The German A-4 ballistic missile, better known by its propaganda name of V-2, was the world's first successful ballistic missile, breaking through the atmosphere to reach its target quicker. It was a forerunner of Cold War ballistic missiles and its combat use in 1944-45 set the pattern for the use of Scud ballistic missiles in recent decades. The V-2 offensive lasted from September 1944 until March 1945 with over 3,000 rockets being launched. This book examines the combat record of the V-2 in World War II, with a special focus on how a German missile battalion actually prepared and fired its missiles.

The German A-4 ballistic missile, better known by its propaganda name of V-2, was the world's first successful ballistic missile, breaking through the atmosphere to reach its target quicker. It was a forerunner of Cold War ballistic missiles and its combat use in 1944-45 set the pattern for the use of Scud ballistic missiles in recent decades. The V-2 offensive lasted from September 1944 until March 1945 with over 3,000 rockets being launched. This book examines the combat record of the V-2 in World War II, with a special focus on how a German missile battalion actually prepared and fired its missiles.

The first deployment of the V-1 was in June 1944 when, following two years of tests, Hitler gave the order to attack England. Known to the Allies as the "Buzz Bomb" or "Doodlebug", the V-1 was the world's first cruise missile. This book explores the V-1 in detail, from its initial concept, first use in 1944, the various Allied counter-measures, and the later use of the V-1 during the Battle of the Bulge. The major foreign derivatives, including the US copy "JB-2 Loon" and numerous post-war Soviet variants, are also covered.

The first deployment of the V-1 was in June 1944 when, following two years of tests, Hitler gave the order to attack England. Known to the Allies as the "Buzz Bomb" or "Doodlebug", the V-1 was the world's first cruise missile. This book explores the V-1 in detail, from its initial concept, first use in 1944, the various Allied counter-measures, and the later use of the V-1 during the Battle of the Bulge. The major foreign derivatives, including the US copy "JB-2 Loon" and numerous post-war Soviet variants, are also covered.

Germanys V-2 looks at one of the major technological advances of the Second World War, the V-2 ballistic missile. Although dwarfed by todays giant rockets, the V-2 represented a quantum leap beyond anything previously built. During the last six months of the war in Europe, Germany launched thousands of these missiles against the Allies. This book traces the origins and development of the V-2, from groups of individual experimenters in the 1930s to its use as a weapon system. Particular emphasis is paid to such topics as the structure and components of the missile, its ground support equipment, and field procedures. After the war, the V-2 formed the foundation for the space programs of the Soviet Union and United States. Information is included on previously ignored V-2 launches in the United States.

A History of One of World War II's Most Advanced and Terrifying Technologies In August 1944, Londoners thought the war might be over by Christmas. But on September 8, 1944, in the London suburb of Chiswick, a thunderous double-boom was heard followed by a huge plume of black smoke rising high into the air. Several minutes later another explosion rocked the earth near Epping. There had been no warnings, no drone of aircraft above, just sudden devastation. "Operation Penguin," the V-2 offensive, had begun. The A-4 rocket, better known as the V-2, Vergeltungswaffen Zwei, or "Vengeance Weapon 2," was the first ballistic missile to be used in combat. Soaring over 50 miles high at supersonic speeds, the V-2 would strike its target within 5 minutes of launching. Once in the air its deadly warhead was unstoppable. The ancestor of all Cold War and modern day ballistic missiles, as well as the rockets used for space exploration, the V-2 could not win the war for Germany--it was too expensive, too complicated, too inaccurate, and its warhead was too small--but its unprecedented invulnerability and influence on Allied planning made the V-2 and the advancements it represented the ultimate war prize, and British, American, and Soviet forces scrambled to seize German rocket technology along with its scientists and engineers. In V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile, T. D. Dungan relies on an unparalleled collection of original documents, unpublished photographs, and accounts from those who were there to provide a complete description of the V-2 program, the missile's use in combat, and the race to capture its secrets.

The German A4 rocket, or V2 - 'Vergeltungswaffen Zwei' (Vengeance Weapon 2), was the most sophisticated and advanced weapon developed in Europe during the Second World War. From September 1944 to March 1945, German army launch teams fired more than 3,000 V2 rockets at targets in England, France, Belgium and even within Germany itself. Many V2s were fired from mobile launch sites and from concealed wooded areas, using fleets of transporters and trailers with sophisticated ancillary and support vehicles. Travelling at the edge of space, the V2 rockets fell without warning at supersonic speeds, turning buildings and streets into cratered rubble, and terrorizing the civilians targeted by these attacks. Drawing on a wide range of archive sources, rare personal accounts and interviews conducted with personnel associated with the A4/V2 program, rocketry expert Murray R. Barber traces the origins of the V2 and presents a detailed view of the research conducted at the secret, experimental rocket-testing facility at Kummersdorf West and the vast, infamous base at Peenemunde. This important new work reveals the transformation of the rocket into a weapon of war and describes the A4 in detail as well as the intense and often difficult intelligence effort by the Allies to discover more about this highly secret and unprecedented weapon, and to destroy it. The author also describes the field-testing of the A4 rocket, its reliability problems and the remedies and compromises employed to deal with them. He reveals the activities of the SS and their machinations to gain control of the rocket program from the Wehrmacht, as well as the subsequent operational deployment of the V2 in Operation Penguin, the 'vengeance' offensive against the British Isles. Illustrated throughout with rare and many previously unseen images (including color photographs), technical drawings and maps, this is the most comprehensive book ever on the V2, and includes important new details of the post-war development and testing of the rocket and its role in the dawning of the space age.