Originally posted by Sturm:
You are correct on Milch, I am going to have to dig thru my books and find the one that had the nice writings on him. Another one I found funny was Hitler's fascination with big guns, the Dora was a waste, of military funding. I believe 10-15 King Tigers could have been made for 1 Dora, which would have made a big difference as compared to the 1 Dora which took over 1000 men to man it and secure it.
You talk about the Schwere Dora, right? that mega-gun?.
Well, with hindsight you are right, of course. It was a waste of resources...but in 1939, when the Blitzkrieg was nowhere but on Guderian's and Manstein's minds, the Dora was seens as the Maginot Line's Nemesis. Yep, the Dora supergun was designed to blew apart the Maginot line's underground defences. And indeed, it would've done a wonderful work in that role, as it was shown against Sevastopol's fortifications in 1942. however, with von Manstein's plan of invasion, Maginot line was surrounded, never attacked frontally; and so the purpose of the Dora faded away.
So, as I say, with hindsight,yes, it was a waste of resources. but in 1939 ,and with no clue of what the German wehrmatch was about to do, for sure that the megagun concept wont sound so bad.
The rushing of the Mk Vd panther into the battelfield, the misuse of the Tiger I in Russia in its first battle "sending them to fight in swamps? lol"
Panthers in Kursk was a mistake, but not because they were used, but because the battle itself. The Panzerwaffe needed even the last AFV it could gather for its offensive. The Panther was not combat ready, true, but any tank could make a difference on the summer offensive in 1943. The problem was that the offensive was done on the sector the Soviets had been fortifying for four months.
Stukas being used after 40-41? Guess BoB didn't teach them anything. Hitlers fascination with everything being a dive bomber
The Stuka was a very valuable plane up to early 1944; even more in its G incarnation. The divebombers were very useful planes in Russia up to 1943, when the soviets really started to wrestle the air supremacy to the germans. And in the Mediterranean, the plane simply caused devastation. The HMS Illustrious was not sunk in 1941 malta convoys...barely. But it was no longer a battleworthy ship after the massive damage the X Fliegerkorps inflicted on it. Shipping losses on the mediterranean due Stukas were terrifying; the plane was the best divebomber of the world (yep, better than the Dauntless). The problem that the dive bomber plane can't survive in an enemy controlled air space is another thing. But the plane itself was VERY useful.
the collapse of the Jet program at an early stage, do to the we will take Europe in no time thinking. Long range 4 engine bombers? Close quarters for bomber crews for moral purposes? LOL this one is good too, 109 production after the G-10? I could list numerous more on the things that were done wrong.
collapse of jet project or not, anything resembling an operative Me262 wont have been done before when it was. SImply said: the engines were so problematic that the 262 was not a fighting unit until very late'44. So much for the story of Hitler Schnellbomber fever causing delay of the 262. The Jabo 262s had almost no time of combat because their engines were catching fire all the time.
Regarding the long range bomber, well, the Germans had a marked lack of hindsight; and as goering said, in 1939 numbers were more important than long range or heavy loads. That changed suddenly when France fell (thing that caugh the germans as surprised, or more, than the allies). Suddenly their useful tactical bomber force was not so useful on the strategic role. Still the task could've been done; and the LW was on the verge of victory in the BoB. The decision to bomb london was what caused its defeat. And that was a paramount mistake by hitler, yes.
Which we would agree with, was the V-1 a success or a waste of resources? This one is quite debateable but the answer is very clear.
Both the V1 and V2 were a complete waste of resources for germany. However the US SAC and the USSR ICBM force wont have thought the same in the 50's. Neither the NASA or the russian Spacial programme.
Was the King Tiger ever killed from a head on shot from another tank? And no not side shots were its armor was only 80mm and slightly sloped.
The King tiger had a maybach engine rated at 595hp. The same engine wich the Panther and Tiger I carried. Only with a difference, the Panther weighted 35 tons, the Tiger I 51tons and the Tiger II weighted 70.
You could call that an "achilles heel".
BTW that was another STUPID decision coming from the ministry of Armaments; because there were DB engines wich could deliver up to 1000hp,and were in a perfectly working status.
Why werent installed on the tigers?. We'd never know...but that stupidity from the German ministry of armaments (ran by who? YEEEEEEEEEEEES! Milch...IIRC Speer got the ministry too late to change this mistake) saved a lot of Allied tank crews.
I really cant understand how the same nation can have so many incompetents just aside of so many brilliant minds. Germany in WWII is a good example of this.
