The most terrifying sound in WW2.....

[moonraker65]

Would I be alone in thinking that the Stuka's Sirens when in a dive was the most terrifying sound in WW2 ? . Just wondered what other people think on this one.

[testarossa]

Cracking sounds of pressure hull at crash depth. Another candidate - ASDIC pings.

[tabpub]

ORIGINAL: testarossa

Another candidate - ASDIC pings.

Followed by large splashing noises.....

[Marten]

silence, after V-1's engine turned off [X(]

[witpqs]

A click when you expect a bang...from your rifle.

[Twotribes]

For most American troops it was probably the sound of incoming artillery rather than a Stuka. Or maybe the sound of an approaching German Tank.

[Mike Scholl]

For any survivor of the Panzer Lehr Division, I would bet on the slowly but audibly
increasing rumble of thousands of A/C engines as you wait in your holes just west
of St. Lo.

[m10bob]

Wrong end of a still not sighted MG 42,up close and personal.[:@]

[Halsey]

In a bunker. Someone yells "GAS"! Then quietly a person in the back says, "Sorry, I shouldn't have had the bean soup for dinner".[:D]

[Ron Saueracker]

Eleanor Roosevelt screaming as Franklin plays "back door man" with her on Sunday mornings![X(]

[Honda]

My experiance would put the multiple rocket launchers in the lead. I know, you'll just say it's inaccurate, etc. but the problem is in the psycological impact. Imagine 36 5"rockects coming down in your general direction. A very general direction. Well all know they don't fall in an orderly fashion but scatter over an area. The problem is that every subsequent hit sounds like they're getting closer. No matter where they fall they get louder. Now that's what I call scary. And now imagine 4 packages times 36 rocekts fired at the same time and you're on the top floor of a buiding in the target area. Man, was I lucky. I could hear a couple of them fly over. They landed 150 meters away. AD 1993.
Although, some say being a target of a strafing aircraft is worse. Something about having a feeling the earth is being grinded under your feet. Who knows.
I know, I know, this is about WW2 but - can you spell Katchusha...

[Peter Fisla]

I bet the sound of 88 must have been terrifying to someone sitting in a sherman somewhere in Normdany....

I saw a documentary once on TV (history chanel) where an allied tanker talked about the effect of 88 on the battlefield. This guys saw a 88 shell going through 5 shermans then at some point another 88 shell went by close to his tank at which point this guy gave an order to his tank crew to bail out and when a reporter on tv asked him why he gave that order to his crew when their tank was perfectly ok, the veteran replied: "88s rarely miss, and when they do they don't miss second time"....

[Stavka_lite]

I would think it would be the ripping sound made by an incoming 16" shell

[Ron Saueracker]

ORIGINAL: Stavka_lite

I would think it would be the ripping sound made by an incoming 16" shell

I don't think Franklin Roosevelt's ordinance was 16".[X(][8D]

[tc464]

The chug chug noise of a 1000 lb bomb baseplate flying past...

The "tink" of a accidentaly dropped nonelectric blasting cap squarely hitting a 2,000 lb bomb during demo.

Your young airman uttering those famous words on the range...."Hey fellas, watch this !" [X(]

[tsimmonds]

The sound of a twig snapping at night on New Georgia.

[mlees]

The "banzai" battlecry that follows that twig snap...

[Hard Sarge]

I bet the sound of 88 must have been terrifying to someone sitting in a sherman somewhere in Normdany....

Well the hassle is, they didn't hear it, that is like the 76mm's that the GE captured and reused from the Russians, that they nicknamed Crash-Bangs, you heard the shell hit, then heard the gun fire

for your story about bailing out, the GE troops used to throw rocks at the shermans, a lot of times the crew would bail when the rock hit (combat in a built up area)

HARD_Sarge

from what some of the English said towards the end of the war was the worse, was the V-2 rocket, you didn't hear it, just a very Loud bang, followed later by the sound of a rocket falling (it was faster then the speed of sound) they said the V-1 wasn't too bad, as you could at least hear it coming and tell when armmed itself

[John Pancoast]

The rumored gastro-intestinal problems Hitler reportedly had <g>

[tanker4145]

An unexpected knock on your front door (for the families on the homefront).