Germany was only still developing the proximity fuse at wars end after its development had been interrupted by a Hitler order around 1941. The proximity fuse was used with great effect by the Allies, most notably against the V1 flying bombs against which it was highly successful. The Americans were very mindful of the Germans reverse engineering proximity fuses and would at first not allow their use over enemy held territory through fear of a dud being captured. Proximity fuses were later used against ground targets with devastating effect and are generally considered to be one of the major inventions to come out of World War Two.
German anti aircraft batteries concentrated their fire into a box and relied on timed fuses which were timed to exploded at a pre-determined altitude with the hope and expectation that shell splinters would destroy the oncoming enemy aircraft. If the Germans had of had proximity fuses fitted to their anti-aircraft shells then presumably this would have made them far more effective as the fuse itself would have exploded the shell upon detecting the presence of a bomber.
Obviously the Allies had seen for themselves just how effective proximity fused shells were against the fast moving flying bombs and they would have been more than a bit concerned about the safety of their slow moving four engine bombers should the Germans had developed their own.
German anti aircraft batteries concentrated their fire into a box and relied on timed fuses which were timed to exploded at a pre-determined altitude with the hope and expectation that shell splinters would destroy the oncoming enemy aircraft. If the Germans had of had proximity fuses fitted to their anti-aircraft shells then presumably this would have made them far more effective as the fuse itself would have exploded the shell upon detecting the presence of a bomber.
Obviously the Allies had seen for themselves just how effective proximity fused shells were against the fast moving flying bombs and they would have been more than a bit concerned about the safety of their slow moving four engine bombers should the Germans had developed their own.