[edwest]

A power struggle is then described: "On 30 March Kammler ordered all available Blitzbombers transferred to IX. Fliegerkorps. General der Flieger Josef Kammhuber intervened and diverted two-thirds to JG 7 and the other third to KG (J) 54 on the orders of the Luftwaffe General Staff once the Reichsmarschall had refused to hand Kammler unlimited power over IX. Fliegerkorps."

Next is mention of the He 132, followed by the EF 126, the Ar 234 and night fighters in the Jabo role. A specification sheet for the Ju 88 G-7 is printed, of which one experimental example was built. Drawings are shown for the Do-335 B-6 and Do 350.

Next we are treated to an account of the training of Hitler Youth as pilots and attempts by the SS to establish their own flying corps. Photos of the Stummelhabicht, a converted Grunau Baby for prone position flying, and a bizarre glider called a Liegekranich. A poor quality photo of the only known He 162 S training glider is shown. These gliders were provided to train young pilots to fly the various rocket fighters coming into production. A drawing of a truly bizarre glider(?) with a BT 1400 attached is also shown.

The next chapter covers air to air rocket developments, followed by the Horten Ho IX, and the SS takeover of the Go 229. Next, the Ho XVIII and JU 130, plus mention of the Me P 1108. The author makes the statement: "Exhortations to step up the pace to build a large jet bomber in March 1945 resulted from the dreams of a leadership blind to the unstoppable approach of defeat." and ends with "Not until a day or so before Allied forces reached the bombed-out factories or tunnels in which production had been concentrated did the last SS man give up, throwing down their weapons and leaving to their own devices the slaves who had survived."

It is here where I must respectfully disagree with the author. In painting such a picture, he diverts from his role of meticulous researcher to personal opinion. To which, of course, he is entitled.

But I wish to point out the following: "And the Strategic Bombing Survey demonstrated conclusively that the bulk of German capacity to produce was intact. In spite of all damage, German industrial capacity was greater at the end of the war than at the beginning. The greatest single bar to production was the breakdown of all transportation; and this had largely been brought about by the Germans when they blew up their own bridges." Richard Sasuly, Chief of Financial Intelligence and liaison of the Finance Division of United States Military Government, from the book, IG Farben, dated 1947.

Chapter 8 discusses Me 163 operations, development of the Ar E 377, He P 1068 Julia, later, the P 1077, the Eber, Rammer and Fliegende Panzerfaust, plus the Natter. On the latter project, the SS was pushing heavily for continued development. Mention is made of "...the Malsi equipment which had a target-finding range of 21 kilometers up to a ceiling of 12 kilometers." Next, a manned Rheintochter, Me 263/Ju 248, and various Me 262 developments. Various other machines are discussed, including a photo mentioning "Several Fi 103 were captured more or less intact during the final Allied advances." And I have indeed seen photos of several such machines lying in streets, giving the impression that they had been used operationally as transports, perhaps for special missions. A photo is shown of an Fw 190 F-8 with (small) A3 + 18 on the ground in a derelict state, flown by KG 200. A good photo of a Bu 181 with a top wing mounted panzerfaust is shown, with a Mickey Mouse holding a panzerfaust with the head pointed down in a dash outline shield. A dash outline of what may be another emblem appears just behind the cockpit.

Chapter 10 covers Mistel use, along with plans plans for types using as yet unbuilt aircraft, or, in one case, a V 1.

Chapter 11 covers flak rockets. Mention is also made about the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Werner von Braun which was brought about by an attempt to recruit him to the SS. "Braun's refusal led to his arrest by the Gestapo on 15 March 1944 for 'suspected sabotage of V-weapons'." Interesting.

Also interesting: "When Peenemuende and Karlshagen were partially evacuated on 31 January 1945, Himmler gave Kammler command of Armeekorps zbV ('for special purposes') which now became the overseer of all rocket warfare."

I should comment on the fact that there were published reports of Allied bomber crews encountering what they called "mini V-2s" on their way to targets.

Chapter 12 starts with radar. A very interesting photo of many Wuerzburg radar under construction is shown. Centrimetric radars were now going to operational units. "These were modern 9-cm FuG 240 and FuG 244 radars." Next, jet night fighters.

Chapter 13 covers miracle weapons. Atomic weapons are dismissed with the claim that no documentary evidence exists. This is not true. One document records a German eyewitness in an aircraft. The American document, dated 24 January 1946, rates the source B (usually reliable), 1 (confirmed by other sources). The event occurred in October 1944.

Next are chemical and biological weapons. Here, the author, who has already acknowledged the encroachment of the SS and the use of slave labor, does not mention a rationale for the lack of use, by the Germans, of the three types of nerve gas then available, already packed into artillery shells and releasable by aircraft. The author indicates that "...there seems to have been some kind of tacit understanding between the various belligerents that even in defeat they would not resort to chemical or biological weapons."

This seems to be in stark contrast to the SS fanatics and the madman in charge of the war. An eyewitness account tells the following:
"In the Urlau ammunition depot near Leutkirchen in the Allgaeu, 10,000 tons of normal ammunition and over over 20,000 tons of poison-gas ammunition were stored: blue-green and yellow-cross grenades as well as large quantities of Tabun, the newly discovered nerve poison. Their explosion if the enemy came near had been expressly ordered by Hitler."
The German Army Medical Corps in World War II by Alex Buchner (translated from the original German edition), published by Schiffer, 1999.

He ends the chapter by reporting that the A-9/A-10 Amerika Rocket "...was far from ready for testing in 1945, never mind reaching operational status." This is contradicted by a report by Donald Putt published in the March 1946 edition of SAE Transactions (Volume 54), which indicates: "First experimental article date [A-9]: 1945." Included is its use in conjunction with the A-10.




Ed