Luftwaffe over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II Book

The plans that Nazi Germany had to raid - and bomb - New York and the eastern seaboard are revealed in this book. They 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.

Library Journal

Using extensive primary and secondary sources, Griehl (Fighters over Russia) argues that by the end of World War II, Germany was much more technologically advanced than many believed and had plans to develop long-range aircraft. He uses a chronological approach to describe these efforts, revealing the many obstacles facing the Germans, particularly the lack of resources and the Luftwaffe's ever-changing priorities, which ranged from short-range bombers for the Russian campaign to fighters for countering the Allied invasion. The author wraps his arguments and insights around a far-fetched German plan to bomb the United States to cause panic and require the installation of more defenses. A very specialized book that requires some effort to understand; recommended for libraries that already own Griehl's other works or that specialize in World War II history.-Lt. Col. Charles M. Minyard (ret.), U.S. Army, Blountstown, FL Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.