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Luftwaffe over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II
The plans that Nazi Germany had to raid & bomb NYC & the eastern seabord are revealed in this book. They depended upon the use of transoceanic aircraft, such as the 6-engined Ju 390, Me 264 or Ta 400, but the 3rd Reich was unable to produce these machines in sufficient numbers. If the USSR had been conquered, however, these plans would have become a reality. With the seizure of vital resources from the USSR the Wehrmacht would have had enough fuel & material to mass-produce giant bomber aircraft: it was a near-run thing. The collapse of the Wehrmacht infrastructure & the premature end of the 1000-Year Reich ensured that plans for long-range remote-controlled missiles never got past the drawing board. Manfred Griehl makes it clear that until the collapse numerous secret research laboratories seem to have worked in parallel developing nuclear power & explosives. Only classified material held within British, French & American archives can prove whether these laboratories were close to perfecting small atomic explosives. But, beyond a shadow of a doubt, Germany was far more technologically advanced by the end of 1944 than previously suspected.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2004
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October 30, 2017
READER ALERT: Although I sum up my feelings about this book the last paragraph, this "review" is more of an essay I wrote for a WWII reenacting group. It contains much historical background that is from the book.
Conquest of the United States had been a dream or goal of the Germans as far back as the 19th century. The Prussians of 1897 envisioned a naval defeat of Admiral Dewey by their own Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. One German naval leutnant, Eberhard von Mantay, wrote of the outcome of the proposed attack as follows: ”The US Navy put to sea but suffered a devastating defeat off Norfolk, Virginia. Admiral George Dewey lacked the ability of his counterpart von Tirpitz and lost the battle. German occupation troops came ashore at Cape Cod and set off for Boston while battleships and battle-cruisers entered New York’s Lower Bay. Endless salvos from the battle fleet’s 16 inch guns turned New York into a city of burning ruins. The population fled in panic. Now the USA was forced to negotiate with the German Reich…”
Such was the confidence of the German military to defeat a country over 6,500 km distant. In 1941 they cited the reasoning that “The USA is only a little smaller than all of Europe and has just 120 million inhabitants, while Europe has 450 million. It is therefore not difficult to see that people over there cannot grasp what we mean when we say that we are a ‘people without living space’.” And further justifying a raid, “Americans seem to have no clear understanding of (the) immense distances, for otherwise they would not need to have practice air-raid blackouts in New York against German air attack.”
In 1903, Operational Plan III for an offensive against the United States had not diminished in importance. The plan called for a takeover of the Panama Canal thereby putting a shipping and naval stranglehold on the U.S. - a plan which obviously never came to fruition due to the United States arming of their naval forces.
Late 1917 brought a renewed interest in attacking the United States with the use of airships or long range bombers. But the vast distance and lack of an effective means of escape made the notion an unlikely and highly unwise venture.
Based on research by Manfred Griehl for his book “Luftwaffe Over America,” Germany’s long-standing desire to attack the United States was thwarted (by the 1940’s) by the lack of raw materials to construct such transoceanic aircraft. The six-engine Junkers (Ju) 390, Messerschmitt 264 (Me) 264 and the Tank (Ta) 400 were all considerations – for years. Variations of each plane were discussed over and over, year after year, in some cases by the same officials but to no agreeable consensus. But there were more reasons.
Tests conducted on those aircraft proved to indicate flaws in the engine design (and subsequent failures), power loading problems and lack of sufficient onboard defenses. Not to mention the ability to return the crews safely by the lack of a reasonable refueling method. Mid-air refueling was tried but failed. One report actually suggested that the crews bail out after the bombing and immediately surrender. Hitler’s aversion to suicide pilots and losing trained aircrews squashed that idea. And other RLM officials agreed as well.
Eventually, the decision was made that bombing the east coast of the United States to have any definitive outcome on the war was deemed impractical given the lack of resources and refueling problems at hand. But the need to make the U.S. feel some impact from the German military machine still persisted. One popular notion in some circles of the RLM was that of “nuisance raids” – sending twenty or so aircraft across the Atlantic to drop their bombs on various towns and cities along the eastern seaboard. And very inventive methods of refueling and delivering ordnance arose from this period. The methods included a towed drone filled with fuel to be released when the supply was used up. Also, the Blohm und Voss BV 222 and BV 238 flying boats were suggested as long range bombers to be refueled by U-tankers stationed between the Azores and Bermuda. That suggestion, (which to this author seemed to be the most viable) was approved by the Kriegsmarine on the condition that “not even one of these U-tankers be endangered by involvement in a single nuisance raid against the US coast” since all U-boats were needed urgently for anti-convoy duty.
Not to be left out the possible action against the eastern seaboard, the Kriegsmarine was offered to evaluate the possibility of U-Boats towing containers filled with V-2 rockets! To fire the rockets, the horizontally configured launching platforms (which resembled a large thermos bottle or rocket shaped barge) were to be up-righted and fired while the sub was stationary in the water. This basically was the first attempt at launching a missile from a submarine. The German subs were regularly patrolling the Atlantic and making their way all the way to South America. So, to them it was familiar territory.
Hitler had become convinced of the possibility of global war when on August 11, 1938 when Dr. Alfred Henke flew a civilian FW 200 V-1 6,370 km nonstop from Berlin-Staaken to New York. Orders were given to design a long range bomber. And so it went on and on between the various factions and branches of the German military machine. Discussion upon discussion. Suggestion upon suggestion. Testing and retesting. Designing and redesigning. In all the BV 222, BV 238, BV 250, Me 264, He 177, 274 & 277, Ju 290 & 390, Ta 400, Focke-Wulf-TO (Transozean), Ju EF 100 (in service postwar), Ju 89 SV-1, and many more designs left on the drawing board were considered by the Luftwaffe from 1938 until the war’s end with not one useable bomber constructed for their original goal. Interestingly, most of the more ‘usable’ designs were ones that never got off the ground, literally, or the drawing board. Designs that were too late in coming and too advanced for the time period but would end up in the hands of the Allies and Soviet Union for future development many years later.
In all, “Luftwaffe Over America” is a tedious and almost frustrating read. It contains detailed conversations between officials and aircraft builders that take place over the course of years. The various aircraft discussed were tossed back and forth from one aircraft to another, redesigned with different engines, zwilling (twin) variants and parasite fighter aircraft added. The same aircraft were debated over and over and eventually came to no end. On the technical side, if you want to know every detail about every heavy bomber the Luftwaffe had at its disposal, then this book is a must read. On the other hand, if anything, Manfred Griehl’s style of presentation makes the reader feel the same frustration that was certainly present between all involved parties over the course of those few years. And it gives the reader the feeling of desperation at a failed attempt of success.
Conquest of the United States had been a dream or goal of the Germans as far back as the 19th century. The Prussians of 1897 envisioned a naval defeat of Admiral Dewey by their own Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. One German naval leutnant, Eberhard von Mantay, wrote of the outcome of the proposed attack as follows: ”The US Navy put to sea but suffered a devastating defeat off Norfolk, Virginia. Admiral George Dewey lacked the ability of his counterpart von Tirpitz and lost the battle. German occupation troops came ashore at Cape Cod and set off for Boston while battleships and battle-cruisers entered New York’s Lower Bay. Endless salvos from the battle fleet’s 16 inch guns turned New York into a city of burning ruins. The population fled in panic. Now the USA was forced to negotiate with the German Reich…”
Such was the confidence of the German military to defeat a country over 6,500 km distant. In 1941 they cited the reasoning that “The USA is only a little smaller than all of Europe and has just 120 million inhabitants, while Europe has 450 million. It is therefore not difficult to see that people over there cannot grasp what we mean when we say that we are a ‘people without living space’.” And further justifying a raid, “Americans seem to have no clear understanding of (the) immense distances, for otherwise they would not need to have practice air-raid blackouts in New York against German air attack.”
In 1903, Operational Plan III for an offensive against the United States had not diminished in importance. The plan called for a takeover of the Panama Canal thereby putting a shipping and naval stranglehold on the U.S. - a plan which obviously never came to fruition due to the United States arming of their naval forces.
Late 1917 brought a renewed interest in attacking the United States with the use of airships or long range bombers. But the vast distance and lack of an effective means of escape made the notion an unlikely and highly unwise venture.
Based on research by Manfred Griehl for his book “Luftwaffe Over America,” Germany’s long-standing desire to attack the United States was thwarted (by the 1940’s) by the lack of raw materials to construct such transoceanic aircraft. The six-engine Junkers (Ju) 390, Messerschmitt 264 (Me) 264 and the Tank (Ta) 400 were all considerations – for years. Variations of each plane were discussed over and over, year after year, in some cases by the same officials but to no agreeable consensus. But there were more reasons.
Tests conducted on those aircraft proved to indicate flaws in the engine design (and subsequent failures), power loading problems and lack of sufficient onboard defenses. Not to mention the ability to return the crews safely by the lack of a reasonable refueling method. Mid-air refueling was tried but failed. One report actually suggested that the crews bail out after the bombing and immediately surrender. Hitler’s aversion to suicide pilots and losing trained aircrews squashed that idea. And other RLM officials agreed as well.
Eventually, the decision was made that bombing the east coast of the United States to have any definitive outcome on the war was deemed impractical given the lack of resources and refueling problems at hand. But the need to make the U.S. feel some impact from the German military machine still persisted. One popular notion in some circles of the RLM was that of “nuisance raids” – sending twenty or so aircraft across the Atlantic to drop their bombs on various towns and cities along the eastern seaboard. And very inventive methods of refueling and delivering ordnance arose from this period. The methods included a towed drone filled with fuel to be released when the supply was used up. Also, the Blohm und Voss BV 222 and BV 238 flying boats were suggested as long range bombers to be refueled by U-tankers stationed between the Azores and Bermuda. That suggestion, (which to this author seemed to be the most viable) was approved by the Kriegsmarine on the condition that “not even one of these U-tankers be endangered by involvement in a single nuisance raid against the US coast” since all U-boats were needed urgently for anti-convoy duty.
Not to be left out the possible action against the eastern seaboard, the Kriegsmarine was offered to evaluate the possibility of U-Boats towing containers filled with V-2 rockets! To fire the rockets, the horizontally configured launching platforms (which resembled a large thermos bottle or rocket shaped barge) were to be up-righted and fired while the sub was stationary in the water. This basically was the first attempt at launching a missile from a submarine. The German subs were regularly patrolling the Atlantic and making their way all the way to South America. So, to them it was familiar territory.
Hitler had become convinced of the possibility of global war when on August 11, 1938 when Dr. Alfred Henke flew a civilian FW 200 V-1 6,370 km nonstop from Berlin-Staaken to New York. Orders were given to design a long range bomber. And so it went on and on between the various factions and branches of the German military machine. Discussion upon discussion. Suggestion upon suggestion. Testing and retesting. Designing and redesigning. In all the BV 222, BV 238, BV 250, Me 264, He 177, 274 & 277, Ju 290 & 390, Ta 400, Focke-Wulf-TO (Transozean), Ju EF 100 (in service postwar), Ju 89 SV-1, and many more designs left on the drawing board were considered by the Luftwaffe from 1938 until the war’s end with not one useable bomber constructed for their original goal. Interestingly, most of the more ‘usable’ designs were ones that never got off the ground, literally, or the drawing board. Designs that were too late in coming and too advanced for the time period but would end up in the hands of the Allies and Soviet Union for future development many years later.
In all, “Luftwaffe Over America” is a tedious and almost frustrating read. It contains detailed conversations between officials and aircraft builders that take place over the course of years. The various aircraft discussed were tossed back and forth from one aircraft to another, redesigned with different engines, zwilling (twin) variants and parasite fighter aircraft added. The same aircraft were debated over and over and eventually came to no end. On the technical side, if you want to know every detail about every heavy bomber the Luftwaffe had at its disposal, then this book is a must read. On the other hand, if anything, Manfred Griehl’s style of presentation makes the reader feel the same frustration that was certainly present between all involved parties over the course of those few years. And it gives the reader the feeling of desperation at a failed attempt of success.
January 10, 2017
This was one of those books I liked and at same time was disappointed in.
As an avid reader of World War II stuff since middle school there was actually quite a bit in this book that I did not know. I was always under the assumption that Germany never really did much in the area of long-range bomber aircraft but come to find out they were quite well advanced in their research. Their problem was a disjointed almost ad hoc sense of purpose in what the aircraft were meant to do. The repeated start-stop running of the programs doomed anything everything from the start. It was almost as if the entire concept of long-range bomber aircraft was an afterthought which was probably a good thing for England.
This book is somewhat technical in constantly referral to performance perimeters of the various prototypes and experimental aircraft. Naturally everything is in metric.
The disappointment in the book is that while the goal was to have aircraft to reach the US Eastern Seaboard the author mentions in passing nuisance raids and such but never really delves into if any plans or strategies were developed on how the aircraft would have been used if they had come to fruition. The book is more about the aircraft and not much about the plans.
The other thing I found annoying, more of personal preference, was that instead of having photos or diagrams where a particular model of aircraft was first mention so that the reader would have a visual reference, all pictures and diagrams were combined in sections. Like I said just a personal preference to not have to keep flipping back and forth.
Overall from a historical perspective this was a decent book. I never realized that Germany had actually developed inflight refueling. It was also fascinating to read about them researching almost right up to the surrender.
Many analysts that I have read over the years on why Germany lost World War II have all agreed that the lack of a long-range heavy bomber aircraft was one of the reasons. Germany had no real ability to influence their opponents' manufacturing and ability to move in rear areas. Their bombing capabilities were minuscule and not really effective beyond the short area to the immediate rear of battlefield.
As an avid reader of World War II stuff since middle school there was actually quite a bit in this book that I did not know. I was always under the assumption that Germany never really did much in the area of long-range bomber aircraft but come to find out they were quite well advanced in their research. Their problem was a disjointed almost ad hoc sense of purpose in what the aircraft were meant to do. The repeated start-stop running of the programs doomed anything everything from the start. It was almost as if the entire concept of long-range bomber aircraft was an afterthought which was probably a good thing for England.
This book is somewhat technical in constantly referral to performance perimeters of the various prototypes and experimental aircraft. Naturally everything is in metric.
The disappointment in the book is that while the goal was to have aircraft to reach the US Eastern Seaboard the author mentions in passing nuisance raids and such but never really delves into if any plans or strategies were developed on how the aircraft would have been used if they had come to fruition. The book is more about the aircraft and not much about the plans.
The other thing I found annoying, more of personal preference, was that instead of having photos or diagrams where a particular model of aircraft was first mention so that the reader would have a visual reference, all pictures and diagrams were combined in sections. Like I said just a personal preference to not have to keep flipping back and forth.
Overall from a historical perspective this was a decent book. I never realized that Germany had actually developed inflight refueling. It was also fascinating to read about them researching almost right up to the surrender.
Many analysts that I have read over the years on why Germany lost World War II have all agreed that the lack of a long-range heavy bomber aircraft was one of the reasons. Germany had no real ability to influence their opponents' manufacturing and ability to move in rear areas. Their bombing capabilities were minuscule and not really effective beyond the short area to the immediate rear of battlefield.
September 29, 2022
The focus here is more on the airplanes - long-range bombers and large seaplanes - that could possibly have led to an aircraft that could bomb New York from Brest on the west coast of France. Lots of numbers - wingspans, takeoff weights, bombloads, types of guns and bombs. Not much context - how large are these aircraft compared to the Dorniers and Heinkels that raided dLondon in 1940, for example? I found myself checking my other references for ranges and weights of WW2 and post-war US and UK aircraft to ground the comparisons. Griehl also covers the bureaucracy in some depth, and the on-again, off-again, stop-start of German weapons development in WW2. The desperation of end-war Germany to find some "vengeance" weapon that could strike America the way the V-1 and V-2 were hitting London is palpable. As is the hubris of the German airplane designers - Messerschmitt, Heinkel, Tank, Horten et al -- that they could jump a generation or two, in American terms, go straight from the B-10 to the B-36, without the steps in between -- and do it better than the other German designers.
The last chapter, on whether Germany had and tested a nuclear weapon, appears to be an afterthought, to answer the question, was NYC at risk of being nuked? The answer is NO, but the discussion is unsatisfactory due to poor factual grounding.
The last chapter, on whether Germany had and tested a nuclear weapon, appears to be an afterthought, to answer the question, was NYC at risk of being nuked? The answer is NO, but the discussion is unsatisfactory due to poor factual grounding.
December 28, 2023
This book provides a very thorough history of the German Luftwaffe through World War II. Although the Germans had a reasonable amount of success with their fighter jet and short-range bomber fleets, the engineering challenges of building an ultra-long-range bomber, necessary for a hit on the continental U.S., was clearly a monumental challenge.
Without doubt, geography saved the United States from a tremendous amount of destruction through Axis raids, unlike the US’s ally, Great Britain.
In a sense, the U.S. had almost an unfair advantage of an ally on the East side of the Atlantic from which they could launch raids onto Axis (German) soil. Germany, however, did not have an ally on the West side of the Atlantic, thus necessitating a bomber which could fly west with a bomb load of decent size, drop the ordinance, then return without refueling. The Messerschmitt Me-264 proposal of a bomber with a range of 10,000+ nautical miles, but only with rocket-assisted takeoff, proves the enormous challenge the Germans faced.
Despite being translated from its original German, the book retains a very good flow in the English language and was very readable.
Without doubt, geography saved the United States from a tremendous amount of destruction through Axis raids, unlike the US’s ally, Great Britain.
In a sense, the U.S. had almost an unfair advantage of an ally on the East side of the Atlantic from which they could launch raids onto Axis (German) soil. Germany, however, did not have an ally on the West side of the Atlantic, thus necessitating a bomber which could fly west with a bomb load of decent size, drop the ordinance, then return without refueling. The Messerschmitt Me-264 proposal of a bomber with a range of 10,000+ nautical miles, but only with rocket-assisted takeoff, proves the enormous challenge the Germans faced.
Despite being translated from its original German, the book retains a very good flow in the English language and was very readable.
November 24, 2025
The novel, Luftwaffe Over America by Manfred Griehl, is a retelling of the true story of Nazi Germany’s plans to start bombing mainland USA. Its story consists of the bureaucratic battle that was the pursuit of the plans that never came to fruition. The story lets viewers gain a better understanding of the political climate of Nazi Germany during WWII.
The ideas and symbolism of the Nazis in WWII is better understood through various dialogues such as the conversations between Nazi officials, plans for bombing America, and the designs of weapons. The novel puts these extremist ideas into perspective, and allows the reader to truly see how wild the ideas of Nazi Germany truly were. The novel itself was very in depth and well researched, this made it more complex and it seemed like it wasn't even non fiction at some points. Luftwaffe Over America is pretty good for a nonfiction book. I think that at times it doesn't work well as a story, but that makes sense because it is non fiction. Overall I would rate this book 6/10 for its intricate detail and well written dialogue. However, it does have its weaknesses which can be attributed to a lack of story in the source material
The ideas and symbolism of the Nazis in WWII is better understood through various dialogues such as the conversations between Nazi officials, plans for bombing America, and the designs of weapons. The novel puts these extremist ideas into perspective, and allows the reader to truly see how wild the ideas of Nazi Germany truly were. The novel itself was very in depth and well researched, this made it more complex and it seemed like it wasn't even non fiction at some points. Luftwaffe Over America is pretty good for a nonfiction book. I think that at times it doesn't work well as a story, but that makes sense because it is non fiction. Overall I would rate this book 6/10 for its intricate detail and well written dialogue. However, it does have its weaknesses which can be attributed to a lack of story in the source material
November 2, 2019
The book Luftwaffe Over America: The Secret Plans to Bomb the United States in World War II by Manfred Griehl was mainly about the bombing plans Germans had on bombing The United States of America. This book goes into great detail about the exact airplane designs and the plans that were made to successfully bomb the United States. The book's events took place during World War II, you get a view on not only the planning of the bombing but as well as to what the situation was the Nazi Germans. The technology that was used by the Germans was surprisingly advanced for that time. The book was descriptive with the different types of airplanes that were used for example; Ho XVII, Espenlaub E-2 just to name a few. I liked this book because not only did I learn something new I was also able to learn a bit of German due to the different names etc. I would recommend this book to someone who is interested in history and is also interested in events that happened during WWII and want to expand their knowledge of that event.
November 30, 2021
This book is about the German plans to bomb to United States during World War Two. It goes into detail about the planes made, how far they could go, and the how far the plans got. I found the book to be very uninteresting. I do have interest in WWII, however I don't have a deep interest in aeronautics. Most of the book talks about the technical side of the planes, which might be a plane-lovers dream, but for me it was very uninteresting to read. I would recommend this to anyone who likes reading about airplanes. Very well written, just not my cup of tea.
November 12, 2022
This is a non-fiction book about a very narrow historical subject. It is intended to be dry, fact based and it succeeds. It was ideal for my current work in progress and I thank the Author and his translator for their extensive research on the subject.
July 13, 2013
As a elementary school kid I was fascinated by air- and spacecraft, checking out every book available on the subjects from the Carpentersville, Illinois public library. Prevalent in that library was a series of thematized books covering the specs of various types of planes along the lines of what Janes publishes about ships. This book, a very highly technical review of German efforts to develop a transatlantic explosive delivery system with which to hit the USA, might better have been presented like one of the books of that series, i.e. by having each plane represented by photos and diagrams followed by specification charts. As it is, however, Griehl maintains a running text with photos and diagrams clustered together in sections, usually far removed from the relevant text. In consequence, the book is difficult to read with attention, one having to search for the relevant diagrams and photos to fully appreciate the verbal descriptions. Still, for geeks accomplished in this field, this book would probably be very interesting.
January 7, 2020
While reading this book I was surprised at how interesting it was to me. The book goes into great detail describing the process that some of the German World War 2 planes went through; from blueprints to wooden mock-ups to fully functional planes. The book goes year by year describing in depth what was happening in the German military aircraft world. It shows the perspectives of the different German aircraft companies struggling to make the best long-range bomber for the German military. While the length of explanation often was interesting sometimes it felt dragged out and boring. This book is made for anybody interested in the history of German World War 2 aircraft particularly the long-range bombers.
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