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The German engineers were trying to come out with weapons and weapon systems that German military wanted. Under the term 'German military' we can toss in Hitler, Goering, Doenitz etc. So when RLM orders a big bomber that can dive bomb, and there is a ~3000 HP engine in pipeline, what you do? come out with a bomber that can do what is wanted, on 2 such engines, hence the He 177. RLM/Goering/Hitler wants a jet propelled bomber? Produce it.
"...For the He 177, Günter decided to employ two of the complex Daimler-Benz DB 606 "power system" setups for propulsion. He had already employed these engines on the record breaking Heinkel He 119 reconnaissance aircraft prototypes. They consisted of a pair of DB 601 liquid-cooled 12-cylinder inverted-vee inline engines mounted side by side in a nacelle – for the He 119, centrally within the fuselage, just behind its heavily glazed cockpit enclosure – driving one propeller. The two engines were inclined inwards by 30°, so that the inner cylinder banks were disposed almost vertically. A common gear-housing connected the front ends of the two crankcases, with the two crankshaft pinions driving a single airscrew shaft gear.[6] The starboard DB 601 had to be fitted with a mirror-image version of its mechanically driven centrifugal supercharger, drawing air from the starboard side of the engine. Two of the DB 606s, each of which initially developed 2,600 PS (2,564 hp, 1,912 kW) for take-off and weighing some 1,515 kg (3,340 lb) apiece, were to power the He 177. The DB 606 — and its eventual replacement, the Daimler-Benz DB 605-based "DB 610" — were to be the only two production German aviation powerplants designed to surpass 1,500 kW of power, something that the Germans had considerable challenges in developing during the war into production-ready, combat-reliable aviation engines..."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinkel_He_177
Trying to couple two engines together through a common gear is very ambitious. The vibration problems are horrendous.
The British had problems with the Napier Sabre, although they arguably approached the problem more intelligently:
"....Napier followed the Lion with two new H-block designs: the H-16 (Rapier) and the H-24 (Dagger). The H-block has a compact layout, consisting of two horizontally opposed engines lying one atop or beside another. Since the cylinders are opposed, the motion in one is balanced by the motion on the opposing side, leading to no first or second order vibration whatsoever..."
Napier Sabre Explained
"...Just how big the need for nickel is on the U-boot or on a tank?? If one does not have ample amounts of rare metals, why we should start accusing them for sabotage? As for the 'failure to develop' - let's accuse the Napier's engineers for Sabre's early troubles, Wright for R-3350 problems, BMW for BMW 801 problems, Klimov for VK-106/107/108 problems.
Later versions of the Meteor were good aircraft - they weren't a match for the MiG-15 or F-86.
Evidence indicates that Heisenberg did intentionally "drag his feet" with the program's development.Did Heisenberg sabotage the program from within? Or, did he try his best to construct a nuclear bomb and simply failed?...
Evidence indicates that Heisenberg did intentionally "drag his feet" with the program's development.
There were certain expectations regarding an eventual weapon, but in the end, the program was never given a high priority.
This has been an ongoing debate since the end of the war, and I suppose it depends on which account a person listens to in forming an opinion.There is no evidence Heisenberg dragged his feet, unless you consider his daughters hagiography as evidence. There were German physcists capable of building a working bomb but Heisenberg wasnt one of them. His theoretical knowledge was flawed and his practical knowledge was lacking. He knew that which is why he wanted to recruit Nils Bohr to help him.
And for the record, Heisenberg wasn't the key figure in the German Atomic Weapon development program, it was Professor Kurt Deibner, who worked for the Heerwaffenamt and their secret program.
This has been an ongoing debate since the end of the war, and I suppose it depends on which account a person listens to in forming an opinion.
How does this amount to sabotage?
You should at least have put these events into some kind of context to support an explanation of the contention that the programme 'changed direction' in the autumn of 1941. It's far too vague though it certainly did change later in 1941 and the reason is far less conspiratorial and rather obvious.
The British urgency and American lack of it might both be more rationally explained by the facts that Britain was already at war and had been for two years when Oliphant flew to the States in August 1941. The Americans were not at war yet, but they soon would be.
Briggs had graduated in the 19th century, was old and incompetent, maybe a decent administrator but not at or near the cutting edge of nuclear physics. He was a Presidential appointment and a man whose previous work in other government departments was known to the administration. Incompetence and lack of understanding do not equate to sabotage.
Conant was an organic chemist (as was I once upon a time) and his understanding of the new science surrounding nuclear processes and the separation of isotopes would have been limited at best. That puts his comment in some context.
Cheers
Steve
I prefer the cock up rather than conspiracy theory. Briggs might simply have forgotten about the file or just not understood it's importance