Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:56:03-3:00:55

Axis pooled research meets industrial limits

Shared research faces material limits, with disagreement over whether rockets and a piloted V-1-like alternative could count as mature weapons.

Axis PowersJet EnginesKamikazeMetallurgyMilitary ResearchRocketsV-1 Flying BombWorld War IIYokosuka MXY7 Ohka
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Question

Which weapons might mature by 1943 or 1944 if the Axis pooled military research efficiently?

Short answer

No three systems are agreed: material and electronics limits prompt an initial rejection, with inaccurate long-range rockets and a piloted anti-ship weapon suggested as narrower possibilities.

Notes

The opening answer rejects the expectation that pooled research would deliver three mature Axis weapons by 1943 or 1944. Electronics and jet-engine metallurgy are identified as limits that shared plans would not remove, with BMW engine life used as an example. Clarke suggests long-range rockets as a possible exception, distinguishing being usable from reliably hitting a selected target. Another participant offers a human-piloted V-1-like anti-ship weapon, followed by a comparison with the Ohka, called Baka in the exchange. Disagreement over what counts as sufficiently mature prevents an agreed list of three dependable systems.