The Germans had their own problems of supply derived from the naval blockade.
The German industry was not able to produce the specially heat and stress resistant metallic alloys that were required. They lacked metals like the chromium and molybdenum that were essential to harden the steel. Germany had exhausted their stocks and could not import them during the war, as it has already happened previously with rubber and oil.
The chemists produced silicones to replace the rubber and synthetic oil of low quality from coal. But the ceramic materials for the compressor blades of the turbojets would not be ready on time and everyone knew it.
The lack of oil suffered by Germany, during the last year of the war, induced scientists and engineers to experiment with alternative fuels.
The most refined gasoline were used for conventional piston engines.
The BMW 003 turbojets worked with B.4 (87 octane petrol).
The J2 and K1 burnt by the Jumo 004 and Heinkel HeS 011 turbojets were heavy kerosenes.
The Argus pulsejet of the V-1 worked with crude oil.
The Peenemünde engineers designed a V-2 that worked with diesel oil and S-Stoff.
The Dr. Pabst, from the Gas Dynamics section of the Focke-Wulf Company, suggested that the ramjets of the future Triebflügel fighter burned even less volatile fuels at pitch oil or lignite tar.
To that purpose, they had to design a compact evaporating plant that could be installed onboard.
This situation affected specially to the conventional piston engines. Poor ratings of the 87 octane B4 fuel and poor quality of Schmiertoff lubricant, that obliged to run at high revolutions to deliver the required horsepower, were the cause of all the problem suffered. Rather deficient Kühlsotff (50% glycol, 50% water) cooling, vibration fractures and disintegration of bearings, due to shortage of tin during its manufacturing, caused corrosion and piston seizure.
To avoid these deficiencies, some engines were redesigned with bigger cylinders and twin (three speed) superchargers, due to the poor performance (just 30 minutes) of the one stage superchargers of first generation.
It was also tried to improve performances using two new power boost injection systems, the GM-1 (liquid nitrous oxide) for altitudes over 10,000 m. and the MW-50 (50% methanol, 49.5% water and 0.5% Schutzöl 39 anticorrosion fluid) for emergency power boost at medium altitude.
In spite of all these issues, the reliability of the new BMW 003 and Jumo 004 turbojets and the HWK 109 rocket engine was so low that the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe allowed the development of some piston engines to continue until February 1945!
