11. The Nazis drew up plans for the creation of a “Sun Gun” capable of incinerating targets from space using solar heat
A Sonnengewehr (also known as a Heliobeam or “Sun Gun”) is a theoretical orbital weapon, employing concave mirrors attached to a satellite to concentrate solar rays onto a target surface area of Earth. Although not an exclusively original concept, with Archimedes, allegedly using an intricate array of mirrors to burn enemy ships during the Second Punic War, it was not until German physicist Hermann Oberth created detailed plans for a peaceful heliobeam in 1929 that it became an object of serious scientific consideration; Oberth believed the heat produced could thaw rivers and provide illumination among other benign purposes.
Transformed by scientists at the German Army Artillery base at Hillersleben into a conceptual weapon, the Sonnengewehr was designed to be part of a space station orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 5,100 miles. Using an enormous reflector made of metallic sodium, measuring 9 square kilometers in size, the weapon could theoretically have produced and focused enough heat to cause critical damage to ground installations.
Although tempting to write off the weapon as the ramblings of a handful of desperate lunatics the Sonnengewehr was taken sufficiently seriously at the time for the United States to examine in detail the threat posed by such a weapon, with word of these strategic considerations leaking to LIFE magazine in July 1945. Furthermore, the same concept was briefly considered by American strategic defense planners in the 1940s, 1950s, and the 1960s, in the belief such a device would have immense military ramifications including the capability to melt battleships from space; notably, Werner von Braun, the father of rocketry, lobbied for the construction of similar space weaponry. by the U.S.
10. Nazi engineers were responsible for the creation of the world’s first jet-powered fighter plane and bomber
Given the initial supremacy of the Luftwaffe and the technological focus of German military scientists on aviation and rocketry, it is perhaps unsurprising that the Third Reich was the progenitor of the world’s first jet-powered fighter and bomber aircraft: the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the Arado Ar 234 respectively.
The Messerschmitt Me 262 (nicknamed “Schwalbe” or “Swallow”) was a product of “Projekt 1065”, a request by the Reich Ministry of Aviation for a jet aircraft capable of maintaining a speed of at least 850 km/h for a minimum duration of one hour. First tested in 1941, the Messerschmitt Me 262 was not introduced in combat until April 1944 due to mechanical issues and political interference forestalling the project. Faster and more heavily armored than any Allied fighter plane, the Messerschmitt Me 262 was responsible for at least 542 confirmed aerial victories; unable to be effectively countered in the air, the Allies were forced to resort to targeting the jet-fighter whilst still on the ground at German airbases. In total just 1,430 were produced before the end of the war, ultimately reducing the overall impact of the revolutionary design upon the outcome of the conflict; despite this, the engineering behind the Messerschmitt Me 262 would be adapted post-war by several nations into core components of their respective air forces, including the F-86 Sabre and B-47 Stratojet by the USAF.
The Arado Ar 234, despite being the world’s first jet-powered bomber, did little actual bombing during the Second World War. Like the Messerschmitt Me 262, the Arado Ar 234 was a product of the Reich Ministry of Aviation’s request for a bomber with a range of 2,156 kilometers; although the Arado was short of this specification, it was the best offered and thus accepted. Although testing begun in June 1943, issues with the landing gear prevented operational introduction until late 1944 with only 214 entering into service; these few were predominantly used for reconnaissance, not bombing. In spite of this limited use, the bomber proved almost impossible to intercept by the Allies and was the last Luftwaffe aircraft to fly over Britain during the conflict.