I've been trying to work through a question I came up with and haven't been able to resolve it to my satisfaction. My question centers around the resources put toward the Manhattan Project. As we all know, the program to develop the atomic bomb was a miracle of modern science that consumed vast amounts of time and resources while the world was at war. Although the Allies could not have known it then, the Nazis weren't close to producing a bomb. Meanwhile, the Nazis were busy perfecting jet airplanes while American designs were advancing but not ready for production. So, my inarticulate counterfactual question is this: with the benefit of hindsight, would the Allies have been better off not investing in the Manhattan Project and instead devoting those resources to developing jets? Would it have ended the war faster if the Allies had developed operational jets in time for major combat operations?
Beginning_Brick7845 t1_jcywcr7 wrote
Reply to Weekly History Questions Thread. by AutoModerator
WWII Counterfactual Question.
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I've been trying to work through a question I came up with and haven't been able to resolve it to my satisfaction. My question centers around the resources put toward the Manhattan Project. As we all know, the program to develop the atomic bomb was a miracle of modern science that consumed vast amounts of time and resources while the world was at war. Although the Allies could not have known it then, the Nazis weren't close to producing a bomb. Meanwhile, the Nazis were busy perfecting jet airplanes while American designs were advancing but not ready for production. So, my inarticulate counterfactual question is this: with the benefit of hindsight, would the Allies have been better off not investing in the Manhattan Project and instead devoting those resources to developing jets? Would it have ended the war faster if the Allies had developed operational jets in time for major combat operations?