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Greatest single invention / discovery during WWII

S

Shockwave

Banned
Like it says. Not counting the atomic bomb, what do you think is the single greatest discovery / invention during WWII? It can be from any country. The German rockets or machine guns? American radar? French ability to run and hide.....OK, scratch that last one 😉
But seriously, what do you think is the #1 discovery?
 
Radar was actually around before WW2 (consider that the US saw the Japanese invasion coming, and mistook it for a fleet coming from the other direction). I'd say the supercomputer with the jet engine being #2.
 
The ice creme maker that dairy queen now uses...

It was a top secret machine that was used in Asia right before the war was over. I've read that a lot of soldiers and sailors had a big kick when it first came out.
 
What about teflon, nylon, or other synthetic materials? Sure they're not as big/flashy as a jet engine...but synthetics have had a big impact on our lives too.
 
Radar - British
Powerful jet engines - German
Liquid rocket engine - German
ENIAC - American
Jeep - American
Nuclear power - German
Transistor - American
 
Sliced bread? Ice cream maker?

Its funny the poor grasp of history some people have. Its even worse they blow it off with humor, thinking their witty when in fact they simply appear ignorant. :roll:
 
i'll go with jet engine

our society would be extremely different if people still traveled via ships/air ships or even propeler drive aircraft
 
I feel cracking the German Enigma encryption was one of the best discoveries of WWII. Who knows how much valuable information was gathered altering the course of many battles and saving lives?
 
Originally posted by: PanzerIV
I feel cracking the German Enigma encryption was one of the best discoveries of WWII. Who knows how much valuable information was gathered altering the course of many battles and saving lives?
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The main savings was in merchant shipping. It enabled convoys to be routed around u-boat patrols.
German arrogance as much as British ingenuity was responsible for this.
 
FYI, RADAR was not an American discovery. It was developed in ENGLAND.

I'd have to say, unfortunately, that the greatest discoveries of WWII were the medical ones made in the concentration camps partly under the eyes of that madman Dr. Mengele. Unethical, yes - but groundbreaking, nonetheless.
 
Originally posted by: PanzerIV
I feel cracking the German Enigma encryption was one of the best discoveries of WWII. Who knows how much valuable information was gathered altering the course of many battles and saving lives?
Click to expand...

Even more lives could have been saved if 1) we wanted to share info with Russia, and 2) if Russia trusted anything we actually did share with them.

Russia actually did have a pretty strong spy network running through parts of Germany and a lot of France...but the data they obtained was far overshadowed by what ULTRA could do. Too bad we hated each other...you know, enemy of my enemy is my friend.

And the USS Langley wasn't even the first aircraft carrier...they tried mounting large wooden "decks" on the tops of cruiser gun turrets first and launching planes off of those. I think the Brits were the first ones to try this.

If anyone cares about submarines, modern submarine designs were inspired by German technology near the end of the war...they actually had a diesel-electric model that could do ~20 knots underwater--phenomenal for the time period.

You should also thank the Germans for pioneering modern "combined arms" tactics...
 
Originally posted by: Shockwave
Sliced bread? Ice cream maker?

Its funny the poor grasp of history some people have. Its even worse they blow it off with humor, thinking their witty when in fact they simply appear ignorant. :roll:
Click to expand...

sorry but WW2 inventions never came up in my studies
 
Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
Nuclear power - German
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Ummm...Sorry. That would be Italian. Enrico Fermi created the first Atomic Reactor. The manhattan project built the bomb. So, technically Nuclear Power - Italian/American
 
Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
Radar - British
Powerful jet engines - German
Liquid rocket engine - German
ENIAC - American
Jeep - American
Nuclear power - German
Transistor - American
Click to expand...

😕
 
Originally posted by: Horus
Originally posted by: LeadMagnet
Nuclear power - German
Click to expand...

Ummm...Sorry. That would be Italian. Enrico Fermi created the first Atomic Reactor. The manhattan project built the bomb. So, technically Nuclear Power - Italian/American
Click to expand...

yeah, but he built the reactor with US funding at the University of Chicago...
 
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