Why Germany Never Attacked the US Mainland - Deep Dive Review

Added: 2026-05-11

[00:00:00]In these clips, we see German V2 rockets on their way to attack Allied targets.

[00:00:04]Attacking the continental US would have had profound effects on the American population like the V1 V2 terror attacks had on the population of London. German attacks on the US could have been from German bombers, V1 flying bombs, V2 rockets, Yubot deck guns, andor their Navy surface fleet. The intent of this video is to address why the Germans never attacked the US with any of these weapons and why US military intelligence deemed the threat of a German US mainland attack as negligible. This video dubtales nicely with the channel's last video covering Japanese attacks against the US, where the thesis of that video addressed why the Japanese never attacked the continental US with their aircraft carriers or bombers. As we walk through the US archived intelligence documents, I will expand on topics as needed for clarification.

[00:00:55]This page from an August 1944 war department intelligence group evaluation document addresses German weapons capability and estimates the likelihood of an attack on the continental US based on weapon systems. Starting with an evaluation of an attack by German aircraft. The German Air Force could theoretically attack the US East Coast or the Great Lakes area. Defense command zones of the US East Coast are shown on this map from a 1945 US Army Chief of Staff document. This coastal zone would be at most risk from a German attack. To have a significant impact, these flights would need to be one-way suicide flights. These would likely penetrate US defenses since east coast radar coverage is spotty and there's little defensive fighter or anti-aircraft gun coverage.

[00:01:41]This map shows the boundaries of Reich occupied territories as of October 1942.

[00:01:46]This was considered the maximum extent of Germany's conquest. The airfield closest to the US is Mirinak located here. This map shows access control territories relative to the US east coast. The distance from Mirin Yak airfield to New York is 3,600 miles. As shown in the channel's last video, the distance from Tokyo to San Francisco was quite a bit farther at 5200 m.

[00:02:10]The Japanese pulled off a couple US mainland submarine deck gun aircraft and balloon attacks while the Germans none.

[00:02:17]The Fala Wolf 200 Condors maximum overload range is 2400 mi. It could not make this transatlantic suicide flight.

[00:02:25]One-way flights may be possible with the Hankle 177. The 177's maximum overload range is 3,500 m. The 177 can carry 2200 lb of bombs at this range. It would likely be the best operational bomber to assign a suicide mission. This bomb load would be low, though at around 1/3 the bomb load of a B7.

[00:02:46]This page from a 1944 intelligence report on the possibility of an access attack outlines the state of US anti-aircraft coastal defenses. Both East and West Coast AA defenses are inadequate to defend against Axis bombers. It is a token system with one single goal. Maintain the morale of the public. East Coast personnel are currently not on station but in training. If needed, they can be sent to their defensive stations. The US aircraft warning system is wholly inadequate. The systems radar operates only four hours a day and is mainly used for training. The Germans possess two planes that under certain conditions could make roundtrip flights, the BV222 and Ju290. The BV222 was the largest float plane ever built. Its maximum range is 3,800 mi. It was used for transport and reconnaissance duties, not as a bomber. It would need to be refueled by a surface ship or submarine during the mission. Given its 3,800 mile range, only 13 were built. The Ju290's maximum range is also 3,800 mi. Only 65 were built. It is not a good roundtrip bomber since it does not possess a range to make it back to France without refueling. These are not practical bombers and the likelihood of a German bomber attack can be disregarded.

[00:04:01]Hitler discounted the idea of bombing the US anyway back in the summer of 1943. As discussed on this page from a July 1943 German Navy meeting minutes document, few airplanes could meet the range requirements and little damage would occur. It would also rile up the US public to resist.

[00:04:20]The Germans could seize existing Canadian airfields for refueling of their attacking bombers. These airfields could be quickly retaken and or neutralized. An airfield could be taken by a German fifth column network, but this seems remote. Lastly, the Germans could build a secret landing strip from scratch in the remote wilderness, but this seems like a difficult task.

[00:04:39]Air attacks could come from sea plane tenders capable of plane launch and recovery. This seems very unlikely as a quantity of float planes carried as low as would be their bomb load. Acts of surface ships would not likely be able to approach the east coast undetected.

[00:04:54]This map from a 1996 Center for Military History document outlines air and water logistics time duration from port to port. Surface ship duration from Liverpool to New York is 17 days. A German SE plane tender task force group would need to travel around 17 days to reach a float plane launch point. This map from an August 1943 anti-ubmarine command document outlines Yubo patrol zones of aircraft. These zones were heavily patrolled by longrange PB4Y aircraft. It is extremely unlikely a German surface task group could travel through these zones undetected.

[00:05:29]A Yubo could launch and recover an attacking float plane as the Japanese did twice in 1942. This image shows the German submarine launched a Rado 231 float plane. In its folded condition, this concept was never deployed operationally. Only six were built. The plane was found to be too fragile in open sea trials. The plane would have been stowed here in a watertight compartment. Any float plane attack would be considered insignificant.

[00:05:56]German V1 and V2 weapons do not have the range to reach US soil from Europe. This page from a 1946 air material command document on guidance and homing of missiles and pilotless aircraft of World War II outlines characteristics of the German V1 missile. The range of the missile is up to 160 mi. It can be air launched. This short range weapon cannot reach the US from any access control territories. The H111 with a V1 flying bomb attached and after release, an air launched V1 release standoff range is still 160 mi from the target. This page outlines characteristics of the V2 or German designated A4 rocket. The V2's range is around 200 mi with an explosive payload of 1,620 lb. Like the V1s, no access territory exists within this weapons range to the US. The only way these weapons could be used against the US is by a sea launch system from either submarines or surface ships. No V1s or V2s were operationally deployed by Ubot during World War II. A launching surface ship would be spotted well prior to reaching their 160 or 200 m standoff launch location.

[00:07:05]The US did launch equivalent V1s from a submarine in 1947 like seen in this image. The JB2 was stored in this watertight compartment. The Germans considered but never put into operation a ship or submarine V2 launch platform like seen in this image where the V2 is in a towable submerged container. Once within a 200 mile range from the target, the container is set upright and the V2 is launched. This is a lot of effort for an inaccurate deployment of 1,620 lb of an explosive fill. The amount of explosive fill is around 55% of a single B7's bomb weight of explosive fill. This image shows a V2 launched off of the US aircraft carrier Midway in 1947.

[00:07:47]This page discusses a follow-on A9 and A10 rocket programs. The A9 was a modified V2 with wings added to increase its range from 200 to 400 m. This image shows a V2 and the A9 with its wings here. The Germans were working on a transcontinental rocket, the A10. The A-10 was designed with a range of 3,000 mi. An image of the A10. War Department intelligence sees no evidence the Germans can deploy any of these vengeance weapons against the US.

[00:08:14]Isolated attacks could come from German submarine deck guns. However, setting up for a couple rounds is hazardous and the damage inflicted would be ineffective.

[00:08:24]In summary, the likelihood of a German attack on the continental US is negligible. Attacks by aircraft are possible but not likely given the limited range and mid-m mission refueling challenges. The damage from such an attack would be small and the risk to the mission large. Rocket bomb attacks are not feasible given the weapon's limited range. German surface ship attacks are not likely. Risk of discovery during transit would be large and the damage of such an attack would be small. The payoff from a submarine deck gun attack would be small and the risk large. If you have found this German continental US attack options deep dive evaluation interesting, informative, and worthy of your time, please consider supporting the channel by liking, commenting, and or subscribing to World War II US Bombers.