Secret Nazi Aerospace Projects Which Almost Changed the Course of World War II

Much has been written about the doodlebugs, V2 rockets and other advanced technologies with which the Nazis terrorised Europe during World War II. German scientific strength seemed poised to tip the balance finally in their favour. There is also, however, a less well-known story to be told of the secret Nazi aerospace technologies which never made it into active service but which had the potential to drastically affect the outcome of the war.

Under the barrage of Allied bombing, German scientists were secretly devising plans for an incredible array of weaponry. There were designs for a hypersonic space plane, which would have required a launch ramp more than a mile long in order to get airborne and a ramjet interceptor craft which was powered, bizarrely, by coal. There was a manned V-1 flying bomb from which the pilot was meant to eject, moments after aiming his craft at an Allied target as well as plans for aircraft which consisted only of wings. There were dozens more prototypes which were technologically way ahead of their time and against which the Allies would have been helpless.

Thankfully, owing to the destruction of the factories and Luftwaffe incompetence, none of these projects saw active service. Nonetheless, there is an amazing story to be told which goes well beyond the end of the war... Exhaustively researched and fascinatingly written, Last Talons of the Eagle comes as a revelation and shows how things in 1945 could have turned out very differently had these amazing craft ever flown in anger.

Gary Hyland & Anton Gill
Hardcover with d/w 280pp Headline 1998 1st Ed

Fine/Fine