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German Secret Weapons of the Second World War: The Missiles, Rockets, Weapons and New Technology of the Third Reich
The phrase 'German Secret Weapons' immediately conjures up images of the V-1 and V-2 missiles which bombarded London in 1944. But what of the V-3 and V-4? What of Schmetterling, the Rochling shell, the Kurt bomb, the Hs293? These, and many other devices, were all part of the German secret armoury but are relatively unknown except to a handful of specialists. What of the German nuclear bomb? And the question of chemical warfare? The sheer magnitude of the secret weapon projects of the Third Reich is revealed in this comprehensive study written by one of the world's great experts on weaponry, which captures both the reality behind the weapons actually produced and the intentions behind projects still in their infancy when the war ended. German Secret Weapons of the Second World War examines the various fields in which the Germans concentrated their weapon development and discusses the multiplicity of ideas, the difficulties, and, in several cases, how these ideas were subsequently exploited by the victors. Comparisons with Allied projects are also drawn. Although much of the German wartime development was not completed before the war's end, it nevertheless provided a foundation for a great deal of the munitions development which has since taken place. This book explodes some of the myths surrounding Hitler's secret weapons to reveal a truth all the stranger for being fact.
223 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Ian V. Hogg
189 books21 followersIan V. Hogg enlisted in the Royal Artillery of the British Army in April 1945. During World War II he served in Europe and in eastern Asia. After the war he remained in the military. In the early 1950s, he served in the Korean War. Altogether he served in the military for 27 years. Upon retiring in 1972, he held the appointment of Master Gunner at the Royal Military College of Science, where he taught on the subjects of firearms, artillery, and their ammunition and use. Hogg also had an interest in the subject of fortification and was one of the founding members of the Fortress Study Group in 1975.
His first books were published in the late 1960s while he was still an instructor. After retiring from the military, he pursued the career of military author and historian. He was editor of Jane's Infantry Weapons from 1972 to 1994. He worked with a skilled artist, John Batchelor, to ensure that his books were well illustrated with cutaway diagrams. He contributed articles to a variety of journals, and his books have been translated into a dozen languages .
Hogg has been described by publishing people who worked with him as "an unassuming man, with a gift to pass on [his] knowledge at any level, and often with a dry humour". He was also respected for his professionalism as an author. He was described as "a consummate professional who (unlike most of his peers) usually submitted manuscripts on time, within agreed parameters, and accompanied by all the illustrations."
Hogg was a frequent guest on the History Channel's Tales of the Gun, as well as other military-related television programs.
-Wikipedia
His first books were published in the late 1960s while he was still an instructor. After retiring from the military, he pursued the career of military author and historian. He was editor of Jane's Infantry Weapons from 1972 to 1994. He worked with a skilled artist, John Batchelor, to ensure that his books were well illustrated with cutaway diagrams. He contributed articles to a variety of journals, and his books have been translated into a dozen languages .
Hogg has been described by publishing people who worked with him as "an unassuming man, with a gift to pass on [his] knowledge at any level, and often with a dry humour". He was also respected for his professionalism as an author. He was described as "a consummate professional who (unlike most of his peers) usually submitted manuscripts on time, within agreed parameters, and accompanied by all the illustrations."
Hogg was a frequent guest on the History Channel's Tales of the Gun, as well as other military-related television programs.
-Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 21, 2017
Average book. Rich on information, a bit dry.
This is an interesting piece on German's secret technology development in WW2, exposing some of the crazy, ambitious and highly successful projects undertaken in the Third Reich during the war. The book sections are as follows: ballistic weapons, aircraft, rockets and guided missiles, artillery, and finally, NBC weapons.
Not bad, but the book is very uneven. There's a lot of focus given to V-X weapons, probably because the author is British, so there's obvious bias and depth of knowledge, but then, there's hardly any mention of the jet and rocket powered fighters. We get detailed explanations into the thickness of steel plates, welding, flanges, and nozzles, but not enough on the political scheming, the technical difficulties, and the raw performance data, where it is available. For instance, no mention of V-2's range or terminal speed. No mention of the Me-262 armament or air kills. No mention of the actual combat use of some of the pieces, like the Dora cannon. Yes, it was used in the siege of Sevastopol, but it missed the critical piece where the Soviets kept their ammunition under 7 meters of concrete, and that a huge armor-piercing round was needed to try to pierce this slab. And so forth.
The book is probably more interesting to those who like mechanical detail than those interested in the story and the facts. Also, the author is an ex-artillery guy, so he may just not have been comfortable enough talking about other domains, as it's not his expertise. He also sometimes sidelines and argues with other historians, following up a feud that does not belong in the book, nor does it interest or concern the reader. A less combatative approach would work just as well.
Now, it's not bad, and there's a lot of good stuff. It's just not as exciting as I expected, and I wish it gave more focus to the listed weaponry, maybe even a simple fact sheet for each, and definitely some of the saucier detail. The fact something is made from stainless steel this that is less fun than how and when it was used, how accurate, fast, lethal, successful, or stupid it was, and of course, the human intrigue. This does get some mention, especially the very rigid structure of the German scientific community, and the political ping-pong as to what gets most spotlight with the Reich's leadership. Again, not enough.
Recommended, but I wish it explored this Area 51 topic with more flair, color and COOL facts.
Igor
This is an interesting piece on German's secret technology development in WW2, exposing some of the crazy, ambitious and highly successful projects undertaken in the Third Reich during the war. The book sections are as follows: ballistic weapons, aircraft, rockets and guided missiles, artillery, and finally, NBC weapons.
Not bad, but the book is very uneven. There's a lot of focus given to V-X weapons, probably because the author is British, so there's obvious bias and depth of knowledge, but then, there's hardly any mention of the jet and rocket powered fighters. We get detailed explanations into the thickness of steel plates, welding, flanges, and nozzles, but not enough on the political scheming, the technical difficulties, and the raw performance data, where it is available. For instance, no mention of V-2's range or terminal speed. No mention of the Me-262 armament or air kills. No mention of the actual combat use of some of the pieces, like the Dora cannon. Yes, it was used in the siege of Sevastopol, but it missed the critical piece where the Soviets kept their ammunition under 7 meters of concrete, and that a huge armor-piercing round was needed to try to pierce this slab. And so forth.
The book is probably more interesting to those who like mechanical detail than those interested in the story and the facts. Also, the author is an ex-artillery guy, so he may just not have been comfortable enough talking about other domains, as it's not his expertise. He also sometimes sidelines and argues with other historians, following up a feud that does not belong in the book, nor does it interest or concern the reader. A less combatative approach would work just as well.
Now, it's not bad, and there's a lot of good stuff. It's just not as exciting as I expected, and I wish it gave more focus to the listed weaponry, maybe even a simple fact sheet for each, and definitely some of the saucier detail. The fact something is made from stainless steel this that is less fun than how and when it was used, how accurate, fast, lethal, successful, or stupid it was, and of course, the human intrigue. This does get some mention, especially the very rigid structure of the German scientific community, and the political ping-pong as to what gets most spotlight with the Reich's leadership. Again, not enough.
Recommended, but I wish it explored this Area 51 topic with more flair, color and COOL facts.
Igor
December 27, 2017
In January 1941 staff officers of the U.S., British, and Canadian militaries met in Washington D.C.. Though the United States was still a year from declaring war, planning was already underway in anticipation of that prospect, and the decisions they reached shaped much of the war that followed. Among the most important of these was that Germany was the primary opponent in any war involving the Axis powers. While there were several excellent reasons for this, one of them was that the Germans possessed the greatest capacity for developing weapons which might radically transform the war, and thus needed to be defeated before they did.
Ian Hogg's book provides evidence of the wisdom of this decision. In it he provides an overview of the major weapons research bring undertaken by the Third Reich before and during the war. Diving his examination into categories, he summarizes the major projects to design new aircraft and air-launched weapons, air defense weapons, naval weapons, and the Wunderwaffen and nuclear and chemical weapons programs. His focus throughout is on their development, providing technical details and accounts of the decisions whether to undertake or abandon them and avoiding more than a brief mention of their deployment in the cases where the weapons were introduced. As befits a former artilleryman in the Royal Army, his section discussing the "big guns" is the best, but he provides interesting details throughout about the technical and bureaucratic challenges that slowed or stopped the development of weapons that might have changed the course of the war. The result is a work that is an excellent introduction to Germany's secret weapons programs, one best suited for the reader familiar with military technology but an informative read for anyone interested in an overview of the topic.
Ian Hogg's book provides evidence of the wisdom of this decision. In it he provides an overview of the major weapons research bring undertaken by the Third Reich before and during the war. Diving his examination into categories, he summarizes the major projects to design new aircraft and air-launched weapons, air defense weapons, naval weapons, and the Wunderwaffen and nuclear and chemical weapons programs. His focus throughout is on their development, providing technical details and accounts of the decisions whether to undertake or abandon them and avoiding more than a brief mention of their deployment in the cases where the weapons were introduced. As befits a former artilleryman in the Royal Army, his section discussing the "big guns" is the best, but he provides interesting details throughout about the technical and bureaucratic challenges that slowed or stopped the development of weapons that might have changed the course of the war. The result is a work that is an excellent introduction to Germany's secret weapons programs, one best suited for the reader familiar with military technology but an informative read for anyone interested in an overview of the topic.
May 9, 2015
A somewhat-more-technical-than-expected look at Nazi secret weapons programmes. Having said that, it does give some surprising insights into topics that most people (and definitely me) won't have thought of before, like different designs for fuses. I suspect most people will find the chapter on the V-weapons the most interesting, but for me it was run to a close second my the chapter on artillery, which ranges from rail guns for attacking fixed fortification, through long-range bombardment cannons, to taper-bore light anti-tank weapons. Not exactly light reading, but informative about topics most histories treat as unimportant.
Read
May 17, 2009Kinda technical and therefore very cool
February 24, 2016
Great history book if you love the tech of warfare. Very recommended
April 25, 2016
A highly technical book, this volume discusses the many forms of secret weapons that the Third Reich developed successfully or unsuccessfully during the twelve years of its existence. I particularly found the information about the V-1 and V-2 to be of interest as well as that about the sea war and the potential for the use of nerve gases. The author obviously did his research, but a greater knowledge of the technology behind these weapons than mine would be helpful for a complete understanding.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews