Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "Who were technologically superior? The Axis or Allies in WW2?" video.

  1. Hi TIK! A few comments, if you don't mind. Breaking Enigma: Without the Poles the British had exactly zero. Superior tech: Everyone had so-called "Superior tech" at the start of the war. British RaDAR advantage. German tactical coordination of massed units by means of comprehensive radio net (more radios per unit IS technical superiority). German hydrophones-best in the world. We never got close. Japanese focus on deterring air attack by means of main Battery pyrotechnics. Japanese biowarfare. USA lead based avgas additives (no one else had anything like it) giving octane numbers as high as 135 compared to German B fuels of 85 octane. That equates to higher power per CC of displacement. US two stage superchargers and US turbochargers-these give altitude advantage. Reference the Japanese and German difficulty reaching high altitude bomber streams. One stage blowers is not enough for high altitude fighting. Jet and rocket tech? It was all elementary and incomplete. Me 262 was infamous for engine nacelle fires. Me 163 killed more pilots than allied planes. US and Soviet attempts were no better. Whittle and Junkers ran almost neck in neck. BMW was still trying to figure out the whole affair when the war ended. Japan was a distant 4th. Tanks. No one had better tanks, 'cause each tank was developed to specific place in the line. Ships. No one had better ships, though Great Britain had a definite lead in hardware design and upgrading. Planes. See above comment on avgas additives and superchargers. Add to that the USA's lack of tactical foresight. 20mm cannon were the way forward, not the much beloved .50cal Ma Deuce. Guns, No one had anything like the German two stage recoil system for large caliber guns. Nor did anyone have the insane level of engineering required to allow small crews to assemble the huge guns onsite without taking weeks in the process. Additionally, we used the 17cm K18 whenever we got hands on them. It was a great gun. We hadn't anything so advanced. Self Propelled Guns. Only the Soviets fielded large caliber armored siege artillery. The SU and ISU 152 had no equal anywhere. Conclusion: Both Japan and Germany made virtue out of paucity. The US could throw money around. The two are mutually incompatible when it comes to the philosophical approaches to overcoming technical difficulty. Soviet engineering was uneven, to say the least. Promising aircraft were nixed due to failure of engines slated for their use. Soviet AFVs were limited in the big three of Gun/Armor/mobility by the engines available. US and Soviets had unlimited, uninterruptible, strategic oil reserves. Germany and Japan were on a shoestring, oil-wise.
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