What would benefit from advanced battery technology?

[Darkwalker]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

You talk as if there was a fourth Jones movie. I pity any world like that. A strange horrifying place in which nuclear bombs could be blocked by household refridgerators.

Ah but that was most likely a GERMAN refridgerator. From SIEMENS! Back then all german refridgerators where bomb-proof! Part of german army training just in case the "Forward Defence" ended up around Moskow once more. :)

[copeab]

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments. The situation is that the PCs are dealing with the Atlanteans (a deal that keeps getting worse) which would award the chosen "squabbling tribe" with plans for advanced technology. So, tech that would be both understandable and produceable (without significant leaps) in 1942 would be best.

Transistors (with associated printed circuit boards) are a good choice. Fission reactors are useful, but more for war industry than war machines. Gas turbines are also good.

Another useful "advance" would be blueprints for the equivalent of AK-47's and RPG-7's. The Germans and Soviets would be enthusiastic for such weapons; the US Army might reject them (crude, inaccurate and, for the AK, underpowered).

[alexraccoon]

In white dwarf there was a traveller scenario Green Horizon that had a starship misjump to earth during WW2 and the aliens needed to retrieve heavy water from the Nazi plant in Norway. Consider what the equivilant of obtaining an armed Free Trader would have in the hands of German engineering and would they have enough time to apply it.

[Darkwalker]

Originally Posted by copeab

I'd like to thank everyone for their comments. The situation is that the PCs are dealing with the Atlanteans (a deal that keeps getting worse) which would award the chosen "squabbling tribe" with plans for advanced technology. So, tech that would be both understandable and produceable (without significant leaps) in 1942 would be best.

Transistors (with associated printed circuit boards) are a good choice. Fission reactors are useful, but more for war industry than war machines. Gas turbines are also good.

Another useful "advance" would be blueprints for the equivalent of AK-47's and RPG-7's. The Germans and Soviets would be enthusiastic for such weapons; the US Army might reject them (crude, inaccurate and, for the AK, underpowered).

Depends on the "when", the MPi-43/StuG-44 is easily the equivalent to an AK-47. And both nations actually had a weapon equivalent to the M1 Garand (The G43 in case of the germans)

And the RPG-7 is a good weapon but not that superior to some WWII stuff, respectively not needed due to armor values

================

But if we are talking complete systems: The Germans would love the blueprints of the Leopard I A2/A3. Within their technical limits (It's the pre-laser variant) and a nice match for their attack style. And a great platform for other variants like a AA-tank

[Agramer]

I dont think Germany needed "new breakthrough" in technology.

They already had everything needed to win war in Europe,Britain,Russia....

Their problem is actually in inter-fights and pigheadedness of some High placed officers/politicians,nepotism and stuff....

Germany had by 1942 working :

-Next generation submarine(introduced in `45).(forgot name)
USA post WW II subs were based on that model

-Working Jet fighter(Hitler and Goering wanted to reengener it into light bomber)
*1st successful prototype Jet flight was made in 1939
*1942 ME 262 fighter was born(1943 combat tested)
**If things went as they "should of" Germany would have 500-1000 Jet fighters in `43( piloted by veteran pilots ,no comment needed to effectiveness of that)

-`37 Germany ordered new heavy tank Design from Porche .... due early effectiveness/costs of model II and IV ..design was put on shelf ...than resurfaced `41 after seeing Allied heavy tanks and Tiger I was born(could of been made years before)....Tigar II was ordered `43 rolled from production in `44(could of been produced in `42)

-Bismarck class was waay superior to any British(actually any in world) Battleship design.
If German fleet was used differently with cover from land airfields...story could be different

Here is small sample of Advanced German technology that due inert system never reached its full potential.


Now take `42/43 What if Germans had this
:
ME-262 jet fighter in `42 mass produced in `43
add guided missiles,20-30 mm guns,machineguns

Tiger IIs/Panthers mass produced

1st Assault rifle in world mass produced(similar to AK-47/M-16)

Stukas with drop bombs and guided missles

Radar(Germans were 1st to produce simple radar used when fog on rajne river ,but never evolved into true radar)

Type-21 submarines with stealth coating
-put big guided missiles on them(V1s for anti ship attacks/bases)

Guided bombs in bombers

Heavier tanks

And you have TL 7 Army smacking WWII TL 6 Armies wherever they meet.

[smurf]

Think!

Submarines!

Lots of batteries to go fast underwater etc!

[Urban]

Originally Posted by Agramer

I dont think Germany needed "new breakthrough" in technology.

They already had everything needed to win war in Europe,Britain,Russia....

Their problem is actually in inter-fights and pigheadedness of some High placed officers/politicians,nepotism and stuff....

Well, alot ot the new fancy tech did have many teething problems and but it is true that some such as Me-262 suffered a bit from changed priorities, such as going from fighter to fighter-bomber role.

However, some of the ideas did not really mature for several years and that it could have turned the tide seems more part of the myth that the german people got bombarded into them about all of the wunderwaffen.

In addition Bismarck was not a brilliant design and hardly much better than many of the contemporary battleships at that time, even the british ones...

Germany had to start from nearly scratch and based the Bismarck on their latest WW1 design, the Baden class, equivalent to the british Queen Elisabeth class. They also had not had the opportunity to test older battleships to destruction such as USA, Uk and some other countries did with German war-booty or discarded warships of their own and Germany also had a hiatus in battleship design for a decade or so.

One reason why Bismarch took so long to sink in the final battle was more due to its heavy side armor belt and the short range that the british battleships fired towards it after disabling the fire control and much of the weapons early of Bismarck. Plunging fire would have gotten better results but then the attackers would have had to move away to get the range.

Hindsight is all nice but Germany did not go into war-time production until after 1941-42 and then their factoriers got alot of attention that hindered production alot.

If some of the researach had been focused on fewer areas then perhaps more could have gotten into mass-production earlier but the bureacracy and division of Germany into many tiny empires for personal power between Heer, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine and the other military/civilian organisations really made this even more difficult.

[D10]

What about tesla's death ray ?

Or even tesla's flying saucers.

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by Urban

Well, alot ot the new fancy tech did have many teething problems ......

I agree with your post 99%.Though OP wanted to know ,what "new breakthrough" could of have done and with what impact.

I was just pointing out that Germany had such "breakthroughs",and that in different political climate with better leadership,things could look very differently;not saying that it is "realistic" expectation.

Heck I think brits had 1st Jet prototype flight somewhere in 42 or 43 and look when they made 1st mass produced Jet fighter.

Bismarck had heaviest compartmentalisation of any ship afloat at that time,except submarines.That was reason why he was so hard to sink.
No armour can protect you from 400/500 mm torpedoes direct hits.

Also Bismarck had better optics than anyone else.(As can be seen with amount of hits fired/scored vs Hood...and amount of shoots fired /scored from Hood/P.of Wales battle).And Hood(as legend/pride of navy) must of had crack crew.Im aware that Hood received "lucky" shoot...so my comments are only on statistics..shoots fired/shoots scoring hits.

Im not saying that there was any realistic chance of Germany Kriegsmarine defeating Royal Navy on open sea(disparity in sizes of fleets was to big),I just said that with different strategy/tactics Kriegsmarine would/could make much greater impact(Historically they were just an nuisance,not counting submarines in).

[Agramer]

Originally Posted by D10

What about tesla's death ray ?

Or even tesla's flying saucers.

Id put it into "urban legends" category.

Though interesting stuff is:

-he made 1st functional remote controlled boat
(technology could be applied to guided remotely torpedoes with some fine-tuning)

-he was (or is and is lost) working on wireless electricity transfers(As opposed to huge cables criss-crossing any modern landscape/city....)

-he was working on capturing thunder into capacitors = free electricity

....

Edit:

Though interesting twist would be:

Tesla was born in small village in hills of Croatia.Croatia was than part of Austro-Hungarian Empire ... German language was common and high class used a lot of Germanisms(German words) in their everyday vocabulary)

What IF he went to Germany instead USA....(Edison would be Mr.Nobody)....
What IF in Germany he got great Patron to support his research(Graf Zeppelin pops to mind...Tesla is 18 years senior to Zeppelin)...

From there "What ifs..." can become really,really interesting....