Where would the german A-bomb be dropped?

i was thinking, since a lot of people here ask if germany could have had the atomic bomb, where in the world would they drop it!?and with what aircraft, possibly the ME262?

[ 25. November 2003, 11:24 AM: Message edited by: SSGrenadier ]

 

Hitler definitely hated this city so my guess is London....He had directed most V-1´s and V-2´s there and if possible he´d have sent the V-3´s to London as well.

He´d use a special version of V-2 for the A-bomb, I think.

 

It depends on how much bombs they had and when they would have had the bombs.

But maybe they would have used them on Moscow, London and places where a lot of troops were.

 

I'll preface this by saying that I don't believe the Germans had a program in place to produce a nuclear weapon anywhere before the 1950's at the earliest, if even then.
But, to your question:
A 1945ish nuclear weapon weighed in at about 10,000 lbs for a Hiroshima type weapon. This eliminates about 95% of the aircraft the Germans had available as delivery systems. It also eliminates the V-1 and 2 as possible delivery systems.
What it leaves is a handful of one-off, prototype and, experimental heavy bombers and transports all of which would have been extremely vulnerable to Allied air defenses and would have had difficulty escaping their own weapon once delivered.
The bottom line is their most likely target, assuming they had such a weapon, would have to be close to the current front line of the Western Allies or, used against the Soviets where air defenses were less well developed. Either way the result would have almost certainly been singularly disappointing in terms of lasting effect.

 

perhaps you read my question wrong. i didnt ask what are the chances of having the a-bomb. i specificly asked where it would be DROPPED, and by what aircraft

with all due respect.

 

Ok. I see only two choices the Germans would have that might work realistically. The first is using the only Ju 390 in existance (assuming it was still available). The second is converting a Ju 88 or 188 into a Mistel combination and delivering it that way. Those appear to be the only two means the Germans had to deliver something weighing in around 10,000 lbs.
In the case of the Ju 390 it would be very vulnerable to interception due to the weight causing speed and maneuverability problems. It also likely wouldn't survive the attack as its chances of escape are marginal at best (it's just too slow and cannot develop enough altitude to escape).
The Mistel would appear to be a better choice. If one assumes that it is used in the East, with a very experianced (in navigation particularly) pilot it stands an excellent chance of working. Likely targets include Moscow and Leningrad. Both were within the capabilities of some Mistel combinations to reach in late 44. It might even work in the West if the target chosen wasn't too deep into Allied controlled airspace like Antwerp.
Other than that, the Germans really haven't got any aircraft capable of lifting something as heavy as a early A-bomb. Certainly it is far beyond the capacity of anything they had in jet aircraft even on the drawing board.

 

Here´s a nice little thingie A9/A10 rocket:

The A9/A10 was the world’s first practical design for a transatlantic ballistic missile. Design of the two stage missile began in 1940 and first flight would have been in 1946.

Work on the A9/A10 was prohibited after 1943 when all efforts were to be spent on perfection and production of the A4 as a weapon-in-being. Von Braun managed to continue some development and flight tests of the A9 under the cover name of A4b (i.e. a modification of the A4, and therefore a production-related project). In late 1944 work on the A9/A10 resumed under the code name Projekt Amerika, but no significant hardware development was possible after the last test of the A4b in January 1945. Payload: 1,000 kg. to a: 5,000 km range trajectory. Liftoff Thrust: 200,000 kgf. Liftoff Thrust: 2,000.00 kN. Total Mass: 85,300 kg. Core Diameter: 4.12 m. Total Length: 41.00 m. Maximum range: 5,000 km.

http://www.astronautix.com/lvs/a9a10.htm

And more :

http://www.astronautix.com/lvfam/v2.htm

http://www.ufx.org/ghostrockets/a9.htm



From left -

standard V-2 (~280 km range);

winged A4b (~580 km range);

A10/A4b two-stage supersonic-glide missile (~2500 km range);

A10/A9 two-stage hypersonic-glide missile (~5000 km range)

 

With a more detailed study of the A9/A10 one finds that the Germans would not have gotten the latter into testing until the mid 50's if at all. The A10 due to poor design in airframe in particular was far heavier and larger than most 1950's ICBM's like the Titan.
The winged versions of the A4 also proved unflyable. This was due in large part to the poorly understood characteristics of supersonic flight at the time.
The Germans faced some daunting problems in getting the A10 into operation. First, the current guidance systems where wholly inadequite for allowing the A10 any reasonable degree of accuracy. The V-2 /A4 had a CEP measured in miles. The A10 using the same system would have had a CEP measured in 10's of miles. It would literally have been sheer luck that it hit New York city rather than somewhere in the North Eastern US or Canada using that guidance system.
Then there are problems like the use of multiple stages, non-gimballed rocket motors, alcohol / LOX fuels versus more potent alternatives that likely were never going to be available (like gasoline / red fuming nitric acid as one example).
Due to the complexity, cost and, lack of experiance it would have been very lucky on the Germans part if an A10 flew before 1955 if at all. Also note that a major effort to put this missile into operational use on a large scale would have nearly bankrupted the Reich unless other programs were severly cut back. It is unlikely that Hitler would have allowed the already anemic panzer production to be reduced to produce a missile of questionable utility.

 

I think a Russian target would have been favoured, probably Moscow, with Stalingrad a close second choice.

Means of delivery: Heinkel 277? Condor? Captured Lancaster? Special custom made aircraft?

 

I think it would be London

 

Yes, I´m sure you are correct but I didn´have any knowledge of this kind of plans by the Germans earlier.I think just the fact that these were planned is quite interesting!

 

No problem, Kai. It's just it seems there are any number of people that seem to have studied only the German technology in any detail and seem to have...a bias (not exactly the word I want but it will have to do)...towards their "stuff" being better than anyone else's.
I've had several tiring go 'rounds on the ballastic missile issue. The US, Britain and, the Soviets had missile development programs. The US one was fairly large scale too (they had the resources to allow this). It is just all three recognized the limitations of rockets and missiles as weapons unlike the Germans who wasted enormous resources on what was essentially a technological waste of time in the frame of reference of World War 2. It wears on you after a while.

 

Paris ,after August 1944.

 

Perhas on the gigantic army bulldozing its ay to Berlin; kill a lot of troops and show the world the might of the atom all at once.

 

If Hitler had A-Bomb i think he had sended far from Germany - Russia.
The city is not important.
The social impact over world is important.

 

New york City-Think about it the US would then sue for peace!!! And droped by there Flying wing arcraft(forgot name).

 

I saw that plane on the History Channel last night!Looks familiar,does'nt it? Would it cross the Atlantic or mount pontoons on it so it could be refueled by a U boat? Framert.

 

I believe it could cross the adlantic!

 

Had they built it, I am sure Hitler would have used it against the allied capitol cities. His generals would want it used in the field.

 

Yea, that's the ticket! Drop a non-existant nuclear weapon using a non-existant aircraft that lacks the capacity and range to do this and the US simply folds......right.....
Maybe the Germans could load it on a V-2 on a submersible towed cannister behind a U-boat and fire it from just off the US coast. Wait, the U-boat needs modification to include a LOX plant and storage facility along with being able to store the necessary hydrazine and alcohol. And, we will have to add a special electrical system to charge up the missile's batteries. Oh,oh, and add.....well you get the idea.