[ex-Texan]

There was a special report on Nazi Germany and Japan on the History Channel in January. It had photos of GIANT submarines used by Germany at the end of the war. One carried nuclear scientists, jet engines and was packed with uranium (U-235) for use by the Japanese. German surrendered. The U-Boat surfaced and surrendered to U.S. Naval forces and the submarine was captured. Japan had intended to use high altitude balloons to bomb the west coast with highly radioactive material or 'dirty bombs.' Japan also had developed jet bombers and jet fighters using German engine designs. There were movie images and photos captured by U.S. troops in Tokyo.

We were closer to losing WWII war than anyone even knows.

[nuke rocketeer]

A Japanese dirt bomb attack would have guaranteed total destruction of the Japanese homeland.

[Ender Wiggin]

The Germans had no U235. They needed a reactor (pile) and due to a slight error thought graphite would not work; they were going to use a heavy water reactor (Deuterium).

The Allies blew up the German's only source of D2O, a Norwegian plant, then sank a passenger ferry carrying the last bits of D2O to Germany.

They had no isotope separation plant and only one cyclotron for cross-section work.

The Japanese had no nuclear program except for one or two people, and no equipment for serious isotope work.

[Petronski]

As I recall that program, there was not enough U-235 to build a gadget and worse still, the Germans had been telling the Japanese about Heisenberg's estimates of critical mass, which were grossly overestimated. The Japanese knew a device could be built, but did not have the final numbers (so to speak) to build one (nor, it seems, enough fuel for the core).


That's my recollection of that somewhat overwrought History Channel production. I stand ready to be corrected.

[RobRoy]

Actually, Japan had their own version of the ME 262 except it was even worse.

And I read an interview with Dr Werner Von Braun about american attacks on Peenumunde during the war as well as other information. The Germans were thought to be far down the path to a nuclear bomb, but they turned out to be on the wrong path. Given a few more years, they may have been able to change direction and do it right, but they didn't have a few more years.

This book is baloney. But it may be "interesting" baloney. Yes, the Germans were "close," but close is a relative word.

[Al Gator]

Go to the air museum in Dayton Ohio, Wright-Patterson airbase.

Take a REAL CLOSE LOOK at the ME-1 and ME-2. They were light years ahead of their time.

What is overlooked by the nay-sayers is that our a-bomb techs had been their a-bomb techs till they either escaped or where exiled. I can't image that their peers who stayed behind suddenly got a case of amnesia or were turned dumb.

There may be more than a big kernal of truth here.

Whether they set off a device or not, I have to agree, if it had any type of radioactive material in it, it would be detectable till today. But, if they were simply testing a detonation explosive device, that's a different question.