Wartime Science 5

GERMAN WARTIME SCIENCE

German Radar Research

The Germans had, if at best, mediocre work in the field of radar. Their main project was on the Freya and the Wurzburg. The Freya operated in the 126MHz range bandwidth and provided early warning information to two different Wurzburg’s. These three radar systems formed an operational box the country for the control of searchlights and anti-gun crafts. The Wurzburg’s operated in the 570 MHz range with a 3 meter parabolic reflector which produced a 12 degree beam that could be used in elevation and azimuth (angle) to acquire a target. Later the Wurzburg was increased in size from 3 meters to 8 meters.

_._._ Later the Nazi’s improved on early warning radar systems. The Mammut and Wasserman radar systems were developed. Still though, no new frequency bands were explored. The Nazi radar systems had no cenimetric equipment, and so they could not actively jam any radar systems and were highly vulnerable to being jammed.

German Rocketry Research

The Germans were most known for their development in rocketry during the Second World War. Their rocketry development started in the 1930’s and it was very extensive. The two most prominent rockets they developed, the V-1 and the V-2 will be explored. The V stood for “Vergeltungswaffen,” which translates into “weapon of retaliation.”

_._._ V-1 – The V-1 was first in line for the V-series and was a pilotless bomb that was implemented by a gas powered pulse engine jet. The engine puled 50 times per second and was launched off of make-shift catapult launch pads. The launch pad required chemical or steam power to accelerate the missile to 200 mph. The V-1 used an autopilot system account for height and velocity while a gyrocompass provided feedback to control pitch and roll. The V-1 had some problems though. It was unreliable (had trouble working to begin with), inaccurate, and had a mere top speed of 390 mph that allowed for enemies to easily intercept it.

_._._ The Germans then began work on a piloted V-1, know simply as V-1e. The purpose of this was for the missile to be guided by a pilot on a suicide mission. The V-1e was about 27 feet long and included a cockpit and pilot instruments. The rocket was test flown by test pilot Hanna Reitsch, upon requests when many other pilots were having trouble landing it. She concluded that the rocket was susceptible to vibration resulting from engine noise.

_._._ V-2 – The V-2, powered by liquid oxygen and ethyl alcohol, was the first man-made object to receive sub-orbital flight. It was guided by four external rudders on the tail fins and four internal graphite vanes at the exit of the motor and consisted of two free gyroscopes (vertical, horizontal) for lateral stability. Using an analog computer to adjust angle, its distance was controlled the moment the engine cut off by a ground controlled Doppler system or by integrating accelerometers. Its top speed was reach at the peak of it flying curve. It reached a height of 60 – 70 miles, flew a distance of up to 200 miles and carried a 1 ton warhead. What made the V-2 devastating was the fact that it traveled faster than the speed of sound. This meant that it could hit its target before it was even heard coming. The V-2 land