The Wunderwaffe:

Origin: The Wunderwaffe, meaning Wonder-Weapon, was a term assigned by the Nazis to the revolutionary "superweapons" program started by Hitler and obedient Nazi scientists. Most of these weapons remained prototypes due to insignificant numbers to be used for war, or were too late to be used for war. Starting in 1942, the Wunderwaffe was established by Hitler, in hopes to change the tide of the war. This was because with the Allied forces in the West, and the failed Operation Barbarossa which led to the Soviets in the East, and the Allies in Africa.

Inventions made during this program include: The Panzer VIII "Maus", the Type XXI Submarine, the V-1 Flying Bomb, and the "Horton" 229, which would've been the first jet bomber in human history.  In addition to the STG-44, or the "Sturmgewehr", which directly translates to "Assault Rifle". Made in 1944 and earned the title of the first assault rifle.

Die Glocke: An example of the Wunderwaffe prototypes is the super-weapon by the name of "Die Glocke", or "The Bell", which was a bell shaped flying object, but many say it was also rumored to be a time machine capable of bending space and time, but most claim it's fictional and ahead of its time.

Messerschmitt 262 "Schwalbe": After the war in Europe, many Nazi-German scientists were taken by the U.S. and were prompted to create similar prototypes, which resulted in the creation of the Lockheed F-80C "Shooting Star", the first American jet fighter. This American jet was isnpired by the Messerschmitt 262 "Schwalbe", which was a jet fighter, the very first jet fighter ever created in history. This was a major discovery in the world of science, as it would benefit modern air warfare for decades to come. This was one of the only Wunderwaffe projects to ever be completed. Like this, there was another major super-weapon used during the war: The V-1 Rocket. 

V-1 Jet Rocket: The V-1 jet rocket was the first ever cruise missile to ever be developed in warfare history. The V-1 rocket went by many names, such as "Kirschkern"(Cherry Stone), or "Maikäfer" (Maybug), named by the Germans, and the British naming it "Buzz bomb" and "Doodlebug", but it's official name was "Fi 103". The Nazis first aimed their missiles at the Western powers, such as England, but as the war went on, targets continued to move eastward, eventually targeting Allied Belgium and the Netherlands until the end of the war.

STG-44: The STG-44, or Sturmgewehr was the first ever developed assault rifle. Made in 1943, the Sturmgewehr was one of the biggest modern advancements in modern warfare, although not considered a wonder weapon. The Sturmgewehr also went by the name of "Maschinepistole-44". The idea was developed by Hugo Schmeisser, resulting in its mass production from 1943 - 1945. Many say that this successful project inspired the creation of the Russian AK-47. Before this was mass produced, many average infantry units on both the Western and Eastern fronts carried weapons such as the Karabiner-98K or the Gewehr-43, but not enough of the STG-44 was produced to be used by every infantry unit.

But like other Wunderwaffe projects, this inspired many others as well. One of these was called the "Krummlauf", which translates to "curved barrel" in English. The Krummlauf was a barrel attachment that can bend up to 90 degrees. But with this variant, the enemy could not see you, but you couldn't see them either, unless you had a periscope to attach to the Krummlauf. This would cause many troubles, such as usage quality. After a few magazines were used, the Krummlauf was basically useless, as the barrel would be somewhat distorted, destroyed by the pressure of the fired rounds. And the fact that in some cases, the bullets would shatter, turning it into a curved shotgun. So many just stuck with the non-curved barrel Sturmgewehr. The Krummlauf also had many other variants, this included a variant for armored vehicles. Tank squadrons were usually armed with Krummlaufs, to avoid being shot while covering dead spots, which was effective in defending against assaulting enemy squadrons. 

Another one of these weapon modifications was the "Vampir", meaning Vampire. The Vampir was supposed to be a thermal scope that would detect heat measurements and expose them onto the scope, hence the name. The Vampir was also named "Zielgerät 1229". It was developed for primary use during the night time for Werhmacht forces. Only about 310 of these were built for the war, so very few infantry units were able to use this. Because of the Vampir modification, Nazi grenadiers carrying this were known as a "Nachtjäger", or "Night-Hunter(s)".

Schwerer Gustav: Many prototypes did get to be used during the war however, like the Schwerer Gustav, the largest cannon and artillery weapon to ever be built. Despite it not being made in time to be used against France, it was used by the Nazis during the Siege of Sevastopol, in the U.S.S.R, where it would destroy a munitions depot 30 meters underground. The Schwerer Gustav was armed with 800mm (31 inch) shells, which proved to be very effective against the Russians. The single artillery cannon needed to have a crew of 250! After the front in the USSR was being lost, the Germans destroyed the Schwerer Gustav and used it for scrap to prevent it from being taken by the Allies, its ruins were then recovered in a German forest 9.3 miles north of Auerbach and 31 miles southwest of Chemnitz, Germany.

Sonnengewehr: The Sonnengewehr, or Sun Gun was a scientific concept in which would oversee the scientific weapon production of Nazi Germany. Presented by physician Hermann Oberth in 1929, the Sonnengewehr would be a 100 meter wide concave mirror that would focus sunlight on a specific place on the earth, causing imminent destruction in the region that was targeted. The proposed time length for production would be 50 - 100 years, but fortunately for the Allied powers, the Nazis were stopped before the production was started.

Landkreuzer P. 1000 "Ratte": Like the Panzer VIII Maus, many tanks had plans for development, which were recovered in the form of blueprints. One of which seemed to be similar to both the Maus and the Schwerer Gustav. This was called the Landkreuzer (Land Cruiser) P. 1000 "Ratte". The Ratte, meaning Rat in German, was more a battle platform than a tank. Weighing at least 1,000 tons, the vehicle had two 280mm guns, which were inspired by naval cannons, and four 128mm anti-aircraft guns. But unlike the Schwerer Gustav, this machine was expected to be only operated by 20 - 40 people.

Hitler, according to historians, was enamored with the idea of the Landkreuzer, but due to Albert Speer's views in no such point in an unnecessarily large tank, he cancelled the project and scrapped the idea shortly before anyone was to begin with the production of a prototype. 

Panzerkampfwagen VIII "Maus":  The Panzerkampfwagen VIII "Maus", or "Armored Fighting Vehicle VIII Mouse" in English, was a design for a super-heavy tank that was fortunately unsuccessful in being carried out. From 1944 - 2025, it is still the heaviest enclosed tank ever built. Five were ordered to be built, but only parts were completed before the building grounds were taken by the Red Army. 

The tank was said to weight about 188 metric tons. The Maus's main gun was to be the Krupp-designed 128mm gun, which was documented to be enough to destroy any type of the Allied armored vehicles ever used at the time. But there were many downsizes for the Maus, which were mostly due to its weight.

The Nazi engineers struggled to find and/or create an engine and drivetrain strong enough to actually power the tank, be small enough to fit inside the large tank. It was meant to use the same type of "hybrid-drive", which required an internal-combustion engine to operate an electric generator to allow it to gain the ability to move, which is what its Porsche predecessors used. Only two were actually completed.

Horton 229: The Horton 229 was an idea in which would revolutionize the world of bombers. This plane was to be the first jet bomber in history, which like the Messerschmitt 262, it was highly popular and favored by many as a modernized scientific concept in the world of aviation. This project was a response to Hermann Göring's demands for a light bomber that could carry 1,000 kilograms for 1,000 kilometers at 100 miles per hour, which many thought of as outrageous requests for such a bomber.

This bomber was one of many Wunderwaffe projects that never made it out of the prototype phase, with only three being made before the war ended. After the war, many other jet bombers inspired by the Horton 229 finished testing. Many discovered a smaller radar cross-section than other aircraft at the time. 

Many of these projects conducted by the Nazis were either fact, or just science fiction that will almost never be created. These projects did indeed inspire many games and shows around the world, but many won't remember the true history of our scientific advancements when it comes to modernized war machines of power.

Wernher Von Braun:

Wernher Von Braun was a German-American aerospace enginneer and space architect who was a member of the Nazi Party and the Allgemeine SS, being the leading figure in rocket science and development in Nazi Germany. He would later become a pioneer for American rocket research during the Cold War.

Wernher Von Braun worked in the Wunderwaffe program, helping design the V-2 Rocket for the Nazis during WWII. He was wanted by the Allies for his war crimes, but his sentence was dismissed due to the American need to beat the Soviets in the Cold War.

Wernher Von Braun was born on March 23, 1912, in the town of Wirsitz in the Province of Posen, the Kingdom of Prussia, which then became the German Empire, and now Poland today. After serving the American Union, he then died on June 16, 1977, in Alexandria, Virginia, in the U.S.A.