V-2 Rocket on Display
This example was brought back from Germany at the end of World War II and, after display at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, was transferred to the Imperial War Museum in 1946. This view shows it on display in 2010, prior to a major redesign of the museum in preparation for commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. It remains on display today in the modernised facility.
The alcohol and oxygen tanks can be seen, as can the rocket engine itself (note that one half of the outer skin has been fretted to reveal the tanks, and two of the fins have been removed, exposing the engine. A V-1 is also seen here.
The V-2 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit. 'Vengeance Weapon 2'), with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A-4), was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. Powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, the missile was developed during World War II and assigned to attack Allied cities. The rockets travelled at supersonic speeds, impacted without audible warning, and proved unstoppable, as no effective defence existed.
Total targets were:
Belgium, 1,664: Antwerp (1,610), Liège (27), Hasselt (13), Tournai (9), Mons (3), Diest (2)
UK, 1,402: London (1,358), Norwich (43), Ipswich (1)
France, 76: Lille (25), Paris (22), Tourcoing (19), Arras (6), Cambrai (4)
Netherlands, 19: Maastricht (19)
Germany, 11: Remagen (11)
The V-2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line (edge of space) with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. Because much of the manufacturing process for the V-2 was in the hands of those using slave labour, more people died manufacturing the V-2 than were killed by its deployment.
Further details, plus links to extensive reference materials, are available on the relevant Wikipedia page.
V-2 Rocket on Display
This example was brought back from Germany at the end of World War II and, after display at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, was transferred to the Imperial War Museum in 1946. This view shows it on display in 2010, prior to a major redesign of the museum in preparation for commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I. It remains on display today in the modernised facility.
The alcohol and oxygen tanks can be seen, as can the rocket engine itself (note that one half of the outer skin has been fretted to reveal the tanks, and two of the fins have been removed, exposing the engine. A V-1 is also seen here.
The V-2 (German: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit. 'Vengeance Weapon 2'), with the technical name Aggregat 4 (A-4), was the world's first long-range guided ballistic missile. Powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, the missile was developed during World War II and assigned to attack Allied cities. The rockets travelled at supersonic speeds, impacted without audible warning, and proved unstoppable, as no effective defence existed.
Total targets were:
Belgium, 1,664: Antwerp (1,610), Liège (27), Hasselt (13), Tournai (9), Mons (3), Diest (2)
UK, 1,402: London (1,358), Norwich (43), Ipswich (1)
France, 76: Lille (25), Paris (22), Tourcoing (19), Arras (6), Cambrai (4)
Netherlands, 19: Maastricht (19)
Germany, 11: Remagen (11)
The V-2 rocket also became the first artificial object to travel into space by crossing the Kármán line (edge of space) with the vertical launch of MW 18014 on 20 June 1944. Because much of the manufacturing process for the V-2 was in the hands of those using slave labour, more people died manufacturing the V-2 than were killed by its deployment.
Further details, plus links to extensive reference materials, are available on the relevant Wikipedia page.