Amerika Bomber
Encyclopedia
The Amerika-Bomber project was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium, the Nazi Germany
Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber
for the Luftwaffe
that would be capable of striking the continental United States
from Germany
, a range of about 5,800 km (c.3,600 mi.). Though the concept was raised as early as 1938, plans were not submitted to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
until 1942. Various proposals were put forward, including using it to deliver an atomic bomb, but they were all eventually abandoned as too expensive.
, Hitler was fascinated with the idea of New York City in flames. In 1937, Willy Messerschmitt
hoped to win a lucrative contract by showing Hitler a prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 264
that was being designed to reach North America from Europe. On July 8, 1938, barely two years after the death of Germany's main strategic bombing advocate, Generalleutnant Walter Wever
, the Luftwaffe's commander-in-chief Hermann Göring, gave a speech saying, "I completely lack the bombers capable of round-trip flights to New York with a 4.5-tonne bomb load. I would be extremely happy to possess such a bomber which would at last stuff the mouth of arrogance across the sea." Canadian historian Holger H. Herwig claims the plan started as a result of discussions by Hitler in November 1940 and May 1941 when he stated his need to “deploy long-range bombers against American cities from the Azores
.” Due to their location, he thought the Portuguese Azores
islands were Germany's “only possibility of carrying out aerial attacks from a land base against the United States.” At the time, Portuguese dictator Salazar
had allowed German U-boats and navy ships to refuel there, but from 1943 onwards, he leased bases in the Azores to the British, allowing the Allies to provide aerial coverage in the middle of the Atlantic.
Requests for designs, at various stages during the war, were made to the major German aircraft manufacturers (Messerschmitt
, Junkers
, Heinkel
, Focke-Wulf
and the Horten Brothers
) early in World War II
, coinciding with the passage of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement
between the United States
and the United Kingdom
in September 1940.
by Olaf Groehler, a German historian. Ten copies of the plan were made, with six going to different Luftwaffe offices and four held in reserve. The plan specifically mentions using the Azores as a transit airfield to reach the United States. If utilized, the Heinkel He 277
, Junkers Ju 290
, and the Messerschmitt Me 264
could reach American targets with a 3 ton, 5 ton, and 6.5 ton payload respectively.
Although it is apparent that the plan itself deals only with an attack on American soil, it is possible the Nazis saw other, interrelated strategic purposes for the Amerika-Bomber project. According to military historian James P. Duffy, Hitler "saw in the Azores the ... possibility for carrying out aerial attacks from a land base against the United States ... [which in turn would] force it to build up a large antiaircraft defense." The anticipated result would have been to force the United States to use more of its antiaircraft capabilities - i.e. guns and fighter planes - for its own defense rather than for that of Great Britain, thereby allowing the Luftwaffe to attack the latter country with less resistance.
, Canada
and the southern tip of Greenland
. Nearly all were companies that manufactured parts for aircraft, so the goal was likely to cripple American production of aircraft. The 19 targets are listed below by company and location.
(an all-new design), the Focke-Wulf Fw 300
(based on the existing Fw 200
), Focke Wulf Ta 400, and the Junkers Ju 390
(based on the Ju 290
), as well as the Heinkel He 277
, which from its design's ongoing development through 1943, eventually ended up as worthy to compete for the "Amerika-Bomber" role. Prototypes of the Me 264 were built, but it was the Ju 390 that was selected for production. Three prototypes of the Me 264 design, and a verified pair of the Ju 390 design were constructed before the programmes were abandoned. It has been claimed in a number of postwar World War II air combat subject books, that in early 1944 the second prototype of the Ju 390 made a trans-Atlantic flight to within 20 km (12 mi) of the northeast U.S. coast.
bomber carry a Dornier Do 217
, powered with an additional Lorin-Staustrahltriebwerk (Lorin
-ramjet
), as far as possible over the Atlantic before releasing it. For the Do-217 it would have been a one-way trip. The plane would be ditched off the east coast, and its crew would be picked up by a U-boat that was waiting nearby. When plans had advanced far enough, the lack of fuel and the loss of the base at Bordeaux
prevented a test. The project was abandoned after the forced move to Istres
increased the distance too much.
British historian David Irving
stated that a method of bombing New York City
was discussed at several Luftwaffe conferences in May and June 1942. One idea that received a lot of attention was the Huckepack Projekt (piggyback project). Initially Field-Marshal Erhard Milch
vetoed the plan due to the small payload that would be delivered for such a massive project. However, on June 4, 1942, Erhard Milch
and Albert Speer
attended a lecture by Werner Heisenberg
on atomic fission at the Harnack-Haus
. After the lecture, Speer asked Heisenberg if this research could design an atom bomb. Heisenberg replied that it could be done, but would take as long as two years. Speer then asked how large a bomb would need to be to destroy a city to which Heisenberg replied the size of a football.
Heisenberg requested funds, rare materials, and scientists be released from the army to continue their research. The Huckepack Projekt was brought up again at multiple joint conferences between the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine
. However, after a few weeks the plan was abandoned on August 21, 1942. Air Staff General Kreipe wrote in his diary that the German Navy could not supply a U-boat
offshore of the United States to pick up the aircrew. The plan saw no further development, since the Kriegsmarine would not cooperate with the Luftwaffe.
- and rocket
-powered designs, e.g. a flying wing
. The Horten brothers
designed the Horten Ho XVIII
, a flying wing powered by six turbojets based on experiences with their existing Ho X design. The Arado
company also suggested a six-jet flying wing design, the Arado E.555
.
, carrying either five "Project E" aircraft or six "Project F" aircraft. The smaller aircraft had jet-engines and were designed to be kamikaze
-airplanes.
Other designs were rockets with wings. Perhaps the best-known of these today is Eugen Sänger
's pre-war Silbervogel ("Silverbird") sub-orbital bomber. While the A4b rocket, winged version of the V-2 rocket
and probably its successor A9 rocket were tested several times in late 1944/early 1945, the A9/A10 Amerika-Rakete, planned as a full 2-staged ICBM, remained a project.
designs of the space age.
According to British Intelligence, a German prisoner of war was quoted saying that since the beginning of 1944, “…regular air travel between Germany and Japan established for the transport of high officials,” took place with the Messerschmitt
Me 264. The distance from Frankfurt, Germany to Tokyo, Japan is 9,160 km (5,691 mi) whereas the distance from New York City
, New York
to Paris
, France
is 5,840 km (3,628 mi) to put this in perspective. Although in the case of bombing New York City
, that distance must be doubled to 11,680 km (7,256 mi) as the bomber will not be able to land as it did in Tokyo. The only German World War II aircraft built that had anything close to this specified range was the Messerschmitt Me 261
Adolfine, with a maximum range of 11,025 km (6,850 mi). Many engineering challenges would have to have been overcome for the bomber to be an effective weapon. Had Hitler spent more time and resources on this project, it may have had a chance of working. However, unless Germany
developed an atomic bomb, which would have taken even more time and resources, it is unlikely this aircraft would have made a big impact on the outcome of the war.
had no central authority over the development and construction of advanced weaponry. Because of this, German scientists were forced to compete for resources that were already scarce due to the war. Hitler was often swayed to spend more time, money and resources on his “miracle weapons” or projects that were exciting and new, but less likely to be successful. As a result insufficient attention was given to the Amerika-Bomber project. The project failed to come to fruition, not because the transatlantic bomber was not feasible, but because the Nazis were unable to manufacture enough parts to produce the aircraft. The Allied bombing was so intense near the end of the war it disrupted the German supply chain. Also, the German war machine was running very low on supplies, particularly fuel and kept what little was left for defense.
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
Air Ministry, to obtain a long-range strategic bomber
Strategic bomber
A strategic bomber is a heavy bomber aircraft designed to drop large amounts of ordnance onto a distant target for the purposes of debilitating an enemy's capacity to wage war. Unlike tactical bombers, which are used in the battle zone to attack troops and military equipment, strategic bombers are...
for the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
that would be capable of striking the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, a range of about 5,800 km (c.3,600 mi.). Though the concept was raised as early as 1938, plans were not submitted to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
until 1942. Various proposals were put forward, including using it to deliver an atomic bomb, but they were all eventually abandoned as too expensive.
Background
According to Spandau: The Secret DiariesSpandau: The Secret Diaries
Spandau: The Secret Diaries was a 1976 best selling book by Albert Speer. While it principally deals with Speer's time while incarcerated at Spandau Prison, it also contains much material on his role in the Third Reich and his relationship with Adolf Hitler....
, Hitler was fascinated with the idea of New York City in flames. In 1937, Willy Messerschmitt
Willy Messerschmitt
Wilhelm Emil "Willy" Messerschmitt was a German aircraft designer and manufacturer. He was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son of a wine merchant...
hoped to win a lucrative contract by showing Hitler a prototype of the Messerschmitt Me 264
Messerschmitt Me 264
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Duffy, James P. Target: America. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4....
that was being designed to reach North America from Europe. On July 8, 1938, barely two years after the death of Germany's main strategic bombing advocate, Generalleutnant Walter Wever
Walther Wever (general)
Walther Wever was a pre-World War II Luftwaffe Commander.-Early life:Walther Wever was born on 11 November 1887 in Wilhelmsort in the county of Bromberg . He was the son of Arnold Wever, the one-time director of a Berlin bank and the grandson of the Prussian Prosecutor-General Dr...
, the Luftwaffe's commander-in-chief Hermann Göring, gave a speech saying, "I completely lack the bombers capable of round-trip flights to New York with a 4.5-tonne bomb load. I would be extremely happy to possess such a bomber which would at last stuff the mouth of arrogance across the sea." Canadian historian Holger H. Herwig claims the plan started as a result of discussions by Hitler in November 1940 and May 1941 when he stated his need to “deploy long-range bombers against American cities from the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
.” Due to their location, he thought the Portuguese Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
islands were Germany's “only possibility of carrying out aerial attacks from a land base against the United States.” At the time, Portuguese dictator Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
had allowed German U-boats and navy ships to refuel there, but from 1943 onwards, he leased bases in the Azores to the British, allowing the Allies to provide aerial coverage in the middle of the Atlantic.
Requests for designs, at various stages during the war, were made to the major German aircraft manufacturers (Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt AG was a famous German aircraft manufacturing corporation named for its chief designer, Willy Messerschmitt, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262...
, Junkers
Junkers
Junkers Flugzeug- und Motorenwerke AG , more commonly Junkers, was a major German aircraft manufacturer. It produced some of the world's most innovative and best-known airplanes over the course of its fifty-plus year history in Dessau, Germany. It was founded there in 1895 by Hugo Junkers,...
, Heinkel
Heinkel
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturing company founded by and named after Ernst Heinkel. It is noted for producing bomber aircraft for the Luftwaffe in World War II and for important contributions to high-speed flight.-History:...
, Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf
Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau AG was a German manufacturer of civil and military aircraft before and during World War II. Many of the company's successful fighter aircraft designs were slight modifications of the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.-History:...
and the Horten Brothers
Horten brothers
Walter Horten and Reimar Horten , sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots and enthusiasts, and members of the Hitler Youth and Nazi party...
) early in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, coinciding with the passage of the Destroyers for Bases Agreement
Destroyers for Bases Agreement
The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty mothballed destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions...
between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in September 1940.
The plan
The Amerika-Bomber Project plan was completed on April 27, 1942 and submitted to Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring on May 12, 1942. The 33 page long plan was discovered in PotsdamPotsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
by Olaf Groehler, a German historian. Ten copies of the plan were made, with six going to different Luftwaffe offices and four held in reserve. The plan specifically mentions using the Azores as a transit airfield to reach the United States. If utilized, the Heinkel He 277
Heinkel He 277
The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long range heavy bomber design, a derivative of the He 177, intended for production and use by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in engine configuration...
, Junkers Ju 290
Junkers Ju 290
The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and heavy bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II.-Design and development:...
, and the Messerschmitt Me 264
Messerschmitt Me 264
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Duffy, James P. Target: America. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4....
could reach American targets with a 3 ton, 5 ton, and 6.5 ton payload respectively.
Although it is apparent that the plan itself deals only with an attack on American soil, it is possible the Nazis saw other, interrelated strategic purposes for the Amerika-Bomber project. According to military historian James P. Duffy, Hitler "saw in the Azores the ... possibility for carrying out aerial attacks from a land base against the United States ... [which in turn would] force it to build up a large antiaircraft defense." The anticipated result would have been to force the United States to use more of its antiaircraft capabilities - i.e. guns and fighter planes - for its own defense rather than for that of Great Britain, thereby allowing the Luftwaffe to attack the latter country with less resistance.
Potential targets
Included in the plan was a list of 21 targets of military importance. Of these, 19 were located in the United States and the remaining two in VancouverVancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the southern tip of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
. Nearly all were companies that manufactured parts for aircraft, so the goal was likely to cripple American production of aircraft. The 19 targets are listed below by company and location.
- Aluminum Corp. of AmericaAlcoaAlcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
in Alcoa, TennesseeAlcoa, TennesseeAlcoa is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, United States, south of Knoxville. Its population was 7,744 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Knoxville, Tennessee Metropolitan Statistical Area.... - Aluminum Corp. of America in Massena, New YorkMassena (village), New YorkMassena is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 13,589 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Andre Massena, one of Napoleon's generals....
- Aluminum Corp. of America in Badin, North CarolinaBadin, North CarolinaBadin is a town located in Stanly County, North Carolina. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 1,154.-Geography:Badin is located at 35°24'17" North, 80°6'57" West ....
- Wright AeronauticalWright AeronauticalWright Aeronautical was an aircraft and aircraft engine manufacturer located in New Jersey.-History:This American company evolved from the 1909-1916 Wright Company, which merged with the Glenn L. Martin Company in 1916 to form the Wright-Martin Aircraft Corporation. Glenn Martin resigned from...
Corp. in Paterson, New JerseyPaterson, New JerseyPaterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023... - Pratt & WhitneyPratt & WhitneyPratt & Whitney is a U.S.-based aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation . Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation and military aviation. Its headquarters are in East Hartford, Connecticut, USA...
Aircraft in East Hartford, ConnecticutEast Hartford, ConnecticutEast Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:... - Allison Division of G.M. in Indianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis, IndianaIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
- Wright Aeronautical Corp. in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, OhioCincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
- Hamilton StandardHamilton StandardHamilton Standard, an aircraft propeller parts supplier, was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller Corporation. Other members of the corporation included Boeing,...
Corp. in East Hartford, Connecticut - Hamilton Standard Corp. in Pawcatuck, ConnecticutPawcatuck, ConnecticutPawcatuck is a census-designated place in the town of Stonington which is located in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,474 at the 2000 census. It is located across the Pawcatuck River from Downtown Westerly in Rhode Island. It includes the Mechanic Street...
- Curtiss Wright Corp. in Beaver, PennsylvaniaBeaver, PennsylvaniaBeaver is a borough in and the county seat of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States, at the confluence of the Beaver and Ohio Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the borough population was 4,775, having dropped from 5,641 in 1940....
- Curtiss Wright Corp. in Caldwell, New JerseyCaldwell, New JerseyCaldwell is a borough located in northwestern Essex County, New Jersey, about outside of New York. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,822....
- Sperry Gyroscope in Brooklyn, New York
- CryoliteCryoliteCryolite is an uncommon mineral identified with the once large deposit at Ivigtût on the west coast of Greenland, depleted by 1987....
Refinery in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States... - American Car & Foundry in Berwick, PennsylvaniaBerwick, PennsylvaniaBerwick is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 22.6 miles southwest of Wilkes Barre. Berwick is one of two principal cities of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Columbia and Montour counties and had a combined population of 82,387...
- Colt Manufacturing in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, ConnecticutHartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
- Chrysler Corp. in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- Allis-ChalmersAllis-ChalmersThe Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co. of West Allis, Wisconsin, is an American company known for its past as a manufacturer with diverse interests, perhaps most famous for their bright Persian Orange farm tractors...
in La Porte, Indiana - Corning Glass Works in Corning, New YorkCorning (city), New YorkCorning is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States, on the Chemung River. The population was 10,842 at the 2000 census. It is named for Erastus Corning, an Albany financier and railroad executive who was an investor in the company that developed the community.- Overview :The city of...
- Bausch & LombBausch & LombBausch & Lomb, an American company based in Rochester, New York, is one of the world's leading suppliers of eye health products, such as contact lenses and lens care products today. In addition to this main activity, in recent years the area of medical technology has been developed...
in Rochester, New YorkRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
Conventional bombers
The most promising proposals were based on conventional principles of aircraft design and would have yielded aircraft very similar in configuration and capability to the Allied heavy bombers of the day, with many of the developed designs going with tricycle landing gear for their undercarriage, a relatively new feature for large German military aircraft designs of that era. These included the Messerschmitt Me 264Messerschmitt Me 264
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Duffy, James P. Target: America. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2004. ISBN 0-275-96684-4....
(an all-new design), the Focke-Wulf Fw 300
Focke-Wulf Fw 300
-See also:-References:* Herwig, Dieter and Rode, Heinz. Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Strategic Bombers 1935-45. Midland Publishing Ltd., 2000. ISBN 1-85780-092-3....
(based on the existing Fw 200
Focke-Wulf Fw 200
The Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor, also known as Kurier to the Allies was a German all-metal four-engine monoplane originally developed by Focke-Wulf as a long-range airliner...
), Focke Wulf Ta 400, and the Junkers Ju 390
Junkers Ju 390
The Junkers Ju 390 was a German aircraft intended to be used as a heavy transport, maritime patrol aircraft, and long-range bomber, a long-range derivative of the Ju 290...
(based on the Ju 290
Junkers Ju 290
The Junkers Ju 290 was a long-range transport, maritime patrol aircraft and heavy bomber used by the Luftwaffe late in World War II.-Design and development:...
), as well as the Heinkel He 277
Heinkel He 277
The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long range heavy bomber design, a derivative of the He 177, intended for production and use by the German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in engine configuration...
, which from its design's ongoing development through 1943, eventually ended up as worthy to compete for the "Amerika-Bomber" role. Prototypes of the Me 264 were built, but it was the Ju 390 that was selected for production. Three prototypes of the Me 264 design, and a verified pair of the Ju 390 design were constructed before the programmes were abandoned. It has been claimed in a number of postwar World War II air combat subject books, that in early 1944 the second prototype of the Ju 390 made a trans-Atlantic flight to within 20 km (12 mi) of the northeast U.S. coast.
Huckepack Projekt (Piggyback Project)
One idea similar to Mistel-Gespann was to have a Heinkel He 177Heinkel He 177
The Heinkel He 177 Greif was the only operational long-range bomber to be operated by the Luftwaffe. Starting its existence as Germany's first purpose-built heavy bomber just before the war, and built in large numbers during World War II, it was also mistakenly tasked, right from its beginnings,...
bomber carry a Dornier Do 217
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by German Luftwaffe during World War II as a more powerful version of the Dornier Do 17, known as the Fliegender Bleistift . Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber, its design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940...
, powered with an additional Lorin-Staustrahltriebwerk (Lorin
René Lorin
René Lorin , a graduate of the Ecole Centrale Paris, invented the ramjet. In 1908 he patented a subsonic ramjet design.Lorin published the principles of a ramjet in articles in the journal L'Aérophile from 1908 to 1913, expressing the idea that the exhaust from internal combustion engines could be...
-ramjet
Ramjet
A ramjet, sometimes referred to as a stovepipe jet, or an athodyd, is a form of airbreathing jet engine using the engine's forward motion to compress incoming air, without a rotary compressor. Ramjets cannot produce thrust at zero airspeed and thus cannot move an aircraft from a standstill...
), as far as possible over the Atlantic before releasing it. For the Do-217 it would have been a one-way trip. The plane would be ditched off the east coast, and its crew would be picked up by a U-boat that was waiting nearby. When plans had advanced far enough, the lack of fuel and the loss of the base at Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
prevented a test. The project was abandoned after the forced move to Istres
Istres
Istres is a commune in southern France, some 60 km northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture...
increased the distance too much.
Atomic bomber
The controversial revisionistHistorical revisionism (negationism)
Historical revisionism is either the legitimate scholastic re-examination of existing knowledge about a historical event, or the illegitimate distortion of the historical record such that certain events appear in a more or less favourable light. For the former, i.e. the academic pursuit, see...
British historian David Irving
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
stated that a method of bombing New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
was discussed at several Luftwaffe conferences in May and June 1942. One idea that received a lot of attention was the Huckepack Projekt (piggyback project). Initially Field-Marshal Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
vetoed the plan due to the small payload that would be delivered for such a massive project. However, on June 4, 1942, Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch
Erhard Milch was a German Field Marshal who oversaw the development of the Luftwaffe as part of the re-armament of Germany following World War I, and served as founding Director of Deutsche Luft Hansa...
and Albert Speer
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, born Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer, was a German architect who was, for a part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
attended a lecture by Werner Heisenberg
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Karl Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...
on atomic fission at the Harnack-Haus
Harnack House
The Harnack House in the Dahlem district of Berlin, Germany was opened in 1929 as a centre for German scientific and intellectual life...
. After the lecture, Speer asked Heisenberg if this research could design an atom bomb. Heisenberg replied that it could be done, but would take as long as two years. Speer then asked how large a bomb would need to be to destroy a city to which Heisenberg replied the size of a football.
Heisenberg requested funds, rare materials, and scientists be released from the army to continue their research. The Huckepack Projekt was brought up again at multiple joint conferences between the Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
. However, after a few weeks the plan was abandoned on August 21, 1942. Air Staff General Kreipe wrote in his diary that the German Navy could not supply a U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
offshore of the United States to pick up the aircrew. The plan saw no further development, since the Kriegsmarine would not cooperate with the Luftwaffe.
Flying wings
Other proposals were far more exotic jetJet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
- and rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
-powered designs, e.g. a flying wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
. The Horten brothers
Horten brothers
Walter Horten and Reimar Horten , sometimes credited as the Horten Brothers, were German aircraft pilots and enthusiasts, and members of the Hitler Youth and Nazi party...
designed the Horten Ho XVIII
Horten Ho XVIII
The Horten H.XVIII was a proposed German World War II intercontinental bomber that would have been based upon the Horten Ho 229 design. Like the Ho 229, it possibly would have possessed the rudimentary stealthy characteristics of the previous design, as well as a large fuel capacity for...
, a flying wing powered by six turbojets based on experiences with their existing Ho X design. The Arado
Arado Flugzeugwerke
Arado Flugzeugwerke was a German aircraft manufacturer, originally established as the Warnemünde factory of the Flugzeugbau Friedrichshafen firm, that produced military hydroplanes during the First World War.-History:...
company also suggested a six-jet flying wing design, the Arado E.555
Arado E.555
The Arado E.555 was a bomber proposed by the German Arado company in response to the Amerika Bomber project.-Project request:This was an initiative of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium , RLM, to obtain a long-range bomber for the Luftwaffe that would be capable of striking the continental United...
.
Daimler-Benz Project C
Another proposal was the Daimler-Benz Project C. This was a huge carrier aircraftAirborne aircraft carrier
Airborne aircraft carriers are aircraft which can launch other aircraft. These typically are large aircraft that launch fighter-interceptor planes.-Dirigible aircraft carriers:...
, carrying either five "Project E" aircraft or six "Project F" aircraft. The smaller aircraft had jet-engines and were designed to be kamikaze
Kamikaze
The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....
-airplanes.
Winged rockets
Eugen Sänger
Eugen Sänger was an Austrian-German aerospace engineer best known for his contributions to lifting body and ramjet technology.-Early career:...
's pre-war Silbervogel ("Silverbird") sub-orbital bomber. While the A4b rocket, winged version of the V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
and probably its successor A9 rocket were tested several times in late 1944/early 1945, the A9/A10 Amerika-Rakete, planned as a full 2-staged ICBM, remained a project.
Feasibility
All of these projects were deemed too expensive and ambitious and were abandoned, although the British Air Ministry considered development of the Ho XVIII for an airliner after the war, and the theoretical groundwork done on the Silbervogel would prove seminal to lifting bodyLifting body
A lifting body is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration in which the body itself produces lift. In contrast to a flying wing, which is a wing with minimal or no conventional fuselage, a lifting body can be thought of as a fuselage with little or no conventional wing...
designs of the space age.
According to British Intelligence, a German prisoner of war was quoted saying that since the beginning of 1944, “…regular air travel between Germany and Japan established for the transport of high officials,” took place with the Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt
Messerschmitt AG was a famous German aircraft manufacturing corporation named for its chief designer, Willy Messerschmitt, and known primarily for its World War II fighter aircraft, notably the Bf 109 and Me 262...
Me 264. The distance from Frankfurt, Germany to Tokyo, Japan is 9,160 km (5,691 mi) whereas the distance from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
is 5,840 km (3,628 mi) to put this in perspective. Although in the case of bombing New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, that distance must be doubled to 11,680 km (7,256 mi) as the bomber will not be able to land as it did in Tokyo. The only German World War II aircraft built that had anything close to this specified range was the Messerschmitt Me 261
Messerschmitt Me 261
-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David, ed. Warplanes of the Luftwaffe. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1994. ISBN 1-874023-56-5.* Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. New York: Galahad Books, 1986. ISBN 0-88365-666-3...
Adolfine, with a maximum range of 11,025 km (6,850 mi). Many engineering challenges would have to have been overcome for the bomber to be an effective weapon. Had Hitler spent more time and resources on this project, it may have had a chance of working. However, unless Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
developed an atomic bomb, which would have taken even more time and resources, it is unlikely this aircraft would have made a big impact on the outcome of the war.
Why the plan failed
Duffy believed that Nazi GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
had no central authority over the development and construction of advanced weaponry. Because of this, German scientists were forced to compete for resources that were already scarce due to the war. Hitler was often swayed to spend more time, money and resources on his “miracle weapons” or projects that were exciting and new, but less likely to be successful. As a result insufficient attention was given to the Amerika-Bomber project. The project failed to come to fruition, not because the transatlantic bomber was not feasible, but because the Nazis were unable to manufacture enough parts to produce the aircraft. The Allied bombing was so intense near the end of the war it disrupted the German supply chain. Also, the German war machine was running very low on supplies, particularly fuel and kept what little was left for defense.
See also
- Nakajima G10N Fugaku design, literally a Japanese "Amerika-Bomber"
- Northrop YB-35Northrop YB-35The Northrop XB-35 and YB-35 were experimental heavy bomber aircraft developed for the United States Army Air Forces during and shortly after World War II by the Northrop Corporation. It used the radical and potentially very efficient flying wing design, in which the tail section and fuselage are...
and Convair B-36Convair B-36The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" was a strategic bomber built by Convair and operated solely by the United States Air Force from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 was the largest mass-produced piston engine aircraft ever made. It had the longest wingspan of any combat aircraft ever built , although there have...
— American long-range World War II-era-conceived heavy bomber designs meant to reach Germany directly from North America. - Project ZProject ZThe Project Z was a military project of the Empire of Japan, similar to the Nazi German Amerika Bomber project, to design an intercontinental bomber capable of reaching North America.-The planned aircraft:...
Further reading
- Luftfahrt History Heft 4 - Messerschmitt Me 264 & Junkers Ju 390 *Atomziel New York - Geheime Großraketen- und Raumfahrtprojekte des Dritten Reichs
- Griehl, Manfred and Dressel, Joachim. Heinkel He 177-277-274, Airlife Publishing, Shrewsbury, England 1998. ISBN 1-85310-364-0.
- Green, William. Warplanes of the Third Reich. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1970. ISBN 0-356-02382-6.
- Herwig, Dieter and Rode, Heinz. Luftwaffe Secret Projects - Strategic Bombers 1935-45. Midland Publishing Ltd., 2000. ISBN 1-85780-092-3.
- Smith, J.R. and Kay, Anthony. German Aircraft of the Second World War. London: Putnam and Company, Ltd., 1972. ISBN 0-370-00024-2.
- Duffy, James P. Target America: Hitler's Plan to Attack the United States. The Lyons Press, 2006. ISBN 978-1-59228-934-9.
- Wagner, Ray and Nowarra, Heinz. German Combat Planes: A Comprehensive Survey and History of the Development of German Military Aircraft from 1914 to 1945. New York: Doubleday, 1971.