Quote:
Originally Posted by tabs
Science and Technology comes from having a mfg base. ....
The USA was basically one step behind Germany in technology ( the Germans were the first to put Jets and rockets into military operation). Before the war American scientists all looked to Germany for technical expertise.
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If you really believe both statements than they are contradictory as Germany's industrial base was far smaller than the US.
However, we could have outproduced Germany 10 fold, but if Hitler developed the A-bomb first the war was lost. Roosevelt knew that which is why he consented to build the A-bomb
Science trumps industrial output....usually. Using absolutes would just be ridiculous.
But the reality is Germany
did not lead the US in technology: They had no computers, inferior radar, the British put superior jets into operation almost simultaneously, etc. German planes, almost every model, was inferior to the US equivalent. Even the ME-262 was designed with almost no range capability, making it vulnerable because it could not stay in the fight.
The reality is that superiority in science comes not from an industrial base, but from having a better EDUCATIONAL base. And the US had the largest and best universities in the world. A powerful mind thinking a new is worth a 100 strong hands pouring steel.
As an aside the Germans were NOT the first to militarize rockets: Rockets in warfare is nothing knew and have been used for centuries: "By the rockets red glare". Which is not to minimize Von Braun's technical achievements.