German money was better spent flying bombers over London in 1940 ... their bombers were "heavy" enough at the time
Oh my, really?
Far from the truth, the exact opposite in fact. Ask any historian about the biggest shortfalls of German equipment during WWII, and what almost every one will point out was their lack of any meaningful bombers.
They only had 2 different Heavy Bombers that were actually produced. The 4 engine Ju-290 (65 built), which were so vulnerable to English defenses that they spent most of the war doing maritime patrol duties. And the He-177 twin engine bomber (1,169 built). But that aircraft was rarely seen in Europe, spending most of the war fighting the Soviets as it was the only bomber that had the range to attack targets deep in that country.
No, one thing almost all who have studied the war recognize is that Germany had no real significant bomber presence. The mandate that all bombers be able to operate as dive bombers crippled their ability to design large bombers. So instead most were actually fighter-bombers, or medium bombers at best, that had reduced bomb loads when compared to those of the allies because of their mandate to be able to do dive bombing attack profiles.
By the time they recognized the threat of the heavy bombers that the UK and US were throwing at them they finally did eliminate that mandate that all bombers operate as dive bombers, and really did start to design some impressive designs. But by then it was to late, and the war was already winding to a close.
The main German bomber in the Battle of Britain was the He-111. One of the "Wolves in Sheep Clothing", it was claimed it was built as a passenger airliner, and indeed it was operated as such by Lufthansa. But in reality, it was a twin engine medium bomber. With over 6,500 built, it was their primary medium bomber. But they could only carry around two tons of bombs, which meant it would take eight of the He-111 to surpass what a single Lancaster could deliver on target.
And that is only the earliest Lancasters. By the end of the war, the Lancaster had been adapted and upgraded to carry immense payloads. From the original 7 tons, to eventually over 11 tons. And the Brits made over 7,000 of those. Germany would have had to build over 32,000 He-111's to even come close to what England alone had in a single line of their bombers.
