Go tell that at the patent office

1909. Methyl isoprene -  Bayer. Not beautiful but germans fought WWI with it

 

That is all that matters. It was SUCCESSFUL. The others weren't.

 

H.

Iceland took 16th place, ( out of 17), priorities by the US.

 

 

The concern of the United States can be roughly measured by the high priority assigned to the preparation of a strategic survey of those islands. In a list of seventeen areas, arranged in order of urgency, which the War Plans Division submitted to G-2 on 7 May, the Azores were given second place. Top priority was assigned to the region around Dakar, in French West Africa, whereas Iceland, in sixteenth place, was far down the list.^11... That a declaration of war by Germany would follow the landing of American troops on either the Azores or Iceland was regarded by War Department planners as almost certain; but sending troops to the Azores was considered to be more easily justified as a measure in defense of the Western Hemisphere than a move into Iceland.^{12...  http://www.history.army.mil/bo...}

Don't let your superficial analysis of the situation at the time lead you into thinking that I don't know what the true priorities were and WHY.

 

Like the U-boat war, Japan, and Russia. That was where Germany had a chance of hurting the US. The fact that the US garrisoned Iceland and supplied it should tell you what really was afoot. 

 

 

Hurting the US would not be a German objective circa April/May 1940. The point of invading Iceland is to put the hurt on British shipping & to have better access to the Atlantic. War with the US was the last thing on their minds at the time.

 

Here is the Klemm plane used for 2 years to seek landing fields/sites.

 

The Klemm D-ESUX was brought to Iceland in 1938 with a German sailplane expedition that came here at the request of Agnar Kofoed-Hansen. It was soon registered in Iceland and in the next two years was used for exploring possible landing sites throughout the country. The aircraft was also used for passenger, mail, and ambulance flights as well as on herring spotting off the North Coast.

 

Posting a single word is not much of an argument. Hitler stated he thought the US would be too busy fighting the Japanese for a couple-few years before they would be much of a worry in Europe. German naval strategy in late 30's was not geared towards war with the US. Britain & France were their chief "western" concerns at that time. Takingh Norway was to not only to safeguard Swedish ore, but also to prevent German navy from being bottled in as it was in WW 1.

 

 

Posting a single word is not much of an argument. Hitler stated he thought the US would be too busy fighting the Japanese for a couple-few years before they would be much of a worry in Europe. German naval strategy in late 30's was not geared towards war with the US. Britain & France were their chief "western" concerns at that time. Takingh Norway was to not only to safeguard Swedish ore, but also to prevent German navy from being bottled in as it was in WW 1.

 

If you have references that show Wegener, Raeder & German naval planners working on war plans with the US circa late 1930's, it would be useful as support for your argument.

 

 

Very informative thread.

 

Personally I believe a German invasion of Britain would be risque at best, given numerous factors, and even if successful would most certainly leave no resources for Iceland.

To occupy Iceland would be fairly pointless without England, so perhaps a possible solution would have been a surprise invasion of Denmark, England and Iceland and foregoing Norway.