From first to "wurst": the erosion and implosion of German technology during WWII: the German management system, especially in terms of the technological industry, was a complex and convoluted bureaucratic nightmare

Air Force Journal of Logistics,  Summer, 2004  by Charles A. Pryor, III

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A further refinement of this technique was the Y-Geraet system, receiver and transmitter combination, where the aircraft will fly a designated vector and periodically retransmit a signal from the ground transmitter. A ground receiver would pick up the retransmitted signal. By calculating the phase shift, the difference in time between the transmitted and received signals, ground controllers had a picture of whether or not the pilot was on vector and could correct their pilots accordingly. (27) This type of ground control (although not the Y-Geraet style system) is used today by the ground tactical air control squadrons.

The advantages of these systems, despite their drawbacks, are obvious from the German point of view. They had the ability to direct and control their aircraft as well as recover them in less than optimal conditions. These systems also facilitated night bombing, which adds a psychological effect to the physical effect and destruction. From the British point of view, these systems were of import as they were easy to overcome. Radio frequencies operated over long distances are easy to disrupt once the transmit and receive frequencies are known. The Germans kept their systems simple, using dots and dashes on prescribed frequencies, but the British overcame this by inspecting aircraft that had been shot down. The British did not need to know what to listen for once they had the frequency. Using a technique known as meaconing, whereby the British flooded the various German frequencies with extra traffic, the British were able to defeat the Knickebein and X-Geraet systems. (28) To overcome the Y-Geraet systems, the British merely jammed the frequency. (29) Despite their limited operational life, these systems were the predecessors to the current ILS and radar systems, both of which allowed for night bombing. As the Combined Bomber Offensive demonstrated later in the war, the Allies were able to keep pressure on the German homeland through daylight bombing by American planes and night bombing by British planes. Without radar and ILS, these night bombings would not be possible, providing the Germans with time to reconstitute or continue production without feeling the effects of bombing.

Subsequent Aircraft Technologies

Faced with the challenge of designing aircraft that could outperform their enemies, the German engineers looked at ways to improve the speed, maneuverability, and altitude of the fighter force. The root reason for this work was the theory that to defeat the Allied bomber streams they would have to attack them at their weakest point, which was from above. Thus, they needed aircraft that could fly at extreme altitudes. In addition to their work on jet engines, the Germans looked at ways to improve propeller-driven aircraft. One of the technical solutions to this problem was fielded in their fighter force. They replaced the old radial air-cooled and liquid-cooled engines with a high-compression piston engine. Essentially a sealed, self-contained engine that was not dependent on a bladder of coolant, this engine allowed fighters to perform negative g or inverted maneuvers. (30) This gave them a significant maneuvering advantage when engaging enemy formations. Additionally, this engine would increase the performance envelope of the bomber fleet, allowing them to fly farther than they could with the radial engines. Alas, the performance increase in bombers was not enough to have a significant impact on the war, but the impact of the souped-up fighters was felt. The Allies were able to counter this added threat; however, the Germans succeeded, at least initially, in almost equaling the score with their fighters. Additionally, by examining defeated aircraft, the Allies were able to capitalize on German technological advantages.