''Wunderwaffe'' () is German word meaning "wonder-weapon" and was a term assigned during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

's propaganda ministry to some revolutionary "superweapons". Most of these weapons however remained prototypes, which either never reached the combat theater, or if they did, were too late or in too insignificant numbers to have a military effect. The V-weapons, which were developed earlier and saw considerable deployment, especially against

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, trace back to the same pool of highly inventive armament concepts. Therefore, they are also included here. As the war situation worsened for Germany from 1942, claims about the development of revolutionary new weapons which could turn the tide became an increasingly prominent part of the

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

directed at Germans by their government. In reality, the advanced weapons under development generally required lengthy periods of design work and testing, and there was no realistic prospect of the German military being able to field them before the end of the war. When some advanced designs, such as the

Panther tank The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to ...

and

Type XXI submarine Type XXI submarines were a class of German diesel–electric ''Elektroboot'' (German: "electric boat") submarines designed during the Second World War. One hundred and eighteen were completed, with four being combat-ready. During the war only tw ...

, were rushed into production, their performance proved disappointing to the German military and leadership due to inadequate pre-production testing or poorly planned construction processes. Historian Michael J. Neufeld has noted that "the net result of all these weapons, deployed or otherwise, was that the Reich wasted a lot of money and technical expertise (and killed a lot of forced and slave laborers) in developing and producing exotic devices that yielded little or no tactical and strategic advantage". However, a few weapons proved to be successful and have had a large influence in post-war designs. In the German language, the term ''Wunderwaffe'' generally refers to a universal solution which solves all problems related to a particular issue, mostly used

ironically Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into d ...

for its illusionary nature.

Naval vessels

Aircraft carriers

* – a 33,550 ton aircraft carrier laid down in 1936; never completed. * '' Flugzeugträger B'' – planned sister ship to the ''Graf Zeppelin''; scrapped before launching. *'' Flugzeugträger C'' and ''D'' – two additional proposed aircraft carriers of the Graf Zeppelin class. * – a planned 56,500 ton aircraft carrier, converted from a transport; cancelled before work started.

Battleships

* H-class battleship – a series of proposals for battleships surpassing both the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Montana-class battleship The ''Montana''-class battleships were planned as successors of the for the United States Navy, to be slower but larger, better armored, and with superior firepower. Five were approved for construction during World War II, but changes in wartime ...

s and the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

Yamato-class battleship The were two battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), and , laid down leading up to World War II and completed as designed. A third hull laid down in 1940 was converted to an aircraft carrier, , during construction. Displacing n ...

s in armament, culminating in the H-44, a 140,000 ton battleship with eight 20 inch guns. Two H39-class hulls only laid down; scrapped on slipways. * ''Bismarck'' – German battleship, scuttled in the Atlantic Ocean after being crippled by

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

torpedo bombers and battleships. * ''Tirpitz'' – German battleship, sister ship of the aforementioned ''Bismarck''. Sunk in 1944 by

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

; 32

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

bombers dropped blockbuster and Tallboy bombs in Operation Catechism.

U-boats

Oceangoing U-boats

Rocket U-boat The Rocket U-boat was a series of military projects undertaken by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. The projects, which were undertaken at Peenemünde Army Research Center, aimed to develop submarine-launched rockets, flying bombs and m ...

– a planned

ballistic missile submarine A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

; project abandoned. * Type XVIII U-boat – a U-boat designed to use

air-independent propulsion Air-independent propulsion (AIP), or air-independent power, is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel). AIP can augment or replace the ...

; several were under construction when the war ended. * Type XXI U-boat "'' Elektroboot''" (Electric boat) – the first U-boat designed to operate completely submerged, 118 were built but only 4 were completed. * Type XXIV U-boat – a planned U-boat designed to use air-independent propulsion. * Type XXVI U-boat – a U-boat designed to use air-independent propulsion; several were under construction when the war ended.

Littoral U-boats

Type XXII U-boat Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * T ...

– a U-boat designed to use air-independent propulsion; two were under construction. *

Type XXIII U-boat German Type XXIII submarines were the first so-called elektroboote ("electric boats") to become operational. They were small coastal submarines designed to operate in the shallow waters of the North Sea, Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea, where la ...

("''Elektroboot''") – a U-boat designed for

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

missions; 67 were built. * Type XXV U-boat – a planned all-electric U-boat designed for littoral missions.

U-Cruisers

* Type XI – a U-boat designed to carry the

Arado Ar 231 The Arado Ar 231 was a lightweight floatplane, developed during World War II in Germany as a scout plane for submarines by Arado. The need to be stored inside the submarine necessitated compromises in design that made this single-seat seaplane ...

collapsible

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

and have 128mm turrets; four were laid down but canceled at the outbreak of World War II.

Armoured vehicles

Anti-aircraft weapons

* Flakpanzer IV "''Kugelblitz''" (Ball Lightning) – a

Panzer IV The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' IV (Pz.Kpfw. IV), commonly known as the ''Panzer'' IV, was a German medium tank developed in the late 1930s and used extensively during the Second World War. Its ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 161. The Panze ...

-based

self-propelled anti-aircraft gun An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability. Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...

; five prototypes built. * ''Flakpanzer'' 341 ''Coelian'' – A Panther D-based

, only a wooden mockup of the turret was built.

Anti-tank weapons

* '' Sturer Emil'' ("Stubborn Emil") – an experimental ''

Panzerjäger ''Panzerjäger'' (German language, German "armour-hunters" or "tank-hunters", abbreviated to ''Pz.Jg.'' in German) was a branch of service of the Nazi Germany, German Wehrmacht during the World War II, Second World War. It was an Anti-tank war ...

'' style, open-topped

tank destroyer A tank destroyer, tank hunter, tank killer, or self-propelled anti-tank gun is a type of armoured fighting vehicle, armed with a direct fire artillery gun or missile launcher, designed specifically to engage and destroy enemy tanks, often wi ...

armed with a Rheinmetall 12.8 cm K L/61 gun, 2 prototypes built for tests. Sole surviving prototype on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum.

Heavy tanks

Tiger I The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...

* Tiger II

Super-heavy tanks

* ''Landkreuzer'' P. 1000 "''Ratte''" (Rat) – a planned

super-heavy tank A super-heavy tank or super heavy tank is any tank that is notably beyond the standard of the class heavy tank in either size or weight relative to contemporary vehicles. Programs have been initiated on several occasions with the aim of creati ...

, weighing 1000

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...

s and armed with two 280mm cannons, one 128mm anti-tank gun, 8 20mm flak guns and 2 15mm heavy machine guns; cancelled in early 1943. * Panzer VII "''Löwe''" (Lion) – a planned super-heavy tank, weighing 90 tonnes and armed with a 105mm cannon; cancelled in March 1942 in favor of the Panzer VIII Maus. * Panzer VIII "''Maus''" (Mouse) – a super-heavy tank, weighing 180 tonnes and armed with two cannons of 128mm and 75mm calibre; five were ordered but only two operable prototypes completed – lone survivor currently on display at the

Kubinka Tank Museum The Kubinka Tank Museum (Центральный музей бронетанкового вооружения и техники - Tsentral'nyy Muzey Bronetankovogo Vooruzheniya I Tekhniki -Central Museum of Armored Arms and Technology) is a larg ...

. *

Panzerkampfwagen E-100 The ''Panzerkampfwagen'' E-100 (Gerät 383) (TG-01) was a German super-heavy tank design developed towards the end of World War II. The largest of the ''Entwicklung'' series of tank designs intended to improve German armored vehicle production ...

– a planned super-heavy tank (the heaviest of a series of "E-tanks") weighing 140 tonnes and armed with either 128 or 150 mm cannon, one prototype hull nearly completed, the hull was later captured and evaluated by the British before being scrapped in the 1950s.

Reconnaissance tanks

Kugelpanzer The ''Kugelpanzer'' ("ball tank") is a one-man armoured vehicle built by Nazi Germany during World War II. The history of the vehicle is practically unknown other than the fact that at least one example was exported to the Empire of Japan and ...

(ball tank), a prototype spherical reconnaissance/cable-laying tank with a mysterious history. Sent to Japan and captured by the Soviets in 1945. Currently on display at the

Gliders

* Junkers Ju 322 "''Mammut''" (Mammoth) – a

flying wing A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft that has no definite fuselage, with its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment housed inside the main wing structure. A flying wing may have various small protuberances such as pods, nacelles, blis ...

heavy transport glider, the losing competitor to the winning Me 321 ''Gigant'' giant cargo/personnel glider.

Piston engine aircraft

Blohm & Voss BV 141 The Blohm & Voss BV 141 was a World War II German tactical reconnaissance aircraft, notable for its uncommon structural asymmetry. Although the Blohm & Voss BV 141 performed well, it was never ordered into full-scale production, for reasons tha ...

– a tactical reconnaissance aircraft with unusual asymmetrical design. * Blohm & Voss BV 238 – a super-heavy transport

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

and bomber, it was the heaviest aircraft ever built by the time of its completion. *

Dornier Do 335 The Dornier Do 335 ''Pfeil'' ("Arrow") was a heavy fighter built by Dornier for Germany during World War II. The two-seater trainer version was called ''Ameisenbär'' ("anteater"). The ''Pfeil''s performance was predicted to be better than other ...

– a heavy fighter with the push-pull configuration. *

Focke Rochen The Focke Rochen (engl.: Focke Stingray), also known as ''Focke-Wulf Schnellflugzeug'' or ''Focke-Wulf VTOL'' was a German VTOL aircraft project. Designed by Heinrich Focke of the Focke-Wulf company towards the end of World War II, the project rem ...

- a VTOL experimental aircraft project. * Focke-Achgelis Fa 269 – a planned

tilt-rotor A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors (sometimes called ''proprotors'') mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a trans ...

VTOL A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-win ...

fighter. * Focke-Wulf Ta 152 – a high-altitude interceptor. *

Focke-Wulf Ta 400 The Focke-Wulf Ta 400 was a large six-engined heavy bomber design developed in Nazi Germany in 1943 by Focke-Wulf as a serious contender for the Amerikabomber project. One of the first aircraft to be developed from components from multiple count ...

– a planned '' Amerikabomber'' candidate with six radial engines and two jet engines with a range of 13,000 km in bomber configuration. * Heinkel He 111Z – a five engined ''Zwilling'' (twin)-fuselage aircraft created by combining two He 111s and designed to tow large gliders. * Heinkel He 274 – a high altitude heavy bomber with four in-line engines with a range of 3,440 km, two completed by France after the war. *

Heinkel He 277 The Heinkel He 277 was a four-engine, long-range heavy bomber design, originating as a derivative of the Heinkel He 177, He 177, intended for production and use by the Nazi Germany, German Luftwaffe during World War II. The main difference was in ...

– a planned, advanced long-range bomber design, designated by RLM by February 1943, inheriting many

He 219 The Heinkel He 219 ''Uhu'' (" Eagle-Owl") is a night fighter that served with the German Luftwaffe in the later stages of World War II. A relatively sophisticated design, the He 219 possessed a variety of innovations, including Lichtenstein S ...

prototype design features during its evolution but never built as a complete aircraft, evolved to be an '' Amerikabomber'' candidate, to be powered with four

BMW 801 The BMW 801 was a powerful German air-cooled 14-cylinder-radial aircraft engine built by BMW and used in a number of German Luftwaffe aircraft of World War II. Production versions of the twin-row engine generated between 1,560 and 2,000 PS ( ...

radial engines and up to 11,000 km range. * Junkers Ju 390 – an ''Amerikabomber'' candidate with six radial engines with a range of 9,700 km, two airworthy prototypes built and flown. *

Junkers Ju 488 The Junkers Ju 488 was a proposed four-engined German heavy strategic bomber under development in World War II. It was based on the twin-engined Ju 188 series but with additional engines mounted on a new wing inner section. One prototype was begu ...

– a heavy bomber with four radial engines with a range of 3,395 km. * Messerschmitt Me 264 – an ''Amerikabomber'' candidate with four inline or radial engines and a range of 15,000 km, three airworthy prototypes built and flown. * Messerschmitt Me 323 "''Gigant''" (Giant) – a heavy transport with six engines, adapted from the

Me 321 The Messerschmitt Me 321 ''Gigant'' was a large German cargo glider developed and used during World War II. Intended to support large scale invasions, the Me 321 saw very limited use due to the low availability of suitable tug aircraft, high vuln ...

giant troop-glider.

Jets and rocket-propelled aircraft

* Arado Ar 234 ''Blitz'' – the first operational turbojet bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. *

Arado E.555 The Arado E.555 was a long range strategic bomber proposed by the German Arado company during World War II in response to the RLM's ''Amerikabomber'' project. The E.555 designation was applied to a series of long range jet bomber designs of va ...

– a planned jet-powered Amerikabomber. *

Arado E.560 The Arado E.560 was a series of multi-engined Arado Flugzeugwerke, Arado medium-range tactical bombers projected during the Second World War.Dieter Herwig & Heinz Rode, ''The Luftwaffe Secret Projects: Strategic Bombers 1935–1945''. Midland Count ...

– a series of

tactical bomber Tactical bombing is aerial bombing aimed at targets of immediate military value, such as combatants, military installations, or military equipment. This is in contrast to strategic bombing, or attacking enemy cities and factories to cripple fut ...

projects. * Bachem Ba 349 "''Natter''" (Adder) – a rocket-powered vertical take-off interceptor. * Blohm & Voss P 178 – a turbojet dive-bomber. * DFS 194 – a rocket-powered experimental aircraft. *

DFS 228 The DFS 228 was a rocket-powered, high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft designed by the ''Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug'' (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") during World War II. By the end of the war, the aircraf ...

– a rocket-powered high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. * DFS 346 – a rocket-powered research aircraft. * Fieseler Fi 103R "''Reichenberg''" – a manned version of the

V-1 flying bomb The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buz ...

. * Focke-Wulf "''Triebflügel''" (Powered Wings) – a planned tip jet rotorcraft,

tailsitter A tail-sitter, or tailsitter, is a type of VTOL aircraft that takes off and lands on its tail, then tilts horizontally for forward flight. Originating in the 1920s with the inventor Nikola Tesla, the first aircraft to adopt a tail-sitter configur ...

interceptor * Focke-Wulf Ta 183 "''Huckebein''" – a planned

swept wing A swept wing is a wing that angles either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than in a straight sideways direction. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigate ...

turbojet fighter. * Focke-Wulf Ta 283 – a planned swept wing ramjet and rocket-powered fighter. * Heinkel He 162 ''Spatz'' – Winner of the ''Volksjäger'' (People's Fighter) design competition for a single engined turbojet fighter. *

Heinkel He 280 The Heinkel He 280 was the first turbojet-powered fighter aircraft in the world. It was inspired by Ernst Heinkel's emphasis on research into high-speed flight and built on the company's experience with the He 178 jet prototype. A combination ...

– the first turbojet fighter design, prototypes only. *

Heinkel He 343 The Heinkel He 343 was a quadjet bomber project designed by the German aircraft manufacturer Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke during the final years of the Second World War. It was intended to perform aerial reconnaissance and fighter-bomber operatio ...

– a planned four engined jet bomber based on and marginally enlarged from the Arado Ar 234's general design. *

Henschel Hs 132 Henschel's Hs 132 was a World War II dive bomber and interceptor aircraft of the German ''Luftwaffe'' that never saw service. The unorthodox design featured a top-mounted BMW 003 jet engine (identical in terms of make and position to the powerpla ...

– a planned turbojet dive bomber and interceptor. *

Horten Ho 229 The Horten H.IX, RLM designation Ho 229 (or Gotha Go 229 for extensive re-design work done by Gotha to prepare the aircraft for mass production) was a German prototype fighter/bomber initially designed by Reimar and Walter Horten to be built ...

– a turbojet flying wing jet fighter/bomber. *

Horten H.XVIII The Horten H.XVIII was a proposed German World War II intercontinental bomber, designed by the Horten brothers. The unbuilt H.XVIII represented, in many respects, a scaled-up version of the Horten Ho 229, a prototype jet fighter. The H.XVIII was ...

– a planned flying wing jet bomber based on the

. *

Junkers EF 128 The Junkers EF 128 was a project for a single-engine jet fighter, developed for the Emergency Fighter Program Luftwaffe design competition during the Second World War. The EF 128 was a tailless swept-wing design and was to have been powered by a ...

– a planned turbojet fighter. *

Junkers EF 132 The EF 132 was a planned jet bomber, under development for the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. It was the last aircraft project development undertaken by Junkers during the war, and was the culmination of the Ju 287 design started in 1942. D ...

– a planned turbojet bomber. * Junkers Ju 287 – a

forward-swept wing A forward-swept wing is an aircraft wing configuration in which the quarter-chord line of the wing has a forward sweep. Typically, the leading edge also sweeps forward. Characteristics The forward-swept configuration has a number of character ...

turbojet bomber. *

Lippisch P.13a The Lippisch P.12, P.13a and P.13b were related design projects for a ramjet-powered delta wing interceptor aircraft studied in 1944 by German designer Alexander Lippisch. The P.12 and P.13a were unarmed, relying on reinforced wings to ram it ...

– a planned supersonic ramjet delta wing interceptor. *

Lippisch P.13b The Lippisch P.12, P.13a and P.13b were related design projects for a ramjet-powered delta wing interceptor aircraft studied in 1944 by German designer Alexander Lippisch. The P.12 and P.13a were unarmed, relying on reinforced wings to ram ...

– a planned ramjet delta wing interceptor developed from the

. *

Messerschmitt Bf 109TL Due to the Messerschmitt Bf 109's versatility and time in service with the German and foreign air forces, numerous variants were produced in Germany to serve for over eight years with the Luftwaffe. Additional variants were produced abroad tota ...

– a turbojet fighter designed as an alternate/back-up for the Me 262. * Messerschmitt Me 163 "''Komet''" (Comet) – the first and only operational rocket-powered fighter. * Messerschmitt Me 262 "''Schwalbe''" (Swallow) – the first operational turbojet fighter/bomber. *

Messerschmitt Me 263 The Messerschmitt Me 263 ''Scholle'' (plaice)Christopher 2013, p. 142. was a rocket-powered fighter aircraft developed from the Me 163 ''Komet'' towards the end of World War II. Three prototypes were built but never flown under their own power ...

– a rocket-powered fighter developed from the Me 163. * Messerschmitt P.1101 – a

variable-sweep wing A variable-sweep wing, colloquially known as a "swing wing", is an airplane wing, or set of wings, that may be swept back and then returned to its original straight position during flight. It allows the aircraft's shape to be modified in fli ...

turbojet fighter. *

Messerschmitt P.1106 The Messerschmitt P.1106 was a proposed German fighter aircraft project near the end of World War II. It was intended as an improvement to the Messerschmitt P.1101. History The Messerschmitt P.1106 went through several redesigns; the first ve ...

– a jet fighter based on the

Messerschmitt Me P.1101 The Messerschmitt P.1101 was a single-seat, single- jet fighter project of World War II, developed as part of the 15 July 1944 Emergency Fighter Program which sought a second generation of jet fighters for the Third Reich. A prominent feature ...

. *

Škoda-Kauba P14 The Škoda-Kauba SK P14 was a ramjet-powered emergency fighter project for the ''Luftwaffe''. It was designed by the Škoda-Kauba industries towards the end of World War II as part of the Third Reich defense effort against the devastating allied ...

– a ramjet-powered emergency fighter. * Sombold So 344 – a rocket-powered plane with a detachable explosive nose. *

Silbervogel Silbervogel (German for "silver bird") was a design for a liquid-propellant rocket-powered sub-orbital bomber produced by Eugen Sänger and Irene Bredt in the late 1930s for The Third Reich/Nazi Germany. It is also known as the RaBo ( – "rock ...

(Silverbird) – planned sub-orbital antipodal bomber. * Zeppelin ''Fliegende Panzerfaust'' – a rocket-powered very-short-range interceptor. * Zeppelin Rammer – a rocket-powered ramming interceptor.

Helicopters

Flettner Fl 184 The Flettner 184 was a German night reconnaissance and anti-submarine autogyro developed during the 1930s. Design The Fl 184 was a two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin. The Fl 184 rotors had a length of 12 m and a cyclic pitch control syst ...

– a night reconnaissance and anti-submarine autogyro. * Flettner Fl 185 – an experimental helicopter. *

Flettner Fl 265 The Flettner Fl 265 was an experimental helicopter designed by Anton Flettner. Design and development This helicopter, developed in 1938 with the support of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'', made it possible, for the first time, to transition from ...

– an experimental helicopter, the world's earliest known airworthy

synchropter Intermeshing rotors on a helicopter are a set of two rotors turning in opposite directions, with each rotor mast mounted with a slight angle to the other, in a transversely symmetrical manner, so that the blades intermesh without colliding. T ...

. * Flettner Fl 282 "''Kolibri''" (Hummingbird) – a reconnaissance "synchropter" helicopter. * Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 "''Drache''" (Dragon) – an anti-submarine, search and rescue, reconnaissance, and freight helicopter, based on the prewar Fw 61.

Bombs and explosives

German nuclear weapons program The Uranverein ( en, "Uranium Club") or Uranprojekt ( en, "Uranium Project") was the name given to the project in Germany to research nuclear technology, including nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors, during World War II. It went through seve ...

* Fritz X, a guided anti-ship glide bomb, the world's first precision guided weapon ever deployed in combat.

Artillery

* '' Karl-Gerät'', the largest calibre (up to 60 cm), self-propelled mortar ever deployed – seven examples built, six seeing combat 1941–45. * Schwerer Gustav (Heavy Gustav) – an 800mm railway gun, the largest artillery piece ever used in warfare. * V-3 cannon "''Hochdruckpumpe''" – "High Pressure Pump", a large-calibre gun. * ''Landkreuzer'' P. 1500 "''Monster''" – a proposed super-heavy self-propelled gun, weighing 1500 metric tons and armed with the 800mm Schwerer Gustav/Dora gun.

Missiles

* Aggregat series ** A1 – the first German liquid-propellant experimental rocket. ** A2 – an experimental rocket, gyroscopically stabilized. ** A3 – an experimental rocket with an

inertial guidance system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dire ...

. ** A4/

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was developed ...

– the first

ballistic missile A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...

and the first human-made object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight. *** A4-SLBM – a planned

submarine-launched ballistic missile A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhead ...

. *** A4b/A9 – winged, long-range version of the A4, first winged rocket to break the sound barrier. ** A5 – an experimental reusable rocket. ** A6 – planned version of the A5 with different propellants; may have also been a proposal for a manned reconnaissance version of the A4b/A9. ** A7 – winged rocket, never completed. ** A8 – proposed stretched version of the A4 to use storable propellants. ** A9/A10 Amerika Rakete – a planned

intermediate-range ballistic missile An intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of 3,000–5,500 km (1,864–3,418 miles), between a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Classifying ba ...

to be used to strike the eastern United States. ** A11 Japan Rakete – proposed three-stage rocket. ** A12 – planned four-stage orbital launch rocket, capable of putting 10 metric tons into

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

. *

Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg The Fieseler Fi 103R, code-named ''Reichenberg'', was German manned version of the V-1 flying bomb (more correctly known as the ''Fieseler Fi 103''). It was developed towards the end of the Second World War and, although it never entered service ...

– a manned "suicide attack" cruise missile. * Enzian – a planned

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

with

infrared guidance Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is radi ...

. * Feuerlilie F-25 "Fire Lilly" – a surface-to-air missile. * Feuerlilie F-55 "Fire Lilly" – a two-stage, supersonic surface-to-air missile. *

/Fieseler Fi 103/Vergeltungswaffe 1 – the first

cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile used against terrestrial or naval targets that remains in the atmosphere and flies the major portion of its flight path at approximately constant speed. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhe ...

. *

Fliegerfaust The ''Fliegerfaust'' (lit. "pilot fist","plane fist", or "aviator fist"), also known as the "''Luftfaust''" (lit. "air fist"), was a German prototype of an unguided, man-portable, multi-barreled ground-to-air rocket launcher, designed to destroy ...

"Pilot Fist" or "Plane Fist" / Luftfaust "Air Fist" – the first

man-portable air-defense system Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters. Overview MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ...

(MANPADS) anti-aircraft weapons system. * Fritz X – an unpowered air-launched, MCLOS-guided

anti-ship missile An anti-ship missile (AShM) is a guided missile that is designed for use against ships and large boats. Most anti-ship missiles are of the sea skimming variety, and many use a combination of inertial guidance and active radar homing. A good ...

using the FuG 203/230 ''Kehl-Straßurg'' control system, the pioneering wartime example of a gravity-type PGM, used from September 1943 through 1944. * Henschel Hs 117 ''Schmetterling'' "Butterfly" – a manually guided surface-to-air missile. * Henschel Hs 117H – a manually guided

air-to-air missile The newest and the oldest member of Rafael's Python family of AAM for comparisons, Python-5 (displayed lower-front) and Shafrir-1 (upper-back) An air-to-air missile (AAM) is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying a ...

. *

Henschel Hs 293 The Henschel Hs 293 was a World War II German radio-guided glide bomb. It is the first operational anti-shipping missile, first used unsuccessfully on 25 August 1943 and then with increasing success over the next year, ultimately damaging or sink ...

– a pioneering MCLOS-guided, launch-boosted air-to-ship missile using the ''Kehl-Straßurg'' radio link as with the Fritz X, used in combat from 1943 to 1944. * Henschel Hs 294 – an MCLOS-guided air-to-ship missile/torpedo. *

Henschel Hs 298 __NOTOC__ The Henschel Hs 298 was a 1940s German rocket-powered air-to-air missile designed by Professor Herbert Wagner of Henschel. Design and development The Hs 298 was designed specifically to attack Allied bomber aircraft and was the first ...

– an air-to-air missile. * R4M Orkan "Hurricane" – an unguided air-to-air rocket. *

Rheinbote ''Rheinbote'' (''Rhine Messenger'', or V4) was a German short range ballistic rocket developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig at Berlin-Marienfelde during World War II. It was intended to replace, or at least supplement, large-bore artillery by providing f ...

"Rhine Messenger" – the first short-range ballistic missile. *

Rheintochter ''Rheintochter'' was a German surface-to-air missile developed by Rheinmetall-Borsig during World War II. Its name comes from the mythical ''Rheintöchter'' (Rhinemaidens) of Richard Wagner's opera series ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. The missile ...

"Rhinedaughter" – a manually guided surface-to-air missile. *

Ruhrstahl X-4 The Ruhrstahl Ru 344 X-4 or Ruhrstahl-Kramer RK 344 was a wire-guided air-to-air missile designed by Germany during World War II. The X-4 did not see operational service and thus was not proven in combat but inspired considerable post-war work a ...

– a wire-guided liquid-fueled air-to-air missile intended to be usable with the Ta 183. * Taifun "Typhoon" – a planned unguided surface-to-air missile. * ''Wasserfall Ferngelenkte Flakrakete'' "Waterfall Remote-Controlled A-A Rocket" – a supersonic surface-to-air missile. * ''

Werfer-Granate 21 The ''Werfer-Granate 21'' rocket launcher, also known as the BR 21 (the "BR" standing for ''Bordrakete'') in official Luftwaffe manuals, was a weapon used by the German Luftwaffe during World War II and was the first on-board rocket placed into ...

'' – a heavy-calibre (21 cm/8 inch) unguided air-to-air rocket, in use by the summer of 1943. * G7es/Zaunkönig T-5 – acoustic homing torpedo used by U-boats.

Orbital

* '' Sonnengewehr'' ( sun-gun) – a parabolic mirror in orbit designed to focus sunlight onto specific locations on the Earth's surface.

Rifles

* Jagdfaust – an automatically firing airborne anti-bomber

recoilless rifle A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

for use on the Me 163. *

Mauser MG 213 The Mauser MG 213 was a 20 mm aircraft-mounted revolver cannon developed for the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. It was never put into service, but the principles formed the basis for several post-war developments by the Allies. A 30 mm ver ...

– a

20 mm 20 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. It is typically used to distinguish smaller-caliber weapons, commonly called "guns", from larger-caliber "cannons" (e.g. machine gun vs. autocannon). All 20 mm cartridges ha ...

aircraft mounted revolver cannon. *

C – a

30 mm 30 mm caliber is a specific size of popular autocannon ammunition. Such ammunition includes NATO standard 30×113mmB and 30×173mm (STANAG 4624), Soviet 30×155mmB, 30×165mm, and 30×210mmB, Yugoslav 30×192mm, Anglo-Swiss 30×170mm, and ...

aircraft mounted revolver cannon. * Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 – an automatic battle rifle developed specifically for the Fallschirmjäger. * Sturmgewehr 44 – the first assault rifle. ** "''

Krummlauf The ''Krummlauf'' (English: "curved barrel") is a bent barrel attachment for the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44) rifle developed by Germany in World War II. The curved barrel included a periscope sighting device for shooting around corners from a safe ...

''" – a curved barrel for the StG44 (mp44 or Sturmgewehr). *

Sturmgewehr 45 The StG 45(M) (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 45, "Assault Rifle 45") sometimes referred to as the MP 45(M), was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the ''Wehrmacht'' at the end of World War II, using an innovative roller-delayed bl ...

– prototype.

Mission equipment

Zielgerät 1229 The ''ZG 1229 Vampir'' 1229 (ZG 1229), also known by its code name ''Vampir'', was an active infrared device developed for the ''Wehrmacht'' for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle during World War II, intended primarily for night use. Designed ...

"''Vampir''" – active infrared

night vision Night vision is the ability to see in low-light conditions, either naturally with scotopic vision or through a night-vision device. Night vision requires both sufficient spectral range and sufficient intensity range. Humans have poor night vi ...

gunsight system for the Sturmgewehr 44. *

FG 1250 The FG 1250 or ''Fahr- und Zielgerät FG 1250'' (driving and aiming device FG 1250) was a German active infrared night-vision device mounted on tanks and other armored vehicles. It was developed by Ing Gaertner of the German optics company Carl Ze ...

Tank Mounted night-vision equipment.

Purported

* '' Die Glocke'' * Directed-energy weapon *

Nazi UFOs In ufology, conspiracy theory, science fiction, and comic book stories, claims or stories have circulated linking UFOs to Nazi Germany. The German UFO theories describe supposedly successful attempts to develop advanced aircraft or spacecraft pri ...

("Haunebu" saucers)

Similar developments in Axis powers

Japan

Japanese nuclear weapons program The Japanese program to develop nuclear weapons was conducted during World War II. Like the German nuclear weapons program, it suffered from an array of problems, and was ultimately unable to progress beyond the laboratory stage before the atom ...

* – the largest submarines of

and remained the largest ever built until the construction of

s in the 1960s. * Design A150-class battleship (also known as the “Super Yamato-class battleship”) – a successor to the Yamato with added features. * Ki-200 interceptor – Japanese version of the Me 163. * J9Y ''Kikka'' – Japanese version of the Me 262. * G5N ''Shinzan'' – a prototype bomber developed as a part of ''Project Z'', the Japanese counterpart of ''Amerikabomber'' project. * G10N ''Fugaku'' – a planned Japanese ultra-long range bomber comparable in size with the American B-36 Peacemaker developed as a part of ''Project Z''. * MXY-7 ''Ohka'' – a rocket-powered ''

kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

'' aircraft. * O-I super-heavy tank – a 150-ton super-heavy tank project with an obscure history.

Romania

* 75 mm Reșița Model 1943 – an anti-tank gun with a muzzle velocity of over 1 km/second which could also elevate enough to double as a field gun, reported to have outperformed its Western, German and Soviet counterparts to become arguably the most versatile gun in its class during World War II (at least 375 produced). * Self-propelled 75 mm Reșița Model 1943 – 2 prototypes completed and tested (reportedly, this vehicle served as the inspiration for the '' Hetzer'', or as a significant influence in the latter's development). * IAR 81C fighter aircraft fitted with the

air-to-air rocket (1 prototype).

Hungary

44M Tas The 44M Tas was a Hungarian medium tank, in earlier Hungarian knowledge classified as a heavy tank design of World War II. It was developed to combat heavily armored Soviet tanks encountered on the Eastern Front and to replace the older ...

– a local attempt to replicate the heavy ''Panther'' or the "Tiger 2" tank (2 incomplete prototypes produced, including 1 complete hull).Dénes Bernád, Charles K. Kliment, Helion and Company, ''Magyar Warriors: The History of the Royal Hungarian Armed Forces 1919-1945, Volume 1'', p. 371

Notes

Citations

Works consulted

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