The Axis plans for invasion of the United States during WWII were a series of plans for strategic long-range strikes and invasion of United States of America by German and Japanese forces.

 

The German Planned Invasion Of The United States

 

Before the winter of 1941, Germany appeared to be moving toward a swift victory over the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa (the invasion plan of Russia). Alfred Rosenberg, Reich Comissaire for Eastern Affairs, was ordered to print the motto "Deutschland Welt Reich" (German World Empire) and Hitler made known his intention of further conquest following victory over Russia. These plans appeared to include an invasion of the United States.

In Autumn of 1940, the attack on the US was fixed for the long-term future. This appears in Luftwaffe documents, one of which dated October 29, 1940 mentions the "extraordinary interest of Mein Fuehrer in the occupation of the Atlantic Islands. In line with this interest...with the cooperation of Spain is the seizure of Gibraltar and Spanish and Portuguese islands, along other operations in the North Atlantic."

In July 1941, the Fuehrer ordered that planning an attack against the United States be continued. Five months later, on December 11, 1941 Germany declared war on the United States.

Operation Barbarossa was alleged by some to be a testing ground for an invasion of America. Another alleged German invasion plan was "Operation Felix", in conjunction with Spain, which called for obtaining control of Atlantic islands and seas to launch long-range strikes and an eventual invasion of America.

 

Aircraft & Rockets

The Junkers Ju 390

The Messerschmitt Me 264, part of the "Amerika Bomber" program, was developed to bomb the continental United States from Germany. Only three prototypes were built, and the project was cancelled before any attempts were made to even see if the journey was feasible.

A similar design was the Junkers Ju 390. It was intended to strike America, particularly New York City. This gave it the name "The New York Bomber." It is alleged that such a bomber made it close to New York, but this has never been confirmed.

The Horten brothers were also working on an Amerika Bomber toward the end of the war, the all-wing Horten 18 turbojet. According to one researcher, the aircraft may have been meant to deliver a rudimentary atomic bomb to New York City or Washington DC, despite the fact that German scientists had not yet learned how to produce a chain reaction. David Myhra, The Horten Brothers and Their All-Wing Aircraft (Schiffer, 1998) p.225-228

Another plan called for V-1 and V-2 rockets to be fitted to U-Boats and launched on New York City. These would be launched by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 290 planes armed with four V-1 under their wings. The Germans also considered using Long-range versions of A-4 rockets V-4 Rheinbote multi phase missile or other similar types) launched from France to hit the American mainland.

Armament related to the proposed United States invasion

The Wehrmacht, in planning for the British invasion developed some types of airborne and amphibious tanks and other special heavy armour, later considered for an eventual invasion of America: The Kriegsmarine, ordered the design of some aircraft carriers (Based on Akagi-Type Great Japanese Navy Flag-Carriers):
*Graf Zeppelin Carrier
*Peter Strasser/Deutschland Carrier
*Europa Carrier(Project)
*Potsdam Carrier(Project)
Carrier based aircraft were created for the invasion of Britain and later, America. Such units were intended for equiping the Luftwaffe/Kriegsmarine 650th Geschwader.

The Luftwaffe also created a plan called "Amerika Bomber" that had designs for a strike against United States. They also ordered for transport for airborne forces and light vehicles the ultra-heavy giant armed assault glider Junkers Ju 322 "Mammut". Such vehicles were supposed to be used in an invasion of America alongside the Messerschmitt Me 321 "Gigant" heavy transport glider.

 

The Use Of 'V-weapons" against America

The Luftwaffe analyzed the possible use of 'V-weapons' against the US in a plan to launch a squadron of Junkers Ju 290 long range recon aircraft armed with Fieseler Fi-103 (V-1) flying bombs. The Kriegsmarine considered a similar idea with submarine-based V-1/V-2 launchers against United States coasts. Similarly, the Wehrmacht created the "Division zur Vergeltung" (Reprisal Division) or "Div.z. V." this unit would use the "Langrohrkanone LRK 15 F-58", also knowed "Hochdruckpumpe", "HDP Kanone" or V-3, or the ultra long-range version of the multi-phase mid-range missile V-4 "Rheinbote" against U.S. soil by attacking from islands or just offshore.

 

"A9"

Another weapon that was designed for possible use against the US was the A9. The A9 was a further development of the "A4" rocket. No prototype was ever developed before the end of the war, although a variant, the A4b, was produced. The A9 would have been used as the upper stage for an intercontinental missile or a manned craft.

 

"A10"

The A10, which was never built, was intended to serve as the first stage for the A9, to help it to reach an intercontinental range. New York City and other targets in the northeastern U.S. were its intended targets. Test Stand VII was built at Peenemunde for use in the A10's development.

The A10 was designed to have a diameter of 4.12 meters and to exceed the A4 in its size. It was to be fueled with alcohol and liquid oxygen. The thrust of the engines would have been 235,000 kgf (2300 kN) with a 55-second burn time.

 

Strategic Lines To Support The American Invasion

Operation Felix (Fall Felix) and Operation Sealion, planned the occupation of Ireland and Operation Ikarus, would have provided some support bases for installing the Wehrmacht and Kriegsmarine infantry seaborne or Luftwaffe Airborne forces for the invasion.

These units, with proper support from the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe, were to capture coastal areas in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Delaware.

On the other hand, the invasion could have come from airborne landings on the Atlantic coast of Canada in the Northwest Territories, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, with the army then continuing into U.S territory. The Saint Lawrence River was also considered to be a major possible entry point into North America. Another option involved launching seaborne rockets, long range missiles or aerial bombardments, against U.S. territory. The Germans were also considering the development and use of an atomic bomb against the United States.

Air strikes with heavy long range bombers would have not only put the coastal targets of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Boston, and New York within range, but also targets in Ohio and even Indiana.

 

Operations Supposedly Related To The Planned Invasion

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Model of a Blohm und Voss By 222      Note The Gun Turrets on the wings

German forces sent agents to Greenland to install a base for secret operations in the area that would have been supported by the use of a radio station in Saint Pierre and on Miquelon island, under the administration of Vichy France.

The German invasion would also have been supported by German submarine missions to the Atlantic coast and Caribbean areas, with submarines such as U-134, U-853 and others. The Germans had projects to use of submarines with V-1/V-2 Launchers against American coasts. Also, the planned use of special mobile launchers from French coasts for launching one ultra long-range multi-stage V-4 "Rheibote" missile or other similar type.

Another maritime tactic would have been maritime reconnaissance flights by German flying boats Blohm und Voss Bv 222 C-0 "Wiking" from France and Norway to the north and central Atlantic area to watch Iceland, Greenland, England, and the Canadian and United States coasts.

There was also a Kriegsmarine or Luftwaffe attack against the Panama Canal, a U.S. territory at the time. The former would use submarines to strike the Atlantic side of the Canal. The latter would send a squadron of ultra long-range bombers from France to North Africa, before continuing to South America in support of a neutral country.

 

 

The Japanese Planned Invasion Of The United States

 

Ironically, at the start of the 20th Century, Japan was allied to the western powers, and was emerging as a naval power in the Pacific. Anxiety over Japan's interest fueled concern among Americans about their southern border. Rumors abounded of a Mexican plot with the help of Germany and Japan.

For example, in 1908, there was a rumour of a secret treaty between Japan and Mexico and reports of Japanese officers serving with the armies of Huerta, Carranza and Villa. Fear grew of a Japanese invasion of the United States through Mexico, using the Mexican railway system to transport troops to the American border and Gulf of California ports. The mysterious arrival of Cruiser Asama Maru, in April 1915 added to this fear.

During the war the Japanese Navy strongly advocated the capture of the Hawaiian Islands. This would have involved landing after the first stage of the war. The Hawaiian Islands could be used for future landings in the continental U.S., or to conduct aerial surface, naval, or submarine attacks against U.S. coasts. The operations bureaus of both the Army and the Navy investigated the matter on a number of occasions. When it became apparent that the Hawaii operation was beyond the capability of the Army to carry out alone, the General Staff vigorously resisted the project, which was eventually discarded.

Kinoaki Matsuo, a high-ranking officer of the Black Dragon Society, and Japanese Navy thinker wrote the book The Three Power Alliance And The United States-Japanese War, which is purported to detail the Japanese war plans for the simultaneous invasions of the Panama Canal Zone, Alaska, California, and Washington.

 

Strategic Lines To The Japanese Invasion Of America

For Japanese Naval strategists, an invasion of American, Mexican, and Central American Pacific coasts would have required naval bases in the Aleutian and Hawaiian islands, as well as the Mexican Revillagigedo and French Clipperton islands.

From the Aleutians, Japanese forces would have landed in Alaska and Canada, from Hawaii naval or airborne landings in Washington state, Oregon, and California were considered. From these bases, long-range heavy land-based bombers or flying boat attacks on U.S. territory could be launched. The High Command staff considered bombing San Francisco, Panama, Los Angeles, the Texas oilfields, in coordination with German naval strikes against Boston, Washington D.C. or New York. The use of biological and chemical weapons was also considered.

 

Proposed Attacks & Invasion Preparations

Flying boat bombing raids

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Kawanishi H8K "Emily"

Although only 167 examples were produced, the large Kawanishi H8K was the most outstanding and advanced flying-boat to achieve production status during World War II. Designed to meet a requirement issued in 1938 for a four-engine maritime reconnaissance flying-boat superior in all respects to the British Short Sunderland, the H8K1 prototype was first flown in January 1941, but proved initially to possess very poor water handling qualities. Extensive modifications were made and after successfully completing its service trials the aircraft was ordered into production as the Navy Type 2 Flying- Boat Model 11, powered by four 1141kW Mitsubishsi Kasei 11 or 12 radiais. Armament of these early aircraft comprised two 20mm cannon and four 7.7mm machine guns. With armour protection, selfsealing fuel tanks and a maximum speed of 433km/h, the new flying-boat indeed represented a considerable advance over the H6K. It carried out its first operational mission in March 1942 when two aircraft of the Yokohama Kokutai set out from Wotje Atoll in the Marshalls to bomb Oahu Island (Pearl Harbor), putting down at French Frigate Shoals to refuel from a submarine; however, arriving over the American base, the Japanese crews found heavy cloud and the raid was ineffective. Nevertheless as a longrange maritime reconnaissance aircraft, the H8K1 (codenamed 'Emily' by the Allies) with its 7,200km range, heavy armament and good performance proved a highly competent aircraft much respected by the Allies. The further-improved H8K2, with 1380kW Kasei 22 radials and armament increased to five 20mm cannon and four 7.7mm machine-guns, of which 112 were built between 1943 and 1945, was unquestionably the toughest opponent faced by the Allies in the Pacific. It was also equipped with ASV radar, being responsible for the sinking of at least three American submarines in the area north of the Philippines during the last 18 months of the war. Additional to the maritime reconnaissance version, 36 H8K2-L boats were built in the last two years of the war, these being equipped as naval staff and troop transports capable of accommodating either 29 staff passengers or 64 fully armed troops. The progressively deteriorating war situation for Japan led to a run-down in production of flying boats during 1945 in favour of fighters for home defence, and later versions of the H8K were accordingly abandoned. Nevertheless this excellent aircraft saw considerable service, being flown by the 14th, 801st, 851st, 1001st, 1021st, Takuma, Toko, Yokohama and Yokosuka Chinjufu Kokutais.

Vice-Admiral Kazume Kinsei, a former UCLA student, proposed using six Kawanishi H8K "Emily" flying boats to bomb the west coast of the United States. They would take off from Wotje Atoll in the Marshall Islands (about 2,300 miles west of Pearl Harbor) and rendezvous with submarines off the coast of California for refuelling before flying on to bomb Los Angeles. The planes would then return to Japanese-controlled territory via a second refueling stop. A trial run with three H8Ks attacking the Hawaiian Islands, however, caused no significant damage.

After the Battle of Midway, Kinsei revised the plan to propose that as many as thirty H8Ks refueled from submarines off the Baja California coast, bomb oilfields in Texas and then rendezvous with German "Milch Kuh" ("Milk Cow") U-boat tankers in the Gulf of Mexico. Thereafter, supported by the U-boat tankers, they would range up and down the east coast of the United States making terror and propaganda raids on cities such as Boston, New York and Washington D.C. The idea was approved by both the Japanese naval command and German U-boat chief Admiral Karl Dnitz, but by the fall of 1942 Japan's need to defend its gains meant that all long-range aircraft were confined to reconnaissance-type missions in the Pacific.

 

The I-400 / Aichi M6A Plan

The Imperial Submarine Squadron One, under the command of Captain Tatsunosuke Ariizumi (I-400 "Sentoku" Class Submarine/ Aichi M6A1 special torpedo-bomber force) was composed of: the I-13, (equipped with 2 aircraft); the I-14, (equipped with 2 aircraft); the I-400, (equipped with 3 or 4 aircraft); and the I-401, (equipped with 3 or 4 aircraft)

For the first mission, Vice Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa, Vice Chief of the Navy General Staff, selected "Operation PX", a top secret plan to use the I-400 unit's ten aircraft to unleash bacteriological warfare on populous areas of the American West Coast and Pacific Islands. On March 26, 1945, this mission was canceled by General Yoshijiro Umezu, Chief of the Army General Staff, who declared that "Germ warfare against the United States would escalate to war against all humanity".

As an alternative, the staff considered bombing San Francisco, Panama, Washington D.C. or New York, and decided to launch a surprise air strike against the Panama Canal's Gatun Locks. Destroying these locks would empty Gatun Lake and block the passage of shipping for months. For the 17,000 mile round trip to Panama, each submarine needed 1,600 tons of diesel fuel, which was unavailable at Kure. The I-401 was therefore dispatched to Dairen, Manchukuo, to bring back the needed oil. On April 12 she grazed a B-29-laid mine off Hime Shima Lighthouse in the Inland Sea and had to return for repairs. In her place I-400 successfully carried out the undersea tanker mission.

While the submersible carriers were perfecting their tactics to cripple the Panama Canal, the Japanese Navy was steadily deteriorating. Before the submarines could set sail for Panama, more than 3,000 Allied warships and transports had reached the Pacific for Operation Olympic, the forthcoming invasion of Japan.

This growing threat forced Tokyo strategists to reconsider the attack on distant Panama, which now appeared a questionable diversion. Over his vehement objections, Captain Ariizumi was ordered to abandon his squadron's carefully rehearsed canal strike and instead attack the American naval forces at Ulithi Atoll.

 

Japanese Land Based Long Range Bombers

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Nakajima G10N1 "Fugaku" (Mount Fuji)

In April 1943, as a private venture, Nakajima initiated studies for an aircraft (Project Z) capable of carrying out bombing operations against the US mainland from bases in Japan. Later during that year these studies served as the basis for a joint Navy-Army project, which initially was intended to be powered by six 5,000 hp Nakajima Ha-505 thirty-six cylinder radials. However, because of expected late availability of these powerplants, the design was scaled down to use six 2,500 hp Nakajima NK11A radials. In this form the G10N1 Fugaku (Mount Fugi) was designed to cruise at altitudes in excess of 32,810 ft (10,000 m) and to reach a top speed of 423 mph (680 km/h). It remained in development at war's end and never saw operational service.

The Japanese Navy ordered the construction of Nakajima G10N1 "Fugaku" (Mount Fuji), an ultra-long range heavy bomber, for bombing the United States mainland. The bomb-load capability of the bomber was 20,000 kg for short-range sorties; 5,000 kg for sorties against targets in the U.S. Another similar project with a similar purpose was the four engined bomber Nakajima G8N "Renzan" Rita.

The Japanese Army ordered the design of Tachikawa Ki- 74 "Patsy", an ultra long-range reconnaissance bomber originally designed to be used against Soviets in Siberian lands. Later, it was ordered for development for bombing missions against the United States. The bomb charge was 500 kg to 1,000 kg. This bomber was also known as the "Japanese Siberian Bomber"

 

 

The Italian Invasion Plans Of The United States

New York Harbor Attack

Fascist Italy planned to damage dock facilities and sink ships moored in New York Harbor using Maiale Midget submarines. In 1943 preparations were well underway to deploy these weapons against the United States.

The Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force), working in conjunction with the Regia Marina (Italian Navy), prepared two long-range Cantieri Zappata CANT Z.511 flying boats for the operation. The CANT Z.511 was powered by four 1,500 hp Piaggio P.XII RC 35 radial engines giving it a maximum range of 2,796 miles. This seaplane also had extremely good stability in waters with up to 7-foot waves. It could carry two or four Maiales.

The operation was to commence as follows: CANTs flying the Atlantic would fly low under enemy radar to a point from which the midget submarines could be launched. The crews of the submarines were special volunteers, who after completing their mission, were authorized to surrender. No plans were made for returning them to the seaplanes.

By May 1943 cooperation with supply U-boats was obtained. The CANTs had been successfully tested with Maiales man-guided torpedos and special volunteers for one-way missions. The raid was scheduled to take place under ideal weather conditions in mid-June of the same year. However, only three weeks before, both the seaplanes and their specially fitted launch racks were partially damaged by British fighters when the CANT's base in Lake Trasimeno was strafed. The following July Marschal Pietro Badoglio declared an Italian armistice and the project was abandoned. The planned attack against New York might have scored a success paralleling the Italian attack in Alexandria Bay, Egypt during the Axis Powers' North African campaign.