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It was near the end of World War II, and the Germans were getting desperate to turn the war back in their favor. This included a plethora of suggested scientific and engineering projects, many of them quite bizarre, in what they termed Wunderwaffen, or 'wonder weapons.'

There was an almost megalomaniacal tendency by the German leadership in their belief that science could compensate for Germany's fast-deteriorating position fighting the combined might of the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

One idea proposed in 1942 by Hermann Göring, head of the air force and one of the most senior members of the ruling elite. Göring had made a call for light bomber designs capable of meeting what he called the "3×1000" requirement; namely that the craft be able to carry 1,000 kilograms (that is, 2,200 pounds) of bombs a distance of 1,000 kilometers (or 620 miles) with a speed of 1,000 kilometers per hour, equivalent to 620 miles per hour.

Göring had proclaimed: "I completely lack the bombers capable of round-trip flights to New York with a 4.5-tonne munition load. I would be extremely happy to possess such a bomber, which would at last stuff the mouth of arrogance across the sea."

How close was Germany to developing an atomic bomb in World War 2? Learn the story of the secret commando raid to destroy Germany's Heavy Water facility. Subscribe now: bit.ly/DarkDocs

Just why was Germany so interested in the remote Vemork hydroelectric facility? Nestled in the southern mountains of Norway, and perched on a ledge overlooking a deep valley, the site harbored a dark secret. In the 1930’s and 40’s, it was the only plant commercially manufacturing heavy water, a key component in the production of nuclear weapons.

When Norway was invaded by Germany in 1940, concerns mounted that the Germans would seize the plant and its heavy water facilities and control most of the global supply. Tensions were high, as German scientists had already discovered nuclear fission two years earlier. Due to the extreme secrecy, no one knew how close the German weapons program was to successfully producing an atomic bomb, but the Allied Powers were not about to wait around to find out.