Second World War: German-Japanese co-operation

[Spartacus the Irish]

I've always wondered - why did these two countries not co-operate more closely during the war? I know that the 'Pact of Steel' was more a marriage of convenience between three fascist dictatorships that arose with similar motives and agendas moreso than an actual plan of solidarity and alliance; but still, it would have made more sense whilst engaged in the war to exchange information and ideas more than they historically did.

Imagine, for example, the Japanese sending the German's plans for the Zero? A plane capable of escorting bombers to and from the target, with German cannon (the Japanese cannon were a poor copy of the Oerlikon), a few European modifications (self-sealing tanks, pilot armour), and it would have given the German's an aircraft that could have taken on the Spitfire on it's own terms (manoevrability on the horizontal plane) whilst still having a plane that was incomparable (in the early war) in the vertical plane. With fuel injection, the Me109 pilot could push the stick forward, and therefore could dive into negative-g without the engine cutting out, as happened to gravity-fed carburettors in British aircraft.

Even this is only one of myriad things that could have made the alliance actually mean something - it just seems to me to have been such a missed opportunity. Anyone else agree?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I'm not entirely sure, but since they were so far away, communications may not have been that easy.

[Ahlerich]

I'm not entirely sure, but since they were so far away, communications may not have been that easy.

yeah same as logistics

[jankren]

Germany should have kicked Italy to the curb sooner and formed better cooperation with the Japanese from the beginning. I mean who can beat the fusion of German high tech war machines and Japanese 'no surrender' soldiers?

[Erebus Pasha]

Logistics?

[Ahlerich]

Logistics?

lol yeah - doesnt matter for say the "zero plans"
but how do you want to cooperate efficiently with a ally on the other end of the world. especially in those days.

so i think the cooperation between japs and krauts would have been hard to improve. and it more or less had to be a meaningless cooperation.

would have been nice if japan did not declare war on the usa and focus on open a second front on the soviets. that would have been valuable.

[jankren]

would have been nice if japan did not declare war on the usa and focus on open a second front on the soviets. that would have been valuable.

There was nothing valuable in Eastern Russia though compared to the riches of the Eastern Asia region ...

[Ahlerich]

There was nothing valuable in Eastern Russia though compared to the riches of the Eastern Asia region ...

valuable for the führer and his muppets

[Oklop]

Maybe the lack of tall blond blue eyed Japanese of Aryan origin was the reason? But still, one would expect the Germans to at least send plans for radar.

[Spartacus the Irish]

Maybe the lack of tall blond blue eyed Japanese of Aryan origin was the reason? But still, one would expect the Germans to at least send plans for radar.

The Japanese were granted the title 'Honorary Aryans' (Ehrenarier) by the Nazi Bureau of Race Research. I acknowledge that distance played a great part, but the fact remains that the two countries did little but do face service to the alliance - Germany I believe sent plans for the Me 262 and the Tiger; it would never have been feasible for the Japanese economy to switch to producing these intricate designs when they were failing to produce even their home-grown fighters and tanks. It just seems to me to be a wasted opportunity.

[Dr. Croccer]

Not that the Japs stood much of a chance against the Allies from the start.... Both need every resource and were too busy fighting their wars to listen to eachother.

[Medicus]

Didn't Germany try to send some V2 parts to Japan via U-boat?

[Hookah Smoking Caterpiller]

T Germany I believe sent plans for the Me 262 and the Tiger; it would never have been feasible for the Japanese economy to switch to producing these intricate designs when they were failing to produce even their home-grown fighters and tanks. It just seems to me to be a wasted opportunity.

Japan did build some prototypes for what was essetially an Japanese Me 262:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakajima_J9Y

wiki page on it

[hellheaven1987]

The thing was that German-Japanese relation was never good before 1941; it was largely due to China, which Hitler might recall the German advisors in China but refused to stop selling equipments and ammunition to Chinese despite Japanese's protest (as the fact that Chinese could not even produce enough rifle ammunition and largely relied on foreign supply; it was interesting to see how many Japanese soldiers were killed by bullet that made in Germany).