The V2 (Vergeltungswaffe 2), originally called Aggregat 4 (A4), was the first unmanned guided ballistic missile. The weapon, manufactured by the Nazis, was the successor to the V1, a guided unmanned aircraft. According to a BBC documentary, it killed up to 9,000 civilians and allied soldiers. 12,000 forced laborers died during its production. The designer was Wernher von Braun, who brought the rocket technology to the US after the war.
The rocket was first deployed on September 8, 1944: from Wassenaar (Lijsterlaan corner Konijnenlaan) London was bombarded. After Antwerp, that city received by far the most V2s. The V2 offensive lasted from September 1944 to March 1945. During this period, more than 3,000 rockets were launched. The area immediately around London was hit by more than 500 V2s, and several hundred fell further away. V2s also fell on Ipswich and Norwich in England, and on parts of Belgium, France, the Netherlands and finally even on Germany that had been liberated by the Allies.
A V2 reached a maximum height of 83 to 93 km and had a range of between 321 and 362 km. The latest versions had a range of 450 km.[1] The warhead, consisting of the high-explosive Amatol Fp60/40, had a mass of 738 kg. Just before the rocket engine stopped, a V2 still had a mass of 4040 kg. The rocket started at 1 g and reached 8 g when the engine stopped. It fell at 3600 km/h and impacted at three times the speed of sound. Ethanol and liquid oxygen served as fuel for the main engine. The fuel pumps ran on hydrogen peroxide (T-Stoff), with sodium permanganate (Z-stoff) as a catalyst. The rocket was launched vertically. The launch installations were, unlike those of the V1, mobile and easy to move. The Allies had great difficulty in developing defense methods against the V2, which was also quite inaccurate.
The rockets were assembled in workshops in prison camps. A V2 cost ten times as much as a V1. With around 13,000 hours of work, 700 were still made per month in 1944.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!