I am currently reading a book called Luftwaffe Secret Projects Fighters 1939-1945 by Walter Schick and Ingolf Meyer.
Here is an excert from the book.
Reichsmarschal Hermann Goering was so convinced in 1940 that his Luftwaffe was invincible that he decreed that only refinements of exsisting types need be considered - there was no need for more research and development, the war would be short and sharp. The Battle of Britain and the flawed invasion of the Soviet Union changed all that. Germany needed all the technological muscle it could muster. From mid-1941 onwards the brakes were off and some of the finest minds in aerodynamics turned there thoughts to war-winning fighters of a new generation.
Momentum was gained at an incredible pace, moving through advanced piston engined designs to produce jet fighters using aerodynamic concepts that the Allies seemed unable to match. Thankfully, the time-lag generated by the German leadership allowed little in the way of hardware to appear operationally by 1945.
Now with this in mind, what do you think about how this would have changed the war had Goering and the Nazi leadership allowed this research to continue at a decent pace before 1941. Keep in mind many of the German designs originated early in the war and even the Me-262 and the 163 could have been operationally sooner had this mistake not been made. Also feel free to discuss any of these designs that you may know of.
Here is an excert from the book.
Reichsmarschal Hermann Goering was so convinced in 1940 that his Luftwaffe was invincible that he decreed that only refinements of exsisting types need be considered - there was no need for more research and development, the war would be short and sharp. The Battle of Britain and the flawed invasion of the Soviet Union changed all that. Germany needed all the technological muscle it could muster. From mid-1941 onwards the brakes were off and some of the finest minds in aerodynamics turned there thoughts to war-winning fighters of a new generation.
Momentum was gained at an incredible pace, moving through advanced piston engined designs to produce jet fighters using aerodynamic concepts that the Allies seemed unable to match. Thankfully, the time-lag generated by the German leadership allowed little in the way of hardware to appear operationally by 1945.
Now with this in mind, what do you think about how this would have changed the war had Goering and the Nazi leadership allowed this research to continue at a decent pace before 1941. Keep in mind many of the German designs originated early in the war and even the Me-262 and the 163 could have been operationally sooner had this mistake not been made. Also feel free to discuss any of these designs that you may know of.