Pride, Prejudice, and Pejoratives at Peenemunde: Interservice Rivalry and Terror Weapons in the Third Reich

Abstract : This thesis discusses terror weapons and interservice rivalry. It describes terrorism, places it in historical perspective, and illustrates that the phenomenon of terrorism that politicians and individual citizens refer to is in fact an act of war covered by the smoke and mirrors of pejorative references and political rhetoric. This is half of the reason for writing. The second purpose is to examine the role of inter-service rivalry for producing technology and innovations. World War II provides the perfect backdrop for examining these phenomena. Hitlers rockets developed at Peenemunde are often referred to as terror weapons and there was substantial inter-service rivalry between the Army and the Luftwaffe programs while these weapons were being developed. These two phenomena rarely if ever at all appear alongside one another in security studies literature; their juxtaposition explains why an innovation is considered a terror weapon and provides a useful framework for examining why foreign powers develop new technologies and what a likely US response would be. This thesis concludes that interservice rivalry was the primary impetus for the Luftwaffe to develop the Fi 103 flying bomb, the precursor to the modern cruise missile. A considerable number of different factors reinforced the rivalry between the services: military culture, loss of prestige, and an array of individual personalities that ranged from bumbling sycophants to scientific prodigies to solemn and humble servants of the Fatherland. Motivations to employ the Luftwaffe flying bomb, as well as the Army A-4 rocket, its primary competition, were completely different. A strong sense of nationalism and obedience to country initially provided a strong impetus but were later overcome by more nefarious and insidious aspirations. The overall lesson is that nothing is ever really what it seems; only through critical inquiry can an objective truth come to the forefront and provide a greater degree of clarity.