US Army’s Post-WWII Investigation into German Synthetic Oil Production
The US Army had over 10,000 investigators, including industrialists, engineers, scientists, and technicians, who visited thousands of enemy factories, scientific institutions, and businesses in Germany to conduct top-secret interviews and gather documents as World War II drew to a close.
These investigators, who were actually intelligence operatives, were tasked with uncovering the secrets of Germany’s strategic materials production, including advanced weaponry such as jet airplanes and rockets, and were particularly interested in the country’s ability to produce synthetic oil.
According to Professor Arnold Krammer, a historian at Texas A&M University, the US Technical Oil Mission to Europe in 1945 was a significant effort to acquire German technology and knowledge, with tons of records being hauled out of bombed-out factories and German scientists being questioned by American officers.
Germany had invested heavily in scientific research to develop a strategic advantage, including the production of synthetic oil, which was crucial due to the country’s lack of petroleum deposits, as noted by Anthony N. Stranges of the Department of History at Texas A&M University.
The Fischer-Tropsch Process and Germany’s Synthetic Fuel Development
The Fischer-Tropsch process, developed by German chemists in the early twentieth century, was a key discovery that explained the origin of oil as a naturally occurring phenomenon and allowed for the production of synthetic oil from coal, which was abundant in Germany.
The development of synthetic oil was essential for Germany’s fuel requirements, which had shifted from coal to gasoline and diesel oil with the increasing use of automobiles, trucks, airplanes, and diesel oil-powered ships, including the country’s navy, and the Fischer-Tropsch process provided a solution to this problem.
The US investigators were interested in acquiring this knowledge and technology, not only to understand Germany’s war efforts but also to gain insight into the production of synthetic oil, which had significant implications for the global oil industry and the understanding of the origin of oil as a natural resource.
The development of the Fischer-Tropsch process by German chemists Franz Fischer and Hans Tropsch in the 1920s enabled the production of synthetic gasoline and diesel fuel from coal, which was crucial for powering a competitive national industrial economy and a strong military operation.
The German industrial giant I.G. Farben, with support from the Luftwaffe and the Nazi high command, utilized the Fischer-Tropsch process to produce high-quality aviation fuel, and by 1936, the company was no longer independent but a government-private enterprise.
The Fischer-Tropsch process played a significant role in Nazi Germany’s ability to launch World War II, as the country had fourteen synthetic fuel plants in operation and six more under construction by the time Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, producing approximately 95 percent of the aviation fuel used by the Luftwaffe.
Synthetic Fuel Production and Its Strategic Importance in WWII
By 1943, Nazi Germany was producing almost three million metric tons of gasoline by hydrogenation of coal, and adding diesel fuel, aviation fuel, and lubricants produced synthetically from coal, the country was able to satisfy up to 75 percent of its fuel demand through coal conversion.
Imperial Japan also adopted the Fischer-Tropsch process, aiming to produce 6.3 million barrels annually of synthetic gasoline and diesel fuel by 1944, but the country’s ambitions were thwarted by the economic demands of waging war, and only fifteen synthetic fuel plants were constructed, reaching peak production of 717,000 barrels in 1944.
Hellbound and Down 