MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
My thoughts exactly! In the 60's it was still a Big Thing.
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My thoughts exactly! In the 60's it was still a Big Thing.It's interesting to learn Naugahyde was in existence in 1944.
The Buzz Bomb did not look nearly as impressive as the V-2 ballistic missile, but it was far more effective as a weapon, able to deliver explosives on the enemy much cheaper than any other method the Third Reich had available. The fact it could be intercepted was a plus, not a defect. Only the latest and fastest Allied fighters could intercept the V-1, thereby drawing off a significant portion of the fighter force away from the actual combat areas. Had the Luftwaffe been able to deploy really significant numbers of jet fighters, those machines intercepting the V-1's would have been vital to opposing that new capability.
You are forgetting completely the massive effort mounted by the RAF and USAAF to destroy the V-weapons sites, which resulted in a very considerable amount of capability being diverted away from preparing the battlefield for the invasion as well as supporting the invading forces after 6 Jun 44. It was a good thing we had lots extra on hand.While I partially agree with this, it was effective in deterring Allied fighter strength, but in the short term that hardly interfered with the implementation of Overlord and the recapture of Occupied France, which was happening when the first waves of V 1s were launched.
Interesting point! However, the salient feature of German WWII propulsion capabilities was how limited they were due to materials shortages. Turbosupercharged aircraft were very rare in the Luftwaffe (the B-17 probably was the most notable example), while the US built tens of thousands. The German jet engines were marvels of design but their TBO was around 25 hours due to their severe lack of nickel alloys. The V-2 engine was years ahead of anyone else, but used H2O2 to run the turbine due to lack of suitable high temperature alloys, something the US virtually had abandoned by 1960 but the Russians copy to this day.It was very lucky they were made so small, as if they had been just a little bigger (bigger engine and more fuel) they would have not been interceptable.
Just after WWI two brothers named Loughead formed a company in Santa Barbara, CA to build a flying boat and use it to sell rides to sightseeing tourists. They hired a local young man as a draftsman who had just graduated from high school; his name was Jack Northrop.
The two brothers later changed the spelling of their name to match its correct pronunciation: Lockheed.
So on that stretch of State St in Santa Barbara, between where PCH came through the town and the beach, two great aerospace firms got their start.
It's a good point but I dont think the Germans were fools. The V1 as it was had a very short range because the pulse jet consumed a lot of fuel. Wouldnt a bigger more powerful engine need more fuel and pose more problems getting launched in an engineering tail chasing exercise?It was very lucky they were made so small, as if they had been just a little bigger (bigger engine and more fuel) they would have not been interceptable.
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I think the v1 guidance system was a lot better than the craters suggest. The British fed back fake intel reports on the hit locations via the double cross system so the Germans kept adjusting the range in the wrong direction.Interesting point! However, the salient feature of German WWII propulsion capabilities was how limited they were due to materials shortages. Turbosupercharged aircraft were very rare in the Luftwaffe (the B-17 probably was the most notable example), while the US built tens of thousands. The German jet engines were marvels of design but their TBO was around 25 hours due to their severe lack of nickel alloys. The V-2 engine was years ahead of anyone else, but used H2O2 to run the turbine due to lack of suitable high temperature alloys, something the US virtually had abandoned by 1960 but the Russians copy to this day.
The V-1 pulsejet did not need much in the way of high tempertaure alloys, apparently only for its fuel injector nozzles. Those nozzles degraded steadly with time and I do not know much margin the V-1's had, how much further a typical missile could have flown before the engine wore out, but more powerful pulsejet engines would have meant more use of those materials. Given that the V-1 guidance system would embrass a drone bought at Walmart, I am not sure a fewer number of larger, faster, and deadlier missiles would have done much good. Unless they had human pilots.
I don't think so because weight does not scale to drag, I expect they just had an engine ready and in 1942ish when it was being considered probably was un interceptable in speed. When it was finally in service very much later than hoped for it wasn't quite cutting edge any moreIt's a good point but I dont think the Germans were fools. The V1 as it was had a very short range because the pulse jet consumed a lot of fuel. Wouldnt a bigger more powerful engine need more fuel and pose more problems getting launched in an engineering tail chasing exercise?
Ditto for all Allison engined Mustangs.
And the fact was, the V-1 did far more damage to the U.K. and tied up more RAF and USAAF capabilities than anything else the Luftwaffe was capable of doing in that time frame; it was successful in that sense. It was not "successful" in the sense of stopping Overlord but it is hard to even imagine anything else that would have been in practical terms.
The V-1 saved a lot of Luftwaffe lives, if nothing else.
I think the v1 guidance system was a lot better than the craters suggest.
You just need to devote a lot more resources to it. An awful lot more. And a lot more time.There was no way that a campaign of "aim it atLondonHamburg and hope for the best" could ever be used to achieve favourable strategic outcomes.
An awful lot more.
You mean the Henschel Hs-123, I suppose?Or perhaps the Henschel Hs-129 in the air-to-mud role?