Philip Henshall Libros

From 1943 onwards, Hitler and the Nazi propaganda machine poured forth a torrent of warnings to the Allies that vengeance and retribution were imminent. Historians have always assumed that Hitler was referring to the V1 and V2 weapons. But this book reveals that a far more lethal weapon existed in the form of a cargo of highly radioactive material carried in a modified V2 rocket. Designed to be launched from special sites in France, these weapons of mass destruction had the potential to turn Britain and the eastern seaboard of the USA into radioactive wastelands. Meanwhile, Japan had been developing the world's largest aircraft-carrying submarines, believed to be capable of launching bomber aircraft to attack the US west coast cities. Evidence on the secret nuclear weapon programmes of both Axis powers is brought together in this text. In particular, many aspects of the German "miracle" weapon project are revealed - what it was, what it contained and how it was to be delivered. The author argues that it is a matter of when - and not if - these secrets are revealed.

It has been generally accepted that Germany and Japan were years behind the Allies in producing a nuclear weapon during World War II and that Japan in particular was technically incapable of doing so. The author argues that these assumptions are unfounded and reveals that an Axis nuclear weapon was a very real threat to the Allies. Philip Henshall begins by outlining how Germany's conventional military situation began to deteriorate from 1943 onwards, how interest was revived in secret long-range weapons, and how SS General Kammler assumed virtually complete control of all long-range weapons projects. The origin of weapons in Germany is examined, with parallel references to the USA's Manhattan Project and, Henshall puts forward his theory that the leading figure in German nuclear science, Heisenberg, knew what was required to build an atomic bomb and fully understood the physics of the device - contrary to the accepted version of events.