Les Armes Secrètes d’Hitler

Lorsque les forces alliées prirent possession des centres de recherche des fabricants d’avions allemands, elles mirent la main sur une multitude de concepts innovants pour des jets, ainsi que sur diverses idées qui allaient plus tard influencer la conception des avions de l’ère post-Seconde Guerre mondiale. Parmi ces découvertes figuraient le Messerschmitt 262, pionnier des chasseurs à réaction, le Messerschmitt 163, premier avion de chasse propulsé par fusée, et l’Arado 234, initiateur des bombardiers à réaction. Ces appareils marquèrent le début d’une nouvelle génération dans l’aéronautique. Les V1, bien que des bombes volantes à longue portée, étaient vulnérables face aux avions de chasse de la Royal Air Force. Toutefois, la fusée A4, mieux connue sous le nom de V2 et dotée d’une portée considérable, se distinguait comme l’une des armes les plus avancées de l’arsenal allemand.

Last Chance Weapons The history of aviation knows an important step in July 44. That year, the RAF Mosquito was one of the few Allied aircraft to be able to penetrate easily German airspace. He was shot down by a Messerschmitt 262 piloted by Lieutenant Alfred Schreiber.

He had the honor of the first victory air won aboard a jet. If the Messerschmitt 262 was at the forefront of technology in 1944, he was the culmination of the long German interest for jet propulsion. So Germany flew the first jet plane in history, the Heinkel 178, August 24, 1939.

He had a reactor of only 500 kilos of thrust. In itself, the 178 was nothing else than a technical innovation without military potential. For Wankel, however, he demonstrated that we could develop jet planes for combat. He had already started studying for a twin-engine fighter with much more powerful engines.

The result was the Heinkel 280. On its first flight, on April 2, 1941, he was probably the most advanced airplanes in the world. With two reactors each developing more than 700 kilos of thrust, the Heinkel 280 manages to reach the maximum speed of 770 km/h. Improved reactors

Would have given hope a speed of 900 km/h. In the spring of 1942, the trials of several prototypes had, for Heinkel, validated the concept of the 280. However, his fate was sealed by its engines. Its reactors, also designed by Heinkel, have never been able to reach the desired power.

Trade them with the Jumo Junkers was tantamount to adopting the same reactors as the 262. The latter, who had not yet flown, was preferred by the Luftwaffe, because he seemed to have of greater potential, and on March 27, 1943, Heinkel was asked to drop the 280. We accuse the German political power

For not having been able to detect the potential of these jet planes and their positive impact on the Luftwaffe, but let’s not forget that during the first two years of the conflict, we hoped for a short war. Accordingly, Ernst Udet, here on the left, who supervised the projects of the Luftwaffe,

And Hans Jeschonnek, Chief of Staff aviation, were unenthusiastic about these planes. This is why their potential was not recognized before it’s not too late and that wasted time be so irremediably. Even as Messerschmitt was experimenting with the turbojet engine, an even more radical technique of propulsion was in development

With the installation of a Walter rocket in a body designed by Dr. Walter Lippisch from the German Research Institute on gliders. Messerschmitt flew the prototype of the Messerschmitt 163 in the spring of 1941. It was an evolution of the original glider,

But he was not yet at the level of production Messerschmitt 163 B. Flight testing continued at the experimental center in Peenemünde. Flight tests showed remarkable performance, including a phenomenal rate of climb with its speed of 900 km/h. On this occasion, it was towed at 13,000 feet.

Once released, he ignited his rocket and reaches the speed of 1000 km/h. Once the fuel is consumed, the plane is coming back back to its original glider state. Serial versions shared with the prototype a very high landing speed. The production version, prototype B, was a logical evolution of A.

However, the problematic Walter rocket remained at the heart of the concept. Developing maximum thrust 1700 kg, his main danger was the nature of its fuel. The rocket fuel included 80 percent hydrogen peroxide and oxyquinoline or phosphate, commonly known as T-Stoff, and an aqueous solution calcium permanganate, referred to as C-Stoff.

This very unstable mixture could explode in certain circumstances. The pilot and the ground crews had to wear special clothes to protect against nature highly corrosive liquid able to dissolve human skin. During ground tests, the engine was often cooled by liquid. Tests of the Messerschmitt 163 B began in 1943,

But the first production aircraft were delivered to the Luftwaffe in May 1944 only. Factories were scattered throughout Germany. The final assembly site was secretly installed in the Black Forest and served by a railroad. Production was therefore problematic. The first unit only became operational out of 163 than in July 44.

The JG 400, based in Brandis, wore his distinctive badge on the nose of his planes, a chip equipped with a rocket. Engaged in combat from July 28, it’s only august 24th that the Feldwebel Schubert, here in the picture, claimed the first victory.

Availability of 163 B has never been very good and since July, the difficulties started above all for fuel delivery from refineries from Ludwigshafen and Leverkusen. Not only were these sites the target US bombers, but the T-Stoff and the C-Stoff were also used by the launch module V1 flying bombs

Which was just entering service. Stocks of this fuel were allocated to V1s rather than the JG 400. This had only eight Messerschmitt 163 in flight line, on August 24, when a force of 185 B-17s approached the manufacturing plant synthetic fuel from Merseburg. The 163 were put on alert.

They quickly climbed to the altitude and backwards training of bomber. The 163 then approached and opened fire with their 30 mm cannon. The speed of the 163s did not allow them only a very short firing pass. Schubert succeeds down two B-17s. When fuel runs out, the 163 comes back quickly

Towards its ground in gliding flight. Approach and landing were carried out at very high speed. The small retractable ski under the belly of the device was not very efficient. Many pilots were injured or even killed in the last seconds of their mission. The Messerschmitt 263 proposed to improve this point

With landing gear more conventional, but could not enter service before the end of the war. Due to the danger posed by 163, it was vital to recover each plane very soon after landing. We designed a special trolley for this function. It had a hydraulic cylinder to lift the 163

So we can tow it. The plane was lifted high enough to allow mechanics to replace the take-off trolley and so the “Komet”, as it was officially called, was ready for a new mission. We expected a lot from the 163, especially after what he had demonstrated August 24, but these hopes were dashed.

The four B-17s shot down during the day of his first aerial victory were his only successes. In September, after the American raids against refineries producing the T and C-Stoffs, the fuel produced after was allocated exclusively at V1 and the 163 of JG 400 found themselves abandoned and pinned to the ground,

Deprived of the fuel that would have allowed them to take the air. The 163 was the concept most extreme fighter jet to be in service during the Second World War. Acclaimed by many in Germany and beyond as the most formidable combat aircraft of World War II,

The Messerschmitt 262 represented a great hope for the Luftwaffe. The first cell of 262 flew as early as 1941, but with a piston engine. It was not until March 1942 so that the first prototype can fly with its BMW reactors and a piston engine.

The V3 prototype becomes the first to have another engine, Jumo reactors, much more powerful. In order to have an essential hard track, 262 was transferred to Leipheim for testing and July 18, 1942, he flew for the first time with its only reactors. The V3 begins its taxiing.

At the controls, Fritz Wendel, Messerschmitt’s test pilot. Worried to know how to tail his device could take the flight line, Wendel used the brakes with caution to force the rear of the fuselage to lift. A few seconds later, the 262 was in flight. On landing, the plane found itself surrounded by smoke

More spectacular than dangerous. A few small problems were revealed, but the 262 was overall satisfying. The months that followed allowed modify the wing to give him its characteristic constant arrow. Motivated by the enthusiastic report of one of its pilots, Adolf Galland piloted the fourth prototype in March 1943.

His reaction was more than enthusiastic: “It was like being nudged by an angel.” Accordingly, he recommended that all current hunter projects be canceled to focus on the Focke-Wulf 190 and Messerschmitt 262. But Galland’s desires could not be satisfied so easily. In November, following of a demonstration,

Hitler ordered that not only we give all priority to this device, but that it had to be made into a bomber, not a hunter. Göering assured him that it might well be equipped with bombs. He asked also that the plane is ready to counter the probable Allied landing in Europe.

Messerschmitt does not succeed overcome technical difficulties fuselage and engines fast enough for the 262 to go into production, as a hunter or as a bomber before June 1944. The planes that left the factories in July, entered service with KG 51, nicknamed the “Kommando Schenck”.

They went into action over northern France in August 1944. The bombing version was nicknamed “Storm Bird” to distinguish it from the version hunting called “Hirondelle”. Two 250 kg bombs or a single 500 kilo bomb could be installed under the fuselage, while retaining the armament of four 30 mm guns in the nose.

Despite Hitler’s insistence and lobbying from other officials requiring the aircraft to be produced like a lightning bomber, most managers of the Luftwaffe, a little concerned about the problem, wanted the hunting version instead. The first deliveries of the hunter preceded bomber versions with the experimental detachment of Commander Thierfelder,

Who had made his first operational missions in April 1944. Upon his death, the command of the unit was entrusted by Galland to Major Walter Nowotny, the ace of the eastern front. It’s a 262 from Kommando Nowotny which was used to make this instructional movie for pilots in training on the jet.

This was really essential, because the piloting of the 262 was much more demanding than airplanes piston engine. Its technological superiority made it not immediately obvious to its pilots. Although being a very fast aircraft, its acceleration was quite slow due to design of its Jumo reactors. The gas controls should be used slowly,

Otherwise the compressor could stall and die out or be destroyed. Once in the air, the pilot could not use the 262 like a 109 or 190, just faster. The spinning fight was impossible with the 262 because of its radius very significant turn. That means than a Mustang, a Thunderbolt,

A Spitfire or a Tempest could run much shorter. But dive attacks to take of speed allowed the 262 easily pass the defensive curtain enemy fighters and hit directly american bombers with its powerful nose cannons. We have already mentioned the problems encountered by Junker and Messerschmitt with Jumo engines,

But you have to go up a bit in time to better understand the problems faced by these two companies in their attempt to commission of the Messerschmitt 262 in significant quantity. The importance of Messerschmitt 262 for the future of the Luftwaffe was recognized as of June 2, 1943,

Courtesy of launch of the new aircraft as a hunter. But this decision was confronted to technical problems encountered on this aircraft and its engines. We can measure the importance of these problems noting that six months after this decision, only 23 Messerschmitt 262 cells had been built

And that none had ever stolen due to lack of engines. Junker also had major challenges to overcome and had to face both to its technical problems, but also to the pressure of those who needed these engines to start producing in quantity not only the Messerschmitt 262, but also the Arado 234 bomber.

At the center of Junker’s worries with its reactor, there were issues related in a declining situation Germany at war and against which the company was powerless. The Jumo 004 was, at that time, the most advanced of all existing reactors then. A true masterpiece, he demanded high quality construction

With special and rare materials, able to bear the enormous thermal stresses produced by a reactor. nickel and chromium, which were no longer available in Germany in 1944, were among them. Instead, Junker was to use less suitable metals or use strategic materials still in stock, in small quantities and sparingly.

For instance, under normal circumstances, the combustion chamber should have been made of aluminum. But with the shortage of this metal, Junker was obliged to design it in steel covered with a thin layer of aluminum on the inside to allow him to bear the heat.

As a result, the 004 reactors didn’t have a lifespan only about 10 hours. The compressor also had a tendency to stall very quickly. fuel supply of the two engines was tricky to adjust. If the gasoline arrived too quickly in the turbine, the reactor was choking.

These many problems were at the heart of the concerns of the Luftwaffe, unable to deploy 262 in sufficient quantity. Hitler’s insistence on employing this plane as a bomber and not as a hunter, is considered as having had an impact about his problems, but without being the cause. While German ingenuity allowed the emergence

Of a particularly efficient aircraft, the military industry was unable to overcome the problems related to its propulsion, which was however an essential prerequisite to its deployment in sufficient quantity to ensure the success of the war aerial over Germany. While the military situation deteriorated further and that the power Allied bombing increased,

Under Hitler’s pressure, wanting to dispose quickly of his fast bomber, it was decided in June 44 to renounce any improvement major of the Jumo. By freezing the engine design with all its flaws, we were able to start production. This decision made it possible to see the first deliveries to the Luftwaffe

With 28 Messerschmitt 262 A received in June, 59 in July, only 20 in August, 91 in September and 117 in October. In total, the Luftwaffe had received 315 at the beginning of November. But almost all the 262 built then were planned to be fighter bombers. Hitler did not want to change his mind.

In the month who followed his appointment, the new head of state Luftwaffe major urged Hitler to allow at 262 to become a pure hunter. The Führer’s only concession was to allow building a fighter every 20 devices produced. This was unacceptable for General Kreipe and that was the cause of his resignation in September.

It was not until November that Hitler, finally backed off and gave permission to launch the production of the 262 fighters, but in his stubbornness, he insisted on that each aircraft is capable to take at least a 250 kg bomb. The situation at that time was so bad for the Luftwaffe

That Messerschmitt spent besides the instruction. The records show that more than 600 262 had been received by the Luftwaffe until January, but a large number could not join their unit because having been destroyed by allied fighter bombers on the trains carrying them. Likewise, extreme attention

Was brought to the protection and the camouflage of the 262 in service To protect them marauding allied fighters who had done priority target rolls. The internal armament of the 262 was the most powerful never installed on a German fighter of the whole war.

It included four guns of 30 mm mounted in the nose. In addition, 24 unguided R4M rockets could be fixed to rails under the fenders and adding considerable firepower. In order to equip the 262 with firepower even higher, some were equipped for testing a 50 mm cannon to fight the bombers.

Two of these guns were tested in January and demonstrated that the carriage and installation of this gun were without consequences on the behavior of the jet. Based in Achmer, near the Belgian border, Nowotny was too close allied airbases to employ the new hunter, without risk of interception.

Allied fighters quickly discovered that the 262 was terribly vulnerable take-off and landing, and that is why airplanes protective Messerschmitt 109 and Focke-Wulf 190 were put in place around airfields. Galland was visiting Achmer to chat with Nowotny, when the young commander and ace of the hunt was slain.

On December 8, 1944, he took off with his 262 to attack US bombers. His plane was hit and Nowotny tried to return to his base, but he was engaged by Mustangs with only one engine still running. His 262 dived and exploded on the ground. Propaganda’s darling, a state funeral was held for him.

Died at the age of 24 with a total score of 258 aerial victories, he is the pilot owning fifth highest score throughout the history of aviation. His unit was disbanded and reformed as JG 7. The 262 was engaged in combat until the end of the war

And it is in march 1945 that it experienced its maximum use. On 18, 37 Messerschmitt 262 committed 1221 bombers escorted by 632 hunters who had Berlin as their target. 12 bombers and two fighters were lowered by the jets who used the R4M rocket for the first time.

On the last day of March, the 262 destroyed 14 bombers and two hunters without any loss. In southern Germany, JG 44, the special unit commissioned by Adolf Galland, also had its share fighting from Munich-Riem. While one thousand two hundred 262 had been delivered to the Luftwaffe

Until April, less than 200 were in frontline units. In this extract from a very rare film, you can see a Messerschmitt 262 A-1a/U3 just after his return of a photographic mission. This aircraft serves within the Nahaufklärungsguppe 6, previously known such as Einsatzkommando Braunegg, based in northern Italy in March 1945.

Only a handful of this version was built. The operational aircraft record was seven on March 31, 1945. A window has been pierced in the cockpit floor so that the pilot can see what he is photographing. The nose cannons have been removed to make room for various cameras. Some pilots still kept a cannon

Alongside their camera. The Arado 234 was the first operational jet bomber. His performance in reconnaissance missions late 44 early 45 had demonstrated how much its designers were right to baptize it “Lightning”. He was indeed able to cross Allied airspace with impunity. It was built to satisfy a specification from 1940

For an airplane very fast recognition. The prototype arrived in 1943 with tall wings and such a narrow fuselage that it was preventing the installation of conventional landing gear. The variant shown here is more recent. Without of a retractable train, Arado received a three-wheeled cart which was fixed under the aircraft.

But it was not very convenient to lift the device to put him on his cart. During the first tests, the 234 took off with the cart attached, as seen in these images. For the pilot who had to put the 234 on its trolley, the challenge was difficult, even dangerous.

The aircraft’s rate of descent and trolley suspension made the whole thing bounce uncontrollably while taxiing and slightly attenuated under braking. At the end of the track, the pilot loses control. The plane goes down and sinks into the grass. The test plane flew again, always with the cart, to take off.

When the take-off speed is reached, the pilot releases it. At that moment, a parachute deploys to break the speed of the trolley and prevent it from bouncing. Trolley take-offs were also carried out with two Walter rockets in order to increase power. They burned for 30 seconds and allowed the 234

To perform an initial climb faster and avoid any collision with his cart. Once in the air, the 234 demonstrates its speed which makes it very difficult to be intercepted by Allied fighters. If we could not doubt the incredible performance of the 234, the fact of using a ski under the fuselage

And two small skates under each reactor for landing, severely limited its operational use. We end up accepting the fact that the 234 needed to be redesigned in order to receive conventional landing gear. The V eight model of the 234 A was equipped with four Jumo reactors

To serve as a test bed to the 234 C four-engine version. He had to have of the same fuselage as the B, but with two more reactors. The eighth prototype of the 234 was the first to be produced with the specifications of version B. It was designed with a fuselage noticeably larger,

With strong landing gear but quite narrow. He made his first flight March 10, 1944. The 234 B became the first operational version delivered to the Sonderkommando Götz, in September 1944. The planes of this unit were used over southern England. At the same time, two 234 A still equipped with skis,

Demonstrated their abilities of recognition flying over the landing beaches of Normandy without being intercepted. The bombing version carries out its first missions with the KG 76 during the Ardennes Offensive and the raid on Remagen Bridge, at the very beginning of 1945. Most of the 274 aircraft built were B models.

The Messerschmitt 262 and the Arado 234, whatever the version, were the most remarkable devices to enter into service during WWII. When the Allies captured design offices German aircraft manufacturers, they discovered a lot jet projects and many ideas who found their application in the first post-war aircraft. The relative helplessness bombardment force

Of the Luftwaffe on the western front, involved in raids against the British Isles since 1942, made it imperative for Hitler the idea of a flying bomb. He found in the Fieseler fi-103 his weapon of revenge which could be used in retaliation devastating raids conducted by the RAF against German cities.

Powered by an Argus pulsejet developing 350 kilos, the V1 carried an explosive charge of 850 kilos and enough fuel to fly for 1 hour, at a speed of 640 km/h, at an altitude of 4,000 feet. After the tests in Peenemünde near the Baltic Sea, the V1 entered service in 1943.

The missile departed from a long rising ramp, powered by a launcher that used the same fuel than the Messerschmitt 163. The operations should start in December 1943, but it was only June 13, 1944, and a week later the Normandy landings, that the first V1 was launched since Pas de Calais to London.

This bombing offensive ended on September 5. The first missile to hit around London crashed into a wasteland. Faced with the scale of these bombardments, the English tried to counter them by massaging large amounts anti-aircraft batteries along the approach lines of the V1s. Detachments of anti-aircraft guns 3.7 inches,

Backed up by 40mm Bofors lighter, used large quantities ammunition in their attempts to take down the V1. Although sometimes achieving some success, the number of hits increased only when the radars allowed more precise fire control. To give an idea of the intensity V1 shots, from June 15 to 30,

No less than 2442 V1s were launched against London. Flight accidents and the DCA destroyed a third of them over the English Channel. Another third crashed or was sunk over southern England. The last third i.e. about 800 missiles, hit their target and around London. For southerners of England and London,

The arrival of the V1s was signaled by the increasing snoring of the Argus pulsejet. The English ended up by baptizing the V1 Buzz Bomber. The psychological impact of this weapon was reinforced by its random behavior. The V1 did not touch the ground that when its fuel runs out,

This one being signaled by a silence suddenly just before impact followed by a huge explosion. Although the population of London would have shown the same stoicism that during the Blitz of 1940-41, the V1 had 2,441 killed and 7,107 wounded, during a campaign where there were an average of 53 missiles launched each day

Against the British capital. British intelligence services influenced V1 targeting by giving the Germans information erroneous about the damage suffered. The Gloster F.1 jet fighter was a part of RAF anti-V1 assets. piston engine fighters, used to hunt the V1, were the fearsome Hawker Tempest and the Spitfire Mark 14.

They were responsible of the destruction of more than 300 V1. Due to the limited range of the V1, launch sites were all located in Pas de Calais. The first fixed ramps were bombed and destroyed by the Allies long before D-Day. With the release of this region by the English

And Canadians in September, the V1 bombardments ceased. Yet the ordeal of London was not finished, because the Germans were preparing to use a new weapon. Although the better known A4 rocket under its designation V2, was more of a project of the German army than of the Luftwaffe,

It deserves its place in the category German air arms most modern used during the war. Considered the start of the conquest of space and the result of the most important and the costliest Nazi military program, she really is an ultimate weapon representative of technological progress of Germany during the war. However, Albert Speer,

Former production minister armament of the Third Reich, when he came back about past events in the silence of his cell from Spandau Prison, where he was serving his 20-year sentence for war crimes, admitted that despite the character gloss of the A4 program, it was from a military point of view and industrial,

A real waste German resources. with origins going back to before the war, the development of a rocket long range occupied thousands scientists and military inside the secret test center from Peenemünde, for years. The creation of a weapon so revolutionary was long. The first prototypes of the A4 experienced many setbacks,

Because we had to overcome many difficulties in order to master these advanced technologies. The first successful launch of an A4 rocket took place from firing point 7 in Peenemünde, October 3, 1942. The rocket rose to the sky passing the sound barrier during its ascent and went to ruin at sea 200 km offshore.

Development progress continued and the tests allowed to make the rocket reliable. Hitler, very skeptical at first, began to glimpse operational potential of this long-range rocket. In July 1943, with the A4, then considered as one of the weapons of revenge with which it would be possible to hit England,

Hitler demanded of German industry that she embarks on the daring bet to produce no less 900 of these rockets per month. The use of precious materials, electronics, of competent engineering and a massive workforce devoted to this project, drained the resources of the German war economy.

While at that time, it had already become difficult to put weapons into service more conventional and yet essential. The importance of the project drew attention of the SS, and it was under their authority, that a major underground factory was built by deportees in the mountains of Nordhausen, in Germany,

In order to mass-produce the V2. Most components the most sophisticated of the rocket, like gyroscopes, control systems, fuel tanks and the elements of the guidance system, were entrusted to subcontractors possessing the necessary skills. They were then transported for final assembly. The integration of so many elements required a continuous process of testing

And checks to ensure that the rocket was leaving the factory, ready to launch. The first operational firing of a V2 rocket took place in the afternoon September 8, 1944. She fell on Chiswick, in the western suburbs of London. The explosion of the ton of explosive rocket charge killed three and injured 17.

The rocket was launched from The Hague in Holland. using a system mobile launch, it was difficult for the allies to attack them. Once in the air, the rocket was invulnerable. In the following seven months, the Germans launched 1054 rockets against London, thus killing 2700 people.

The allies did not waste their time trying to counter those rockets and contrary to Hitler’s hopes, they had no impact on the course of the war. here’s how this weapon was deployed and launched. It all starts with a V2 undergoing final assembly. technicians working on the back of the missile

Use test equipment to ensure the condition of the rocket engine before finalizing the installation. Tests at this stage assembly are vital, because once the fuselage is closed on the rocket, it is impossible for the launch team access it in the event of a problem. A FAUN 4 and two zugmaschinen

Tow tank liquid oxygen fuel. Another truck tows a mobile generator. The FAUN truck towing the LOX tank is easily recognizable thanks to the fumes escaping oxygen from behind the big tank. This small convoy passes through a village on its way to the launch site. The V2 is bulky.

He was very vulnerable when rail travel between the assembly center and the front. The time the Germans begin to launch the V2 from The Hague, the Allies were already in Europe, and advanced through Belgium to Holland. The entire road network and railway tracks

In northern Germany and the Netherlands, still used by the Wehrmacht, were under constant surveillance and attacked by Allied fighter bombers. It is for this reason that many if not all V2 sent towards the front, were camouflaged. Those seen with large black markings and white are experimental rockets

And this film was shot for instructional purposes. Here is the exact process V2 launch teams for the preparation of the rocket and its arrival by rail towards its launch point, characteristic of all V2 launches towards London and later from Antwerp. With a mobile crane,

The rocket is unloaded and installed on a specially designed trailer. Note the absence of the explosive charge which is obviously transported apart. Arrival at the launch site, a good distance from the railway, gunsmiths remove the nose protection of the V2 and prepare installing the load.

It is in its own container which is installed at the top of the rocket, using a chain and a hoist. Care is taken to align the payload on its location, before securing it securely. His weight is 975 kilos. Elsewhere, other members of the team set up trestles. These are standard tools,

Which are generally used for the maintenance of panzers, and used to lift the turrets Tiger heavy tanks. They can support 15 tons. The military charge finally in its place, the FAUN raises the V2. A second FAUN truck parks alongside the first. He pulls the special cart used to transport the assembled V2

To its launch site, and once there, raise it to be placed on the launch pad. The mobile crane is used to move the V2 from his wagon to his trailer. The slowness of the rocket’s movement from one trailer to another is an indication of delicacy used by teams who operate the missile.

It is important to avoid the slightest damage. Great precautions are taken by the team to lock the V2 to its cradle. The installed load, but without fuel on board, everything is organized in order to avoid an accident. The rocket is secure on the structure of his trailer.

The rocket is now driven to the launch site. near the railway line, another detachment, responsible for fulfilling rocket fuel, arrives to connect the pump which allows the transfer liquid oxygen from the tank car to the mobile tank, fixed on a truck and which must join the launch site.

When all the pipes are connected, the valves are open and the transfer of liquid oxygen begin. The very low temperature of the liquid can be spotted with its whitened pipes and the vapors escaping from it. At the launch site, another FAUN tows the launch pad. The teams start to prepare the launcher.

At every corner from the launch platform is located a telescopic support. They got down and got into position in anticipation of the arrival and rocket installation. It seems that this procedure is facilitated by solid ground, but in fact the mobility of the launcher of V2 adapted to any space,

Even summarily fitted out in the middle of a forest. To prevent the launch pad to sink into soft ground, simply place on the floor railway sleepers, or metal plates on which will rest the thrower’s four feet. It’s methods like these which have been used for throwers from The Hague.

Before launching the rocket, technicians place a special cradle on the nose. It allows you to perform the last warhead adjustments, just before launch. The Meillerwagen is towed towards the launch platform by FAUN. It is parked just behind. The cables connect the Meillerwagen and the platform.

We turn the carriage over so that the base of the rocket is facing the platform. FAUN is offline and let the technicians place the carriage manually so that the V2 arrives exactly in the correct position to be lifted. For this, we use the hydraulic system of the truck.

It’s quite a slow move. but vital, because the four legs of the V2 must be precisely positioned on the platform. Very slowly, the V2 flying bomb is lifting and reaches its vertical position, with great care. When the manager is sure that everything is fine, the rocket is disconnected from all lifting systems

And stand up alone on its support. At this time, the manager gives the order by radio to the person responsible for the fuel vehicle, to arrive for the next phase of the launch cycle, which is not the least dangerous. Carriages are reversed by hand and away from the rocket.

We proceed to a rigorous examination of the rocket, to make sure that everything is in order. Responsible civil engineers launch use their theodolite to ensure that the missile is well aligned vertically, because a very slight deviation can affect the trajectory of the rocket, and therefore its effectiveness. Another technician arms the explosives.

Although installed for a while, this procedure was not initiated in advance. Below, the mobile generators are brought to supply energy to the internal system, including feed pumps, that facilitate the process fuel filling. The pipes are already connected. The liquid oxygen reserves of the V2 have a capacity of 5.5 tons

And the mixture also includes more than four tons of alcohol and 180 kilos of hydrogen peroxide to supply the 24 tons thrust required when the rocket takes off. After liquid oxygen, the last important ingredient is sodium permanganate, which is added to the tank the bottom of the rocket.

The next step is to install ignition systems. While the final adjustments are made at the base of the missile, especially the setting the guidance system, all vehicles and staff take shelter. Ignition systems are installed into the venturi and connected. The V2 is ready for launch. The launch is made from an armored variant

Eight-ton half-track. Although of military value questionable, the V2 is undoubtedly a remarkable technical achievement. The most accurate definition of the most powerful of all German weapons was donated by Walter Dornberger to Wernher von Braun, the designer of the V2, the day of its first successful launch. “You realize what we did today?”

“We launched the first spaceship.”