Luftwaffe Over America
The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
The plans that Nazi Germany had to raid - and bomb - New York and the eastern seabord are revealed in this book. They were were based on the use of transoceanic aircraft planes, such as the six-engined Ju 390, Me 264 or Ta 400, but the Third Reich was unable to produce such machines in sufficient numbers. If the Soviet Union had been conquered, however, these plans would have become a reality. With the seizure of vital resources from the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht would have had enough fuel and material to mass-produce giant bomber aircraft: it was a near run thing. The collapse of the Wehrmacht infrastructure and the end of the Thousand-Year Reich ensured that plans for long-range remote-controlled missiles never got off the drawing board and were never manufactured. Manfried Griehl makes it clear that until the collapse, numerous secret research laboratories seemed to have worked in parallel seeking nuclear power and explosives. Only classified material held within British, French and American archives can prove whether these groups were close to perfecting small atomic explosives. But, without a shadow of doubt, Germany was far more technologically advanced by the end of 1944 that has been previously suspected.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Although the German Air Force of WWII, the Luftwaffe, was almost exclusively a battlefield air force, the historical footnote of German long-range, strategic aircraft is covered in a solid fashion by the prolific Griehl (Luftwaffe at War, etc.). The heart of the book is an accurate history of the development of a plethora of long-range experimental airplanes and the strategic policy decisions that drove this development, such as reconnaissance over the Atlantic Ocean and plans to bomb the U.S. Quotations from conferences of the Luftwaffe high command on the problems of aircraft development and plans for the air war highlight the story. Although few of the aircraft covered had any impact on the air war in Europe, they do make interesting reading as sidebars to the conflict and precursors of postwar developments in jet aircraft and rockets. The latter, such as the well-known V-1 and V-2, are given cursory treatment, but a chapter on ordnance and bombs has been included that nicely complements the aircraft featured. The unique characteristics and performance of the many aircraft covered--from the ME 264 long range bomber designed to bomb American industries to the Raumgleiter, a "rocket bomber" that would fly outside the earth's atmosphere (a prescursor to America's Space Shuttle)--are explained in simple terms, suitable for the non-specialist. Little combat action and few flying tales have been included; unusual aircraft are the thrust of the book.
