET AIRCRAFT Above: Surrounded by J
Page 23 and 24: JET AIRCRAFT Above: The Junkers Ju
Page 25 and 26: JET AIRCRAFT one aircraft - in the
Page 27 and 28: JET AIRCRAFT DORNIER Do 335 Type: S
Page 29 and 30: JET AIRCRAFT Above: Despite its app
Page 31 and 32: JET AIRCRAFT engined bombers do. Th
Page 33 and 34: JET AIRCRAFT Above: Gotha engineers
Page 36 and 37: CHAPTER TWO Rocket-powered Aircraft
Page 38 and 39: MESSERSCHMITT Me 163B-1 Type: Singl
Page 40 and 41: 50 unpowered versions were built be
Page 42 and 43: February 1945, a single, unmanned t
Page 44: for completing a test programme on
Page 47 and 48: HYBRID AIRCRAFT AND GLIDERS 1940, i
Page 49 and 50: HYBRID AIRCRAFT AND GLIDERS GOTHA G
Page 51 and 52: HYBRID AIRCRAFT AND GLIDERS 'MISTEL
Page 54 and 55: CHAPTER FOUR Rotary-win g Aircraft
Page 56 and 57:
'Drache' ('Kite'). The new aircraft
Page 58 and 59:
through 90 degrees to bring them to
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universally jointed drive shaft and
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SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES THEFIES
Page 65 and 66:
SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES Above:
Page 67 and 68:
SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES Above:
Page 69 and 70:
SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES FIESELE
Page 72 and 73:
Left: A complete VI weighed some 2.
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Right: A technician is photographed
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made now of graphite rather than mo
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cooling it and supplying it with su
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SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILES
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134. Other reports suggest that the
Page 84:
discussion stage. There was also ta
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Above: The simplest of all air-to-a
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AIR-TO-AIR WEAPONS aim on a target
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CHAPTER SEVEN Air-to-Surface Missil
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armoured deck slowed it down fracti
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DORNIER Do 217E-5 Type: Four-seat a
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at reduced speed. These defensive t
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HENSCHEL Hs 294 Type: Rocket-propel
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SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES 'Schmetterl
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SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILES Mach number
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Above: The 'Rheintochter' 1 on its
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CHAPTER NINE Artillery By the end o
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simple matter. In around 20 hours,
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third gun, which was never complete
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unlike the 'Gustav Gerät', they we
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21CM KANONE 12 (K12) Calibre: 21.1c
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ARTILLERY 11 s
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TANKS AND ANTI-TANK WEAPONS PzKpfw
Page 125 and 126:
TANKS AND ANTI-TANK WEAPONS PANZER
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TANKS AND ANTI-TANK WEAPONS Above:
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CHAPTER ELEVEN Submarines and their
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TYPE XVIIB Type: Coastal submarine
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TYPE XXIII Type: Coastal submarine
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Above: A 'Marder' ('Marten') midget
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The next step was to produce a true
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NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WE
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Page numbers in italics refer to pi
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INDEX Paris Guns 109-10 Tarsival 1
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Submarines and their Weapons - Aircraft of World War II

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