Chromium was the key to German jet engines, and was the main reason why the turbine blades burned up. To stop this, the metallurgical engineers baked aluminum onto the turbine blades, which just about doubled their life, about 16 to 20 hours worth. If they had just used chromium, engine life would not have been a major issue, and the engines would have been ready in 1943. However, jet engine manufacturers were essentially forbidden to use the amount of chromium that was needed for one specific, and as it turns out, a useless reason. Rocket engines. Chromium was the only metal that could withstand the exhaust from a rocket engine, and it was used as a steering rudder placed directly into the rocket thrust stream to keep the rocket steady until aerodynamics on the exterior rocket fins took over. That chromium burned away too, but not before the rocket was up and away and headed on course.
The bottom line here is this. Hitler saw all of the explosive flash and power of the A-4 (V-2) rocket when it took off, and decided that was going to be his secret wonder weapon. The rockets got priority over all else for chromium use, and jet engines had to figure out alternatives, hence baking aluminum onto the turbine blades. Had Hitler understood that the real wonder weapon was a jet engine, HE-280's may have been coming off the assembly lines as early as late '41. Even then, the ME-262 with chromium turbine blades, would have been into production sometime in '43. Galland wanted them to go into production in the the spring of that year, and imagine if by late '43, 262's would have been attacking Allied bombers in force. Had chromium supplies, tech, and money been diverted to the jet engine program instead of von Brauns rockets, the ending of WW 2 becomes a bit more muddled. Let us all be grateful that it did not happen.