Nazi Germany, while being possibly the most despicable regime to ever arise on this planet, is often hailed as the pinnacle of 1940s technological capability and prowess; but beneath the many examples of their supposed superiority lay a litany of problems that, in reality, make these weapons and vehicles much less successful than many would have you believe. While not awful by any stretch of the imagination, the Germans weren't as advanced as many claim, and certainly not lightyears ahead of the Allies contrary to the common understanding of their technology; but the number of advanced weapons they pursued are evidence of something very different about Nazi Germany toward the end of WW2.
Sources:
https://www.amazon.com/Planes-Third-Reich-Richard-Smith/dp/0914144278
https://www.amazon.com/Turbine-Development-1930-1945-Anthony-Hardcover/dp/B00NPONMVC
https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/collections/messerschmitt-me-262a-2a-schwalbe-swallow/
https://web.archive.org/web/20090627211330/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/06/090625-hitlers-stealth-fighter-plane.html
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/why-the-v2-rocket-was-a-big-mistake#:~:text=Instead%2C%20the%20first%20V2%20crashed,war%20they%20had%20already%20lost.
https://www.airzoo.org/wwii/airplanes-3/v1flyingbomb#:~:text=These%20were%20also%20known%20as,attitude%20measurement%20to%20control%20pitch.
http://www.medicine.mcgill.ca/epidemiology/hanley/bios601/Intensity-Rate/Evans2018AccuracyGeography.pdf
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/v-1-cruise-missile/nasm_A19600341000
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-v1-flying-bomb-hitlers-vengeance-weapon
https://tankmuseum.org/tank-nuts/tank-collection/panther#:~:text=The%20Panther%20was%20larger%20and,when%20travelling%20over%20soft%20ground.
https://tankandafvnews.com/2015/02/08/from-the-editor-panther-reliability/
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/horten-ho-229-v3/nasm_A19600324000
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/missile-surface-surface-v-2-4/nasm_A19600342000
http://www.digitalhistoryarchive.com/uploads/2/5/4/1/25411694/oro-t-117_survey_of_allied_tank_casualties_in_wwii.pdf
https://www.cuttersguide.com/pdf/Military-and-Uniforms/1943-handbook-on-german-military-forces.pdf
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/mg-42-machine-gun
https://www.amazon.com/Submachine-Assault-Aberdeen-Proving-Grounds/dp/0911964029
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/fg42/index.html
http://www.lonesentry.com/manuals/german-infantry-weapons/mg42-machine-gun.html#google_vignette
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/intelligence-report/use-of-mg42.html
http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/recentdev/index.html
https://archive.org/details/germaninfantrywe00bark/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater
https://archive.org/details/german-infantry-in-action-weapons-combat-troops-no-2-1984/page/15/mode/2up
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1342260/wwii-mobilization-by-country/
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/research-starters-us-military-numbers
https://archive.org/details/GermanInfantryWeapons/mode/2up
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/313958145_A_Re-assessment_of_the_German_armaments_production_during_World_War_II
http://www.lonesentry.com/tiger_tank_intel/index.html
http://www.lonesentry.com/ordnance/
Chapters
00:00 Intro
02:05 Title Card
02:19 Sources and Such
04:38 Infantry Weapons
05:31 Production Numbers Matter
07:16 MG 42
08:59 StG 44
11:50 MP 40
13:58 Gewehr 43 & FG 42
16:00 Tanks 101
18:28 Tiger
20:35 Panther
22:41 Tanks 102
24:04 Wunderwaffen
24:25 Vergeltungswaffen
24:56 V-1
26:40 V-2
29:11 Horten Ho 229 "Stealth Jet"
31:52 Me 262
33:52 The Tragic Truth
37:26 Outro and Announcements
What are you doing all the way down here?
I should note that the author overstates his case, and his perception of the Soviet Union is… flawed, but you may still find this of some interest.
Click here for events that happened today (September 13).
1877: Wilhelm Filchner, Reich explorer, was born. 1885: Wilhelm Johann Eugen Blaschke, Fascist mathematician, was brought into the world. 1891: Max Pruss, Fascist captain, arrived on this dust ball. 1899: Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian fascist, stained the earth. 1936: Stefano Delle Chiaie, neofascist terrorist, worsened life with his presence. Coincidentally, Berlin promoted Karl Burk to the rank of SS‐Hauptsturmführer and Rudolf Höss to SS‐Untersturmführer as the Spanish Nationalists captured San Sebastian, Spain. 1942: Second day of the Battle of Edson’s Ridge in the Guadalcanal Campaign: U.S. Marines successfully defeated attacks by the Japanese with heavy losses for the Axis forces. 1944: Start of the Battle of Meligalas between the Greek Resistance forces of the Greek People’s Liberation Army (ELAS) and the collaborationist security battalions.
