It is said Hitler would have used the Abomb if he had it so why didn't he use the V2 as a dirty bomb on Brit?

Question

Also, he failed to gas the D-Day invasion which Churchill said in his memiors that he would certainly have gassed the Germans in 1940 if they invaded.

PS It is a well known fact the Germans were way ahead in the field of gas warfare so there was little if any fear of retaliation. And alot of people claim Hitler wanted to destroy the world if he could not conquer it - so why whould he care about any retribution either nuclear or by gas?

Answer 1

In reverse order, Hitler did have to fear retaliation if he used chemical warfare/gas attacks. Though the Germans indeed did develop some very effective and nasty nerve agents, even the "old style" gases of WW 1 were more than capable of inflicting massive damage to the Germans. And with the allies having means to throw more chemical agents at the Germans, than the Germans at the allies, it was logical to avoid going down that road. Plus, we don't know if his own gassing played a part in Hitler deciding not to use this particular form of attack.  As far as I know, Hitler had no desire to 'destroy the rest of the world". Once it was clear Germany was going to lose, he did view the world as a form of Gotterdamurung, the ending of the world, where he expected Germany to die when he did.

  Second, the German production of the A bomb was moving slower than the American one. And while some of the properties of radioactive material were known, the idea of using non-fissionable material as a weapon simply hadnt been thought of. All such material was needed for refinement into a weapons-grade form. So Hitler was stuck with using conventional warheads on his V-2s. Had he managed to obtain the bomb, no doubt London would have met Hiroshima's fate.

Answer 2

A "dirty bomb" requires a quantity of radioactive material that was unavailable in Germany.  Available radioactive material was in labs being researched.  Germany failed to develop an A-bomb due to a lack of material with which to conduct research.

Answer 3

Germany had other priorities, to be blunt.  Radiation's effects were not well known or understood, and the radiological effects of a so-called dirty bomb were not understood.  Moreover, Germany was not far advanced in the extraction of highly radioactive isotopes from plane uranium, and uranium wasn't exactly in large supply anyway.  Moreover, again, Hitler's priorities were development of jet fighters, the eventual production of a long ranged jet bomber, and the production of missiles which enabled the Germans to strike London and Antwerp.  

I don't think you're right about your assertion that Germany was "far advanced" in terms of chemical warfare, and thus there was no risk of retaliation.  The British and Americans had ample stockpiles of chemical weapons, but had resolved for political and practical reasons not to use them.  Hitler made the same choice.  As one who had experienced the gas of the First World War, he may have hesitated.  Moreover, the Allies could certainly have responded in kind, confering a distinct advantage on nobody.  Remember that the utility uniforms many American troops were issued for D-day were, indeed, treated with compounds designed to reduce the troop's vulnerability to gas.  The reason Hitler would have been concerned about gas warfare was that his own people would have been killed, just as much as the enemy.  Again, no specific advantage to either side.

I think the attitude you're talking about came on rather later in the war.  It wasn't until it became clear that neither the Western Allies nor the Soviets could be stopped that Hitelr declared that the Germans didn't deserve to survive, and ordered the destruction of every bit of infrastructure, from bridges to water works to power stations.  He wanted to ensure that the Germans didn't survive to be occupied by his enemies.  This would have been after the failure of the Ardennes offensive, after all.  There's one other practical consideration to recall, as well.  The prevailing winds in Western Europe would mean that gas used by German forces would likely drift right back in their faces.

Answer 4

The concept of a dirty bomb (I'm assuming you mean a bomb that would spread radioactive debris) did not exist at that time. Not only were the effects of low level radiation unknown he simply did not have enough radioactive material.

You did not cite a source for this poison gas claim about Churchill other than "his memoirs" please provide a reference. Churchill wrote many books including a six volume history of the Second World War and a biography of the Duke of Marlborough. He is alleged to have advocated using poison gas to put down a Kurdish rebellion but he seems to be referring to tear gas as poison gas. There is also the so called "secret poison gas memo" which is what I think you are referring to - see my sources. I don't know if this memo is legitimate but it would not surprise me. He advocates the use of poison gas if "it was life or death for us". This is not the same thing as your claim that "they would certainly have gassed the Germans".

Once again please cite a source for your claim that the Germans were "way ahead" in gas warfare. I was not aware that much research had taken place in this field between the wars. Furthermore, even if Germany was "way ahead" that does not mean they had nothing to fear. By the time of D-Day the allies had the means to effectively bomb German cities the Germans did not have such capability vis a vis Britain. Even if German poison gas was better their use of it would have engendered a devastating attack against the German homeland.

Lots of people speculate on Hitler's motives and desires. I've always felt incompetent to speak on the psychology of a megalomaniacal, genocidal, mad man.

Peace.

Answer 5

He didn't have the technology for an atomic "dirty" weapon.

Use of gas may well have resulted in reprisal attacks by the Allies using similar weapons.

Answer 6

the German scientists did not know how to build any sort of nuclear or atomic bomb. they mis-understood an important aspect.

as for the gas warefare, Hitler did not have a bio-war section of his military like the americans and japanese. at the start of the war, Hitler right out, cleanly stated that he would NOT use bioweapons.

Answer 7

I believe Hitler would have used gas on the D-day invasion but he didn't know where or when it was going to occur.  He didn't use any restraint on using it in the concentration camp. And the rumors of Hitler having the dirty Bomb have never been proven true, Hitler use theories that were developed by Jews like the theory of fusion and energy (Einstein).

Answer 8

We, the allies, put a stop to him before he got the chance.  There was an episode on Cities of the Underground on the History Channel regarding Hitler's doomsday weapon.  He couldn't live in a world where he wouldn't be able to breathe, but he was insane.  He figured if he had to die, he would take everyone on the planet with him.