Random Secret Technologies Invented by the Nazis (16 items)

(#3) Space Planes

The German project codenamed "Silbervogel" was a theoretical design for a sub-orbital bomber aircraft that would have been able to attain 90 miles in height and bomb New York when launched from Germany. The aircraft got as far as a wind-tunnel mockup, and work done on the design continues to influence rocket and ramjet technology today.
(#8) Man-Portable Anti-Aircraft Rockets

Long before such weapons became commonly issued, Nazi Germany developed a man-portable air defense weapon - the Fliegerfaust (literally "plane fist" in German). The multi-barreled air-to-ground rocket launcher was designed to fire several 20 millimeter unguided rockets up to 500 meters, though this range was never achieved. The rockets tended to disperse poorly and showed little stopping power against a moving plane, so of the 10,000 launchers ordered, only about 80 were made. Their eventual usage history is unknown, though one photograph of the ruins of Berlin clearly shows fired and discarded Fliegerfaust launchers.
(#16) Microwave Ovens

Finally, an urban legend has existed for decades that says the Nazis were responsible for inventing the microwave oven, and that microwaving food is actually harmful to humans, killing all its nutrients and causing cancer.

No credible science supports the cancer causing accusation. As to the claim that the Nazis developed the microwave oven, it usually presents itself as a rumor that German troops invading the Soviet Union carried a primitive portable microwave called a "radiomissor" that could heat their food in the field.

The problem with this theory is that not only is there no proof, but the power of microwaves to cook food wasn't documented until 1946. Additionally, microwave ovens run on electricity, and Russia's electrical grid in the '40s was too primitive to power any such machine.
(#4) Sophisticated Jet Fighters and Bombers

While the ME-262 became famous as the first operational jet fighter, Germany had a wide range of other jet fighters and bombers in various developmental stages. Some saw limited action, and others never made it off of the drawing board. The most effective was the Arado Ar-234 jet bomber, used in very limited numbers at the end of the war. The first Ar-234 combat mission, a reconnaissance flight over the Allied beachhead in Normandy, happened on August 2, 1944. Other designs were the Messerschmitt Me P.1101 swept-wing fighter, the Ta-400 long range bomber, and the Fa-269 VTOL fighter .
(#7) Guided Point-Defense Rockets

Decades before the Patriot Missile was knocking Scuds out of the sky, German aircraft engineers developed the Bachem Ba 349 guided point-defense rocket. The manned rocket would be flown by an inexperienced pilot, launched from a vertical stand, and flown by auto-pilot to attack Allied bombers. The pilot would then fire a load of rockets, and parachute out of the vehicle, which would also fall back to earth via parachute.

Three dozen rockets and a launch site were built, with plans to fire the first squadron. But the program was canceled on March 1, when the first manned launch ended with the rocket spinning out and exploding, killing the test pilot.
(#10) Guided Missiles

Beyond using guided V1 and V2 rockets to terrorize civilians, the Germans made use of guided anti-ship glide bombs (the "Fritz X") and guided air-dropped anti-ship missiles. They also had prototypes for man-portable guided missiles, television-guided surface to air missiles, and wire-guided air to air missiles.

None of these weapons had any appreciable impact on the war effort, and most never advanced beyond the testing stages. But they pioneered technology that would form the core of modern armies for decades to come.