The plans that Nazi Germany had to raid - and bomb - New York and the eastern seabord are revealed in this book. They were were based on the use of transoceanic aircraft planes, such as the six-engined Ju 390, Me 264 or Ta 400, but the Third Reich was unable to produce such machines in sufficient numbers. If the Soviet Union had been conquered, however, these plans would have become a reality. With the seizure of vital resources from the Soviet Union the Wehrmacht would have had enough fuel and material to mass-produce giant bomber aircraft: it was a near run thing. The collapse of the Wehrmacht infrastructure and the end of the Thousand-Year Reich ensured that plans for long-range remote-controlled missiles never got off the drawing board and were never manufactured. Manfried Griehl makes it clear that until the collapse, numerous secret research laboratories seemed to have worked in parallel seeking nuclear power and explosives. Only classified material held within British, French and American archives can prove whether these groups were close to perfecting small atomic explosives. But, without a shadow of doubt, Germany was far more technologically advanced by the end of 1944 that has been previously suspected.

At the close of World War II, Allied forces faced frightening new German secret weapons—buzz bombs, V-2's, and the first jet fighters. When Hitler's war machine began to collapse, the race was on to snatch these secrets before the Soviet Red Army found them. The last battle of World War II, then, was not for military victory but for the technology of the Third Reich. In American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets, Wolfgang W. E. Samuel assembles from official Air Force records and survivors' interviews the largely untold stories of the disarmament of the once mighty Luftwaffe and of Operation Lusty—the hunt for Nazi technologies. In April 1945 American armies were on the brink of winning their greatest military victory, yet America's technological backwardness was shocking when measured against that of the retreating enemy. Senior officers, including the Commanding General of the Army Air Forces Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, knew all too well the seemingly overwhelming victory was less than it appeared. There was just too much luck involved in its outcome. Two intrepid American Army Air Forces colonels set out to regain America's technological edge. One, Harold E. Watson, went after the German jets; the other, Donald L. Putt, went after the Nazis' intellectual capital—their world-class scientists. With the help of German and American pilots, Watson brought the jets to America; Putt persevered as well and succeeded in bringing the German scientists to the Army Air Forces' aircraft test and evaluation center at Wright Field. A young P-38 fighter pilot, Lloyd Wenzel, a Texan of German descent, then turned these enemy aliens into productive American citizens—men who built the rockets that took America to the moon, conquered the sound barrier, and laid the foundation for America's civil and military aviation of the future. American Raiders: The Race to Capture the Luftwaffe's Secrets details the contest won, a triumph that shaped America's victories in the Cold War.

During World War II, aviation was among the largest industrial branches of the Third Reich. About 40 percent of total German war production, and two million people, were involved in the manufacture of aircraft and air force equipment. Based on German records, Allied intelligence reports, and eyewitness accounts, this study explores the military, political, scientific and social aspects of Germany's wartime aviation industry: production, research and development, Allied attacks, foreign workers and slave labor, and daily life and working conditions in the factories. Testimony from Holocaust survivors who worked in the factories provides a compelling new perspective on the history of the Third Reich.

Dramatic story of World War II in the air How the U.S. built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force Vivid accounts of aerial combat Winner, 2011 San Diego Book Awards for Military & Politics In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion. This difficult task fell largely to the U.S., which, at the outset, lacked the necessary men, materiel, and training. Over the ensuing years, thanks to visionary leadership and diligent effort, the U.S. Army Air Force developed strategies and tactics and assembled a well-trained force that convincingly defeated the Luftwaffe.

An extensive history of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany’s air force. In his thoroughly researched study, John Killen examines German air power between 1914 and 1945, from the early days of flying when Immelmann, Boelke, Richtofen, and other First World War aces fought and died to give Germany air supremacy, to the nightmare existence of the Luftwaffe as the Third Reich plunged headlong to destruction. Here are the aircraft: the frail biplanes and triplanes of the Kaiser’s war; the great Lufthansa aircraft and airships of the turbulent Thirties; the monoplanes designed to help Hitler in his conquest of Europe. Here are the generals who forged the air weapon of the Luftwaffe: the swaggering Goering, the playboy Udet, the ebullient Kesselring, and the scapegoat Jeschonnek. Here, too, are the pilots who tried to keep faith with their Fatherland despite overwhelming odds: Adolf Galland, Werner Molders, Joachim Marseille, and Hanna Reitsch. Not least are the actions fought by the Luftwaffe from the Spanish Civil War to the Battle of Britain, through the bloody struggle for Crete, and the siege of Stalingrad to the fearful twilight over Berlin. “A good, readable account of the rise and fall of the Luftwaffe that covers all of the main fronts on which it fought, and examines the reasons for the eventual failure as well as providing a readable narrative.” —History of War

Fighting Hitler's Jets is the personal story of the American fighter pilots who defeated the German Luftwaffe in the spring and summer of 1944, only to find themselves up against Adolf Hitler's Wunderwaffen, or “wonder weapons.”

A historian analyzes Nazi Germany’s air force during its final year before Allied forces brought an end to World War II in Europe. The Last Year of the Luftwaffe is the story of a once all-conquering force struggling to stave off an inevitable and total defeat. This book gives a complete account of Luftwaffe operations during the last twelve months of the fighting in Europe—including the dramatic Bodenplatte (or “Baseplate”) offensive over the Ardennes in December, 1944. In this comprehensive examination of Hitler’s air force, Dr. Alfred Price examines its state from May, 1944, to May, 1945, analyzing not only the forces available to it, but also the likely potential, and impact, of new aircraft and weapons systems. He also assesses the Luftwaffe’s High Command’s performance and the effect of Allied attacks and operations. In doing so he rejects several long-standing myths, clarifies the impact of the jet and rocket fighters, and demonstrates that the Luftwaffe performed as well as could be expected under the harsh circumstances of fighting a losing war.