Game Changing Weapons of the Third Reich

[jimmy olsen]

I would have to rate the StG44 as the best.  It wasn't made in high enough numbers for them to make it a game-changer in the war,

'Spies said this in the combat rifle thread, and I disagree that the StG44 could have been a game changing weapon if produced in large enough numbers. The only two weapons I can think that could have fallen under that category would be the Me-262 or the Type XXI electric U-boats.

I also put the Panzer V on the list along with the panzerfaust, another visionary German infantry weapon. If forgot someone's favorite weapon system, tough, vote other and specify.

[derspiess]

That's a tough one, but I voted for the Panther.  I think if the Me262 had gone in maybe 2 years earlier it would have been the biggest game-changer.

[Queequeg]

Something that could have been easily mass produced and was easy to maintain, so not really any of the above.

[DGuller]

I'd say Me-262.  A lot of problems can disappear or be mitigated when your infrastructure doesn't get bombed to shit all the time.

[jimmy olsen]

Something that could have been easily mass produced and was easy to maintain, so not really any of the above.

Panzerfaust was easily mass produced and maintained.

[derspiess]

Panzerfaust was easily mass produced and maintained.

Yep, and it had one of the best cost/benefit ratios of any mass-produced weapon in history.

[Queequeg]

Something that could have been easily mass produced and was easy to maintain, so not really any of the above.

Panzerfaust was easily mass produced and maintained.

The T-34 and IS-2's armor was sloped.  Unless the Germans had them in the very early part of the war (and even then the Russians wouldn't have had as many tanks back then, making it somewhat moot), they would have made an impact but not a huge one.  Guess again.

And Germany reached maximum production of war material in 1944, during the bombing campaign.  The "game changer" was German industrial policy; not on the same kind of war footing as the USA let alone the USSR until the game was over, and even then focused on over-engineered, breakable tanks and useless revenge weapons. 

[jimmy olsen]

Something that could have been easily mass produced and was easy to maintain, so not really any of the above.

Panzerfaust was easily mass produced and maintained.

The T-34 and IS-2's armor was sloped.  Unless the Germans had them in the very early part of the war (and even then the Russians wouldn't have had as many tanks back then, making it somewhat moot), they would have made an impact but not a huge one.  Guess again.

The Panzerfaust destroyed plenty of T-34s.

[Queequeg]

Something that could have been easily mass produced and was easy to maintain, so not really any of the above.

Panzerfaust was easily mass produced and maintained.

The T-34 and IS-2's armor was sloped.  Unless the Germans had them in the very early part of the war (and even then the Russians wouldn't have had as many tanks back then, making it somewhat moot), they would have made an impact but not a huge one.  Guess again.

The Panzerfaust destroyed plenty of T-34s.

In an urban, German environment where the Soviets were pushing forward to take the city in the fastest possible time; and even then there were issues with penetrating the T-34's armor, not to mention the Soviet adoption of hillbilly armor by the end.

[CountDeMoney]

Game changing? Whatever moves the CRT to the right.

[grumbler]

Game changing? Whatever moves the CRT to the right.

That would be the Me-262.  Arguing that the Germans increased production without it isn't the same as arguing that they couldn't have increased production even more with it employed a year earlier (when the allied bombers were not escorted all the way to the target with any serious numbers of fighters).

I would think the Type XXI the only real competitor.  The other options are minor improvements over their predecessors.

[Viking]

A) The Sg-44 if introduced at D-Day/Bagration would have had negligible effects on the course of the war. It would have killed a few more russians and WAllies.
B) Me-262 had little if no effect when it came in 1945. Had in arrived a year earlier that would still have been one year after the destruction of the Luftwaffe in 1943. Not to mention that the allies had not pushed their own jet fighters, preferring their own reliable piston fighters. Arriving one year earlier it would have forced the allies to produce Gloucester Meteors instead of P-51s.
C) Type XXI U Boats. For the most part they arrived in 1945. By 1944 the Battle of the Atlantic had been lost for a full year already.  A better sub would not really have helped much since the battle of the atlantic was won by Bletchley Park, not by the North West Approaches Command of the RN.
D) Panzerfaust. Again, they arrive in numbers in 1945. And if they had arrived in 1944 they would still have arrived a full year after the war was lost. It would just have meant more losses for the ruskis and WAllies before the end of the war.
E) The Pz-5 _ Whatever type. Had they arrived in 1942 the outcome might have been affected. BUT (note the all caps) in 1942 the germans had little problems defeating russian armour, the Pz-4 variants were still sufficient for the task at hand (defeating T-34 with russian tactics with Pz-4s with german tactics). What really could have made an effect on the war was that if in 1943 the Germans start with Pz-5 with one full year of field testing AND in sufficient numbers to start the Battle of Kursk mid summer rather than AFTER the Russians have two months to prepare defenses.

[Faeelin]

I'd say Me-262.  A lot of problems can disappear or be mitigated when your infrastructure doesn't get bombed to shit all the time.

The problem, of course, is that a Third Reich wihch could mass produce this is so unlike our Third Reich that I really don't know what kind of state it's in.

[Neil]

The answer is:  A good dreadnought battleship.

[Viking]

The answer is:  A good dreadnought battleship.

Fritz-X vs Dreadnought still results in a 1-0 to the Fritz-X

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_battleship_Roma_(1940)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_X