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October 3, 1942 at the training ground Peenemünde(rocket center of the Third Reich near the town of Peenemünde on the island of Usedom Baltic Sea in the north-east of Germany) a third was produced (but first successful) test launch of the V-2 rocket (« A-4"). It was fourth in order of construction rocket A-4. She flew 192 km. and reached the height 90 km. The engine and control system of the rocket worked relatively well for the first time, although the rocket was unable to hit targets due to guidance system problems.
« V-2 "(from him. V-2 - Vergeltungswaffe-2, weapon of retaliation; another name is German. A-4 - Aggregate-4) - world's first ballistic missile long range ground-to-ground class, developed by a German designer Wernher von Braun and adopted by the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II.
Wernher von Braun
Externally, the V-2 rocket had a classic for a rocket, spindle shape, with four crosswise air stabilizers (rudders).
The rocket was single stage, had a length 14 m., body diameter - 1.65 m. (diameter on stabilizers - 3.6 m.), starting mass 12.8 tons, which was made up of the mass designs together with propulsion system (3060 kg.), the masses of the components fuel (8760 kg. - near 4 tons of 75% ethyl alcohol and about 5 tons liquid oxygen) and masses combat charge (980 kg.). The rocket used 175 kg. hydrogen peroxide, 14 kg. sodium permanganate, and 17 kg. compressed air. V-2 consisted of over 30000 individual parts, and the length of its wires electrical equipment exceeded 35 km.
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.Head fuse |
The rocket was equipped liquid jet engine who worked for 75% ethyl alcohol and liquid oxygen. Both fuel components were supplied to the engine by two powerful centrifugal Walter turbopumps that were set in motion turbines on C-shaped and T-shaped rails. The main units of a liquid rocket engine were the combustion chamber(CS), turbopump unit(TNA), steam generator, hydrogen peroxide tanks, battery of seven compressed air cylinders. The engine power was 730 HP, the rate of outflow of gases from the nozzle reached 2050 m/s., temperature in the combustion chamber - 2700°C, pressure in the combustion chamber - 15.45 atm. Fuel consumption was 127 kg/s. The engine could run 60-70 seconds, developing traction in 27500 kgf. and giving the rocket speed, in repeatedly exceeding the speed of sound - up to 1700 m/s (6120 km/h). The acceleration of the rocket at the start was 0.9g, and before the fuel cut-off - 5g. The speed of sound picked up in the first 25 seconds flight. flight range reached 320 km., trajectory height - up to 100 km., and at the time of the fuel cutoff, the horizontal distance from the starting point was 20 km., height - 25 km. (further the rocket flew by inertia):
Missile hitting accuracy ( circular deviation) was according to the project 0.5-1 km. (0,002 – 0,003 from range), but in reality it was 10-20 km. (0,03 – 0,06 from distance).
Used as an explosive in the warhead ammotol(mixture ammonium nitrate and TNT in various proportions from 80/20 to 50/50) due to its vibration resistance and high temperatures – head fairing heated up up to 600 degrees when rubbing against the atmosphere. Warhead contained 730 - 830 kg. ammotol (the mass of the entire head part was 1000 kg.). During the fall, the speed of the rocket was 450 – 1100 m/s. The explosion did not occur immediately upon impact with the surface - the rocket had time go a little deeper into the ground. The explosion left a funnel with a diameter 25-30 m. and depth 15 m.
The average cost of one rocket was 119,600 Reichsmarks.
Technologically, the rocket was divided into 4 compartments: combat, instrument, tank (fuel) and tail. This division was dictated transportation conditions.
Combat compartment conical shape made frommild steel thick 6 mm., total length along the axis (from the base of the fairing)2010 mm., equipped with ammotol. At the top of the fighting compartment washighly sensitive impact pulse fuse. From usemechanical fuseshad to be abandoned due to the high speed of the collision of the rocket with the ground, as a result of which mechanical fuses simplyfailed to workand were destroyed. The undermining of the charge was carried out located in its rear part.squib on electrical signalreceived from the fuse. The signal cable from the warhead was pulled through a channel located in the central part of the combat compartment.
AT instrument compartment housed the equipment control systems and radio equipment.
fuel compartment occupied the central part of the rocket. Fuel(75% aqueous solution of ethyl alcohol) was placed in upper (front) tank. Oxidizer- liquid oxygen, refueled in lower (rear) tank. Both tanks were made from light alloy. In order to prevent shape change and breakage, both tanks inflated pressure equal to approx. 1.4 atmospheres. The space between the tanks and the skin was densely filled heat insulator (fiberglass).
AT tail section , on the power frame was placed propulsion system. Attached to the tail compartment with flange joints 4 stabilizers. Inside each stabilizer were placed electric motor, shaft, aerodynamic rudder chain drive and steering machine, deflecting gas steering wheel(located in the alignment of the nozzle, immediately behind its cut).
The missile could be based on stationary ground launch pad, and on mobile installation. She started vertically. Before the launch of the V-2 strictly aligned in azimuth using a large guidance circle. On the active part of the trajectory, the autonomous gyroscopic control system, which had a stable platform, two gyroscope and integrated accelerometer. At the start of the direction was controlled graphite blades, which were flown around by the exhaust jet of the engine ( gas rudders). During the flight, the direction of the rocket was regulated aerodynamic rudders blades who had electro-hydraulic drive.
The desire to increase the range of the V-2 rocket led to the project of installing on it swept wings and enlarged aerodynamic rudders. Theoretically, such a rocket in flight could plan for a distance up to 600 km.:
Cruise missile A-4b on the launch pad in Peenemünde, 1944
Two experimental flights of such cruise missiles, called A-4b , were produced in Peenemünde in 1944 . The first launch was completely unsuccessful. The second rocket successfully gained altitude, however, when entering the atmosphere, its wing was torn off.
The first test V-2 launch took place in March 1942 , and the first combat start - September 8, 1944 . Number of implemented combat rocket launches amounted to 3225 . A missile was used for the purpose of intimidation, hitting mostly civilians. The shelling was mainly Great Britain, especially the city with a large area London and other European cities.
V-2 victims, Antwerp, 1944
However, the military significance of the V-2 was insignificant. Efficiency combat use missiles was extremely low: the missiles had low hit accuracy(in a circle with a diameter 10 km. got only 50% launched missiles) and low reliability(about half of the launched missiles exploded on the ground or in the air during launch, or failed in flight; this was largely due to sabotage activities of the anti-fascist underground in a concentration camp whose prisoners made rockets). According to various sources, the launch 2000 missiles aimed at Seven months for the destruction of London, led to the death over 2700 people(i.e., each rocket killed one or two people). To drop the same amount of explosives that was dropped by the Americans using four-engine bombers B-17 (« Flying fortress”) would have to use 66000 V-2, the release of which would take 6 years.
The V-2 rocket was the first object in history to make . AT first half of 1944 , in order to debug the design, a number of vertical missile launches were made with a slightly increased to 67 sec. engine running time. The lifting height reached 188 kilometers which, by modern standards, is considered suborbital flight, since the rocket has overcome 100 km Karmana line, accepted as the "beginning of the cosmos".
Moreover, among certain circles, the hypothesis of first German cosmonauts . It is based on information that, based on the V-2, from 1941 - 1942 a project was being developed 100-ton guided two-stage world's first intercontinental ballistic missile A-9/A-10 « Amerika-Rakete ", or " Project America ”, height 25 m., diameter 4.15 m., with flight range 5000 km. for the bombardment New York and other cities on the East Coast of the United States:
Here are the estimated technical data of this rocket:
Purely technically, however, this rocket was, rather, supersonic cruise, since its second step was winged rocket plane, moving not along a ballistic but along a planning trajectory. For aiming at the target, the head of the missile with a warhead was supposed to be used in beginning and middle of flight - beacon signal, on the final part - pilot, which shortly before the target had to leave a small cabin on a parachute and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean in the hope of being picked up by a German submarine after he did suborbital space flight.
Unguided flight option A-9/A-10 . After separation of the first stage at a height 60 km. uncontrollable cruise missile A-9 reaches speed at the end of the active section of about 10,000 km/h. After passing the top of the trajectory and returning to the dense layers of the atmosphere, the dive was stopped with the help of aerodynamic rudders, and the subsequent movement of the rocket took place in the form a series of successive atmospheric dives. This flight pattern allowed dissipate heat into the environment, released due to the friction of the rocket against the air, and increase the flight range up to 5000 km., of course, at the price target speed reduction .
According to some data found in the literature, the winged second stage A-9 has been tested several times from January 8, 1945 .
As for the first step - A-10, then according to some data, it was not brought up, and according to others - still mid 1944 at the Peenemünde rocket launcher was built launch pad, larger than for A-4, which could be used for A-10 launches.
There is also information about the at the end of 1944 operations " Elster» (« Magpie") in New York to neutralize already infiltrated German agents, whose task was to install radio beacons on city skyscrapers. If so, the Amerika-Rakete project may have been close to the start of combat use. The deployment of the US missile bombing project in full, apparently, was no longer possible, since the German missile range was subjected to allied air raids, and then was occupied by Soviet troops early spring 1945 .
If the A-9 / A-10 missiles were nevertheless tested and there were pilots on board, then in case of exceeding the altitude in these launches 100 km. they could be considered the first cosmonauts.
However, the fact of any significant work on the A9 / A10 program is highly doubtful, since there is no material evidence of any practical implementation of the work on the project. According to the data of the magazine " Technology - youth» investigations, program did not advance beyond sketches and calculations.
After the end of the 2nd World War, the V-2 became prototype of the first intercontinental ballistic missiles in the USA and the USSR and other countries. With the launch of captured and later modified V-2 rockets, they began as some american, and Soviet rocket and space programs. First Chinese ballistic missiles Dongfeng-1 also began with the development of Soviet missiles R-2 created on the basis of the V-2.
April 11, 1945 American troops took over the factory Mittelwerk" in Thuringia where found 54 assembled missiles. In addition, there were more 35 V-2 in varying degrees of readiness.
V-2 on the assembly line of the Mittelwerk plant in Mount Konstein, July 3, 1945
Next to the missile factory, on the southern slope of the mountain Konstein, in 5 km. from the city Nordhausen was Dora concentration camp(Dora-Mittelbau, Nordhausen) - camp division Buchenwald. The main purpose of the camp was to organize the underground production of weapons at the Mittelwerk plant, including V-2 rockets. In the camp, the prisoners worked in specially cut tunnels in the mountain. This was one of the most severe camps in Germany. However, the camp had anti-fascist underground which organized covert sabotage in the manufacture of rockets, due to which about half all launched V-2s did not reach the target.
After the Dora camp was occupied by the Allies, they were found buried 25,000 corpses of prisoners, and further 5000 people was shot before the advance of the American army. Thus, the production of rockets took 10 times more lives than the missile strikes themselves.
About 100 V-2 missiles captured by American troops were sent to America on 16 transport ships, where they became a real discovery for American engineers. In the first post-war years, with the help of Wernher von Braun, the first American ballistic missiles were created on their basis: Redstone, Mercury, Jupiter who played a key role in the implementation first US space successes:
In the United States, research on captured missiles was carried out as part of the ballistic missile development program. Hermes. In 1946-1952 the US Army carried out 63 rocket launches for research purposes and one launch from the deck of an aircraft carrier US Navy. However, due to the fact that the United States has a parallel program to develop an entirely American series of missiles W.A.C Corporal, the development of the V-2 line in the United States was limited.
Strong impression made acquaintance with German military equipment and on Soviet engineers. Here is how I wrote about it B.E. Chertok, sent to Germany after the end of the war, along with other specialists in rocketry, to get acquainted with captured German V-2 rockets:
« A.M. Isaev, then I, N.A. Pilyugin, V.P. Mishin and several other specialists were allowed to inspect the secret German weapons.
Entering the hall, I immediately saw a dirty black bell, from which the lower part of Isaev's torso was sticking out. He climbed headlong through the nozzle into the combustion chamber and examined the details with the help of a flashlight. An upset Bolkhovitinov sat next to him.
I asked:
- What is it, Viktor Fedorovich?
- This is something that cannot be!- followed the answer.
LRE of such dimensions in those days, we simply did not imagine ».
However, our engineers managed to exactly repeat the German rocket and create its domestic counterpart R-1. In parallel with this analogue, S.P. Korolev developed a rocket R-2, which has already flown 600 km distance. Our rocket was the last direct descendant of the V-2 R-5, which became the first domestic missile with a nuclear warhead:
Direct descendants of the V-2
So, the birth of the greatest rocket of the 20th century, which later became the basis space rockets, It was paid for by thousands of lives- residents of European cities that were hit by rocket attacks, prisoners of concentration camps. And in subsequent years, rockets were considered by the superpowers as means of military domination. Any talk about peaceful research space flights was considered not just as fantasies, but as harmful diversion of resources from the main goal - the creation of means of destruction, destruction, murder. Only for these purposes powers of the world this" was considered worthy and necessary allocation huge funds. And only to those designers who were cosmic dreamers and strong personalities rolled into one, such as S.P. Korolev, Wernher von Braun, V.P. Glushko and others have succeeded in channeling some of this militant energy into peaceful, exploratory channels. Maybe, subsequent space research atoned for the sacrifices that were made at the first stage of the development of rocket science in the 20th century. Or not redeemed?
Some of those exported to USA V-2 was used to carry out scientific research.
October 24, 1946 automatic 35 mm a camera mounted on a captured V-2 rocket launched by American military engineers from a test site white sands(state New Mexico), first photographed the earth from above 65 miles (105 kilometers). Here are the photos:
February 20, 1947 in the United States, with the help of a V-2 rocket, were launched into space along a suborbital trajectory first living beings - fruit flies. A study was made of the consequences of radiation exposure at high altitudes.
In 1948 in the USA in the nose cone of captured V-2 rockets were launched rhesus monkeys - Albert and Albert 1. While preparing for the flight of the monkey difficult to get used to the cabin conditions, responded poorly to training, sometimes they had nervous breakdowns, and then they showed aggressiveness with which they fought, plunging the animals into a state of drug intoxication. After starting they died of suffocation. The height of the rocket has reached 63 km.
June 14, 1949 a monkey Albert II was launched into space in the same way. Unfortunately, Albert II too died because of parachute did not open. But nonetheless Albert II became the first monkey in the world to go into space since it took off 133 km.
September 16, 1949 BUTAlbert III - cynomolgus macaque- died on high 10.7 kilometers during a rocket explosion.
December 8, 1949 Albert IV died during the flight, reaching a height 130.6 kilometers.
August 31, 1950 mice Mickey, Mighty, Jerry or Danger, were launched into space aboard the V-2. It is not known how many of them survived.
April 18, 1951 a monkey named Albert V died due to parachute failure.
September 20, 1951 Yorick, also known as Albert VI, together with 11 mice, flying 70 km., became the first monkey to survive a rocket flight. However, he died 2 hours after landing. Two mice also died. Their deaths were due to overheating in a sealed capsule in the sun before they were found.
May 21, 1952 monkey Patricia and Mike, who flew and survived the flight, flew in total 26 kilometers. Patricia and Mike have lived their whole lives in National zoological park in Washington DC USA.
IN THE USSR in 1949 - 1951 launches of the heirs of the V-2 - geophysical missiles were carried out R-1A (B-1A), R-1B (V-1B), R-1V (B-1B) With scientific purposes, including with dogs on board(cm. project VR-190):
To be continued...
The history of the creation and launches of the V-2 in Germany
,K. Gatland Space technology M. Mir, 1986 ,
http://ru.wikipedia.org/ , http://supercoolpics.com/ , http://www.about-space.ru/ , http://fun-space.ru/ , http://biozoo. ru/ , http://vn-parabellum.narod.ru/ ,
Work on a ballistic missile in Germany began long before World War II. The Treaty of Versailles did not clearly state that missiles were military weapons. This is what they took advantage of in the defeated, but at an incredible speed strengthening its military potential, Germany.
One of the main creators of the V-2 rocket was Wernher von Braun. On April 16, 1934, he completed his dissertation on "Constructive, Theoretical, and Experimental Contributions to the Problem of the Liquid Rocket." The work of the young scientist was secret, its results were directly related to the creation of new weapons. During the Second World War, work on the rocket was completed. In 1942, tests began. The designers had to solve many technical problems, so among the authors of the V-2 there were specialists in the field of aerodynamics, thermodynamics and the theory of combustion, ballistics, strength, metallurgy, etc. The first test launches were not successful: the missiles deviated from the set course, exploded at the start and in the acceleration section. But the work, despite the wartime conditions, was carried out in the most active way by the main scientific, testing, production center on the island of Usedom in Peenemünde. The German government did not spare large sums of money for the implementation of its plans - to bring the world to its knees with the help of the latest weapons.
On the night of August 18, 1943, Peenemünde was subjected to a severe bomb attack. 600 B-17 aircraft in several waves passed over highly secret laboratories and workshops and dropped their deadly cargo - 500 kg bombs. Among the dead was the head of the center, General Shamier Glychinski. Another general - the chief of staff of the Luftwaffe G. Jeschonnek - after a telephone conversation about this raid with A. Hitler, shot himself.
Basic data of the A-4 rocket:
Length 14.3 m
Diameter 1.6 m
By plumage 3.6 m
curb weight
rockets 12,900 kg
Engine thrust 245-307 kg
Fuel mixture of ethanol with liquid oxygen; fuel supply intensity - 125 kg / s
The shelling of British territory with ballistic missiles was carried out until March 27, 1945. In addition to Great Britain, the port and city of Antwerp were bombed.
At the end of the war, intensive work was carried out on the creation of a long-range ballistic missile A-10, A-9. The A-10 missile was supposed to hit a target at a distance of 4000 km. The A-9 rocket by the end of the second stage was supposed to have a speed of 3300 m / s.
After the victory over Germany, the allies in the anti-Hitler bloc got serviceable missiles, components, documentation and specialists. A thorough study of captured equipment made it possible to create in the shortest possible time the domestic ballistic missile R-1 - the prototype of the German V-2. The work of German scientists on the creation of a ballistic missile, its improvement, combat use was an undoubted contribution to the development of world rocket science.
"V-2" (from it. V-2 - Vergeltungswaffe-2 weapon of retaliation) - the world's first long-range ballistic missile, developed by the German designer Wernher von Braun and adopted by the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II.
The first launch took place in March 1942, and the first combat launch took place on September 8, 1944. The number of combat missile launches carried out was 3225. It was used for the purpose of intimidation, affecting mainly the civilian population (about 2700 people died, mainly the territory of Great Britain, especially the city of London, which is distinguished by its large area), was shelled.
The V-2 is the first object in history to have made a suborbital space flight, reaching an altitude of 188 km during a vertical launch. This happened in 1944.
After the war, it was a prototype for the development of the first ballistic missiles in the USA, the USSR and other countries.
V-2 ready for launch at Cuxhaven in Lower Saxony. 1945
The development of German liquid rockets began in 1926, when a group of rocket science enthusiasts and interplanetary communications founded the Space Flight Society. Solid-propellant rockets were used as weapons during the First World War by almost all warring parties, therefore, under the Versailles Peace Treaty, defeated Germany was forbidden to develop and create such rockets. However, this treaty did not say a word about the development of liquid-fuel rockets.
At the end of 1929, the Minister of Defense gave the order to study the possibility of using rockets for military purposes, and in 1932 an experimental station for liquid fuel rockets was established in Kummersdorf near Berlin. In particular, Colonel Walter Dornberger was shown an experimental rocket developed by the young German designer Wernher von Braun. Despite the fact that the capabilities of the shown rocket were rather limited, Dornberger was interested in the work, and he suggested that von Braun continue development under the control of the military.
Like most other members of society, von Braun agreed to work on such terms. In December 1934, success was achieved in launching the A-2 rocket, a small model that ran on ethanol (ethyl alcohol) and liquid oxygen. Special attention devoted to engine development. By this time, many potentially suitable options for the fuel mixture had been calculated, but the military was most interested in the possibility of using ethanol, associated with the constant shortage of petroleum products for Germany. Ethyl alcohol was produced in large quantities as a result of potato processing and wood hydrolysis. This type of fuel was used by the Germans throughout World War II.
Having achieved success with the A-2, von Braun's group moved on to the development of the A-3 and A-4 (future V-2) missiles. The latter was to become a full-size rocket with an estimated flight range of about 175 kilometers, a lift height of up to 80 kilometers and a payload mass of about 1 ton. The increase in capabilities relied heavily on a comprehensive redesign of the engine, carried out by engineer Walter Thiel.
The total length of the rocket body was 14300 mm, the maximum diameter was 1650 mm. The launch weight of the V-2 rocket reached 12.8 tons and consisted of the mass of the combat charge (980 kg), fuel components (8760 kg) and the structure along with the propulsion system (3060 kg). The rocket consisted of more than 30 thousand individual parts , and the length of the wires of electrical equipment exceeded 35 km.
The rocket was equipped with a liquid-propellant rocket engine with a turbopump supply of both fuel components. The main units of a liquid-propellant rocket engine were a combustion chamber (CC), a turbopump unit (TNA), a steam-gas generator, tanks with hydrogen peroxide and sodium permanganate, a battery of seven compressed air cylinders.
Technologically, the V-2 was divided into 4 compartments: combat, instrument compartment, tank (fuel) and tail compartments. This division was dictated by the conditions of transportation.
The combat compartment of a conical shape, made of mild steel 6 mm thick, with a total length along the axis (from the base of the fairing) 2010 mm, was equipped with ammotol. Selecting this explosive was due to its relative safety for use in conditions of vibration and heating. In the upper part of the combat compartment was a highly sensitive shock pulse fuse. The use of mechanical fuses had to be abandoned due to the high speed of the rocket colliding with the ground, as a result of which the mechanical fuses simply did not have time to work and were destroyed. The speed of the fall of the rocket was 1100 m / s. The charge was detonated by a squib located in its rear part according to an electrical signal received from the fuse. The signal cable from the warhead was pulled through a channel located in the central part of the combat compartment.
The instrument compartment housed the control system equipment and radio equipment. The fuel compartment occupied the central part of the rocket. Fuel (75% aqueous solution of ethyl alcohol) was placed in the front tank. The oxidizer - liquid oxygen, was refueled in the lower tank. Both tanks were made of light alloy. In order to prevent changes in shape and breakage, both tanks were pressurized with a pressure of approximately 1.4 atmospheres. The space between the tanks and the casing was densely filled with a heat insulator (fiberglass).
In the tail compartment on the power frame housed the propulsion system. The fuel supply to the combustion chamber was carried out using two centrifugal pumps driven by a turbine operating at the expense of steam gas formed during the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in a steam gas generator in the presence of a catalyst - sodium permanganate. Turbine power 680 hp Four stabilizers were attached by flange joints to the tail section. Inside each stabilizer there was an electric motor, a shaft, a chain drive of an aerodynamic steering wheel and a steering machine that deflects a gas steering wheel (located in the nozzle range, immediately behind its cut).
Since the creation of the V-2, there have been disputes in the German command over the scheme for deploying missiles. The rocket was refueled with rapidly evaporating liquid oxygen, which was produced at special enterprises. Therefore, from a technical point of view, it was reasonable to deploy rockets at stationary positions in the immediate vicinity of liquid oxygen plants and launch immediately after refueling.
The military, however, was critical of the concept. Their main argument was Allied air superiority, which made any stationary missile positions too vulnerable to massive bombardment. According to the military, the missiles had to be launched from mobile, fast-moving positions that would be difficult to detect and destroy.
The position of the military also had a number of shortcomings, the main of which was the obvious difficulties with servicing missiles in mobile positions, the lower probability of a successful launch in the field, and most importantly, the relatively slower rate of launching missiles from field positions than from equipped stationary systems. However, the military insisted, arguing that any stationary complexes would be subjected to intense air bombardment, which, if not completely destroyed, would make it extremely difficult to launch missiles.
Ultimately, the dispute was resolved in favor of stationary complexes by the intervention of Hitler personally, who had sympathy for grandiose projects. On his orders, the construction of several gigantic buried bunkers began, each of which was supposed to be a bomb-proof complex designed for pre-launch preparation, refueling and launching missiles at the fastest possible pace.
The construction of several similar structures was started in 1943, but not completed. As predicted by the military, intense Allied aerial bombardment with supersonic 5-tonne Tallboy bombs that sank deep into the ground before detonation made it impossible to complete the fixed positions. The colossal resources invested in them were spent in vain. As predicted by the military, intense Allied aerial bombardment with supersonic 5-tonne Tallboy bombs that sank deep into the ground before detonation made it impossible to complete the fixed positions. The colossal resources invested in them were spent in vain.
The first rocket with a combat charge was fired at Paris. The next day they began shelling London. The British knew about the existence of a German rocket, but at first they did not understand anything and thought (when a strong explosion was heard in the Chiswick area at 18:43 on September 8) that the gas main had exploded (since there was no air raid alert). After repeated explosions, it became clear that the gas pipelines had nothing to do with it. And only when, near one of the funnels, an officer from the air defense troops lifted a piece of a pipe frozen with liquid oxygen, it became clear that this was a new Nazi weapon (called by them "weapon of retaliation" - German Vergeltungswaffe).
The effectiveness of the combat use of the V-2 was extremely low: the missiles had low hit accuracy (only 50% of launched missiles fell into a circle with a diameter of 10 km) and low reliability (out of 4,300 launched missiles, more than 2,000 exploded on the ground or in the air during launch, or failed in flight [source not specified 400 days]). According to various sources, the launch of 2,000 rockets, sent in seven months to destroy London, led to the death of over 2,700 people.
Near the rocket factory, on the southern slope of Mount Konstein, was the Dora concentration camp, which supplied the factory with workers. The production of these missiles has claimed more lives than the missile strikes themselves. 25 thousand corpses were found buried in the camp, another 5 thousand people were shot before the advance of the American army.
On the basis of the V-2, a project was developed for a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile A-9 / A-10 with a flight range of 5000 km. It was supposed to be used to destroy large objects and demoralize the population in the United States. However, bringing the missile to combat use by the time of the defeat of Nazi Germany did not take place.
V-2 takeoff.
The V-2 battery is ready to fire.
The V-2 rocket is preparing to launch. 1944
The scene of destruction on London's Farringdon Road after the fall of the V-2, 1945.
Destruction in Essex, UK, from a V-2 explosion. 1945
Trophy V-2. Paris. 1945
A V-2 arrives in Trafalgar Square, London, to take part in an exhibition of captured weapons.
V-2 on display in Holland. 1945
Fragments of the V-2 at a German military factory, captured by the Allied forces. 1945
V-2 in Reims, France. 1945
A V-2 rocket stands next to Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. 1945
American soldiers inspect a German V-2 rocket at the Kleinbodungen plant, Germany, 1945.
EQUIPMENT AND WEAPONS No. 4/2008, pp. 41-46
Stanislav Voskresensky
The ending.
See the beginning in "TiV"
No. 4,7,10/2007
Combat use of "V-2"
The first to be formed was the experimental 444th battery, which was subsequently involved in solving first training and then combat missions. Later missile units were merged into the 836th and 485th motorized artillery battalions, each of which provided for one stationary and two mobile batteries. Due to the destruction of stationary objects, only mobile batteries operated. Due to the “undercover fight of bulldogs” characteristic of the Third Reich, for a long time there was a struggle for subordination missile units either the SS or the Wehrmacht. Ultimately, the SS Kammler won, crushing the army man, General Metz, under him. Rocketeers mastered the technique and conducted training launches at the Blizna training ground. The first victims of the "V-2" were four German soldiers who died in a trench, on which a rocket that had "thought" of leaving the launch fell down.
Armed with each rocket battery there were three conveyor-installers ("meylerwagen"), which were towed by half-track tractors carrying personnel. The officers were placed in buses. Two tanker trucks delivered liquid oxygen and alcohol for all rockets, and one more - auxiliary fuel components. The battery was also equipped with a diesel generator mounted on a vehicle and an armored half-track tractor with equipment for testing and launching a rocket.
In the end of 1944, the North group, consisting of two batteries of the 485th division and the 500th jet battery, was located in the Hague area, and the South group of two batteries of the 836th division and the 444th training and test battery was located near Euskirchen .
On September 8, 1944, at 18:43, the first rocket launched from the highway northeast of The Hague by the Sever group reached London: three residents were killed. At the same time, London was not the first target for the A-4. In the early morning of the same day, a rocket launched from the position of the 444th battery hit Paris. The first attempt to shell the French capital, undertaken on the morning of September 6, ended in failure: the rocket gently settled on the launch pad. Soon the group "South" moved to the island of Walchern, and then to Zwolle. A total of 19 rockets were fired at Paris. From September 18 to September 25, the 444th battery was relocated to Staveren. After the Allied airborne landing near Arnhem, the 485th division from The Hague redeployed to Germany so as not to be cut off beyond the Rhine. After the liquidation of the landing, the missilemen returned to their original place.
Ballistic missile "V-2" in a camouflage cover on the transporter-installer
"Meylerwagen".
December 16 with the start German offensive in the Ardennes, the main target for the V-2 was Antwerp, the largest port in the immediate vicinity of the combat area, through which the main flow of supplies for the Allied troops passed. Hitler insisted that the first strike on London should be made by launching at least 3,000 rockets within 24 hours. In fact, in the first 10 days of shelling, only 15 V-2s reached the targets, killing 56 people. Ten more rockets fell on other sites in England. Gradually, the intensity of the shelling intensified. In November 1944, 662 missiles were used. In 1944, 1561 combat missiles were launched. In the first two months of 1945, the Germans launched another 1,231 rockets. In January, an absolute record was reached during the hostilities - 679 V-2s went to the targets. In addition to London, 537 rockets fell within Britain, while another 61 crashed into the sea. In total, for the period from the beginning of the shelling to their completion on March 27, 1944, the Germans used up 4320 missiles.
In most cases, the number of victims when hit by a V-2 did not exceed a dozen or two people, but there were also tragic exceptions. So, in England, in the Woolworth department store on November 25, 1944, 160 people died, and on December 16 in Antwerp in the Rex cinema even more - 271, while the Germans overestimated the number of killed Dutch fourfold, estimating their losses at 1100 people.
The Allies never managed to achieve much success in the fight against ballistic missiles. They were able to record in their asset only a couple of bombed-out railway trains with V-2. In addition, a seemingly unbelievable, but, nevertheless, incident that actually took place is known. The pilot of the Spitfire fighter, Captain Densby, discovered the V-2 and shot it down after the start, at the initial stage of the flight.
Nothing could be done to disrupt the production of missiles. Placed under the rocky ground at a depth of 70 m, the Nordausen galleries were invulnerable. At the same time, the Allies did not even know anything about the location of this plant almost until the end of the war. From January 1944 to March 18, 1945, Nordausen fired 5789 missiles (according to other sources - 5946). In addition, at least 314 V-2s were assembled at Peenemünde. The maximum production at the underground plant (690 missiles) was reached in January 1945. The capacity of the enterprise and the number of prisoner workers fully ensured the production of more"V-2", but the manufacture of on-board equipment was constantly disrupted due to allied air raids on openly located factories in several German cities.
As you get closer Soviet troops in February 1945, the main developers of the V-2 were transferred from Peenemünde to the village of Blei-herode located 30 km from Nordausen. In its vicinity, the construction of an underground research and design center began, the volume of premises of which was to surpass Mittelwerke many times over. Nearby, near the exhausted quarry, they managed to build two stands for testing engines.
Improvement of ballistic missiles was carried out after the start of their combat use. Along with fine-tuning the "V-2" in its original version, the Germans sought to significantly improve its characteristics. A-4 was an absolutely advanced design. At the disposal of its creators there was not a single analogue, on the basis of the analysis of which they would be able to reliably predict the weights and other characteristics of the components, systems and assemblies of the rocket.
As the main direction of work, an increase in range was considered. After the forthcoming Allied invasion of the continent, the possibility of the German withdrawal to the defensive line along the "Siegfried Line" was not ruled out, on which they hoped to gain a foothold for a long time. For rocket attack on England from these areas, it was necessary to increase the missile launch range by 1.5-2 times compared to that achieved by the V-2. It was experimentally confirmed the possibility of boosting the engine in terms of thrust, due to which the range increased to 350 km, and on experimental modifications- even up to 370 km. The release of documentation for the variant with increased tanks, which was supposed to achieve a range of 480 km, was being completed.
Dornberger mentions that when firing at real targets, missiles were used that changed the direction of flight, which was supposed to mislead the enemy's defenses. The feasibility and even the possibility of such a maneuver is questionable. Firstly, the benefits of this event were purely theoretical, since at that time there were no real means of intercepting ballistic missiles. Secondly, the technical implementation of such a flight is more than doubtful, taking into account the use of the simplest gyro devices on the V-2.
They hoped to achieve a greater range (450-550 km) by equipping the wings with a modification called the A-9. After the initial phase of the flight, carried out along a trajectory close to ballistic, the rocket went into a gentle gliding, and in the target area dived at it from a height of 5 km. The first prototype under the name A-4b, minimally modified compared to the serial V-2, was launched on January 8, 1945, but crashed shortly after launch. The second (and last) launch on January 24 was more successful. But it also ended with the rocket losing its wings while practicing the transition maneuver into planning. Nevertheless, the Germans regarded this flight test as largely a success.
However, the A-9 was of greater interest not in itself, but as the second stage of an "intercontinental" missile. The first stage was to be the newly developed A-10 rocket - something like an enlarged V-2 with an engine thrust of 200 tons. The starting weight of the A-9 / A-10 system, depending on the option being worked out, ranged from 86 to 100 tons, more than 25 m, the diameter of the first stage is 4.15 m. It was envisaged that the first stage would be parachuted into the ocean and rescued by ships for later use.
The firing range was supposed to reach 4500-5000 km, which, although inferior to the criterion established decades later during Soviet-American negotiations for intercontinental missiles, but enough to reach the densely populated Northeast of the United States with Atlantic coast Europe. To aim at the radio beacon, which German agents were supposed to install on the largest skyscraper, the Empire State Building in New York, the second stage was supposed to be equipped with a passive radar system or place a cockpit for the pilot on it. The Germans formally rejected the ideology of using kamikazes, and theoretically the A-9 pilot was supposed to jump out with a parachute when approaching the target in the hope of being picked up by a German submarine. It is easy to imagine the possible consequences of a rocket hitting a skyscraper, remembering the events of September 11, 2001. Of course, such systems could be used much less frequently than the V-2. The goal was not to inflict tangible economic damage, but to deprive the Americans of the feeling of invulnerability of their country and, as a result, force them to withdraw from the war. Work on the A-9 / A-10 project was frozen as early as 1943 in the interests of the speedy development of the A-4. Later they resumed, but still, an order of magnitude fewer specialists worked on the A-9 / A-10 than on the V-2.
Along with work on increasing the range, the Germans sought to improve the accuracy of missiles. Even before the start of flight tests of the V-2, work began on the introduction of lateral radio correction equipment, created by Dr. Steinhof. The potential capabilities of this equipment were clearly confirmed during the experiment. On the plane, which was equipped with the appropriate equipment, it was possible to reach a pre-planned building located 145 km from the coast on the island of Bornholm, with a deviation of only 20 m. Later, it was planned to install on the rocket the radio equipment proposed by engineer Valman for range correction using the Doppler effect. However, all these works did not leave the design stage.
In addition to radio engineering systems, an electrolytic acceleration integrator was developed to greatly improve the accuracy of shooting, designed to replace a gyroscopic device of a similar purpose. Like many other German developments, it was brought to the stage of application in mass-produced missiles many years later and in a completely different country.
Nordshausen and Bleicherode were captured by the US Army at the very end of the war. Von Braun, Dorneberger and another four hundred V-2 developers surrendered to the Americans in early May 1945. Like 300 wagons with documentation and rocket materiel, they were taken to the west, and then to the USA before this area, in in accordance with the allied agreement, was transferred to the Soviet occupation administration. Kammler, who had many sins and, in addition to those directly related to the production and use of the V-2, committed suicide just before the end of the war.
Most of the German specialists hastened to voluntarily surrender to the Americans, and then took part in the development of rocket technology in the United States. The greatest success overseas was achieved by von Braun, who later led the creation of American combat missiles "Redstone" and "Jupiter", and also engaged in the implementation of the lunar program. Several dozen German rocket engineers, led by Gretgrup, lingered in the vicinity of Bleichenrode and later collaborated with their Soviet colleagues both in Germany and in the USSR.
The layout of the rocket project A-9 / A-10.
Instead of a conclusion
Let's try to draw some conclusions.
In justifying the expediency of using rocket weapons, a comparison was usually made between the cost of a rocket and a bomber, which amounted, respectively, to 38 thousand and more than a million marks. At the same time, it was pointed out that in 1940 a manned aircraft, on average, managed to make no more than six sorties before its death, delivering 6-8 tons of bombs to the target. Turning to the specific situation of 1944-1945, it can be assumed that if the “Battle for England” was resumed during this period, the fate of the German bomb carriers would have been much more sad. In contrast to 1940, the British Isles were oversaturated with combat aircraft: there were no longer enough sites suitable for the construction of new airfields. Luftwaffe bombers in the skies over England, along with English fighter pilots, would have met the Americans. In addition, unlike in 1940, German bombers were requested not only on one front. So the use of German aircraft to deliver massive strikes against England by this time refers to purely abstract possibilities.
Nevertheless, we will try to compare the effectiveness of the impact of missile and bomb strikes. Let's make a reservation right away that, taking into account the low accuracy of both "fau", there could be no talk of any kind of aimed strikes. Missile weapons of those years it was absolutely ineffective as a means of destroying military or specific industrial facilities. Only residential areas of the largest cities could become targets; strikes were directed against the civilian population. However, the Nazi rocket men were just as "humane" as the pilots of the Bomber Command Royal Air Force. Not much different from the British and their American "brothers in arms", although the Yankees flew in the daytime and officially they were given quite specific industrial facilities as targets.
In total, 1340 V-2s were launched in England in eight months, including 1200 in the capital, of which 517 reached the target, killing 2424 and injuring 5869 Londoners, and also destroying about 20,000 buildings. On average, one launched rocket with a ton of warhead claimed 2.3 human lives.
This can be compared with the results of three main night and one auxiliary day raids on Hamburg in late July - early August 1943, during which 2630 aircraft reached the target, dropping 8621 tons of bombs on the city. 41,800 Germans were killed, 37,428 people were injured, 40,385 buildings were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable - almost 2/3 of the city's housing stock. The total number of victims is comparable to the results of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. For every ton of bombs, five were killed and four wounded.
Thus, even in the case of extermination of the civilian population, the effectiveness of bombers was about twice as high as that of missiles. Even at night, the accuracy of air strikes was an order of magnitude higher than missile strikes, which made it possible to deliver them selectively in urban areas with the highest population density. It was possible to pick up bombs of the optimal caliber and equipment, combining the release of "high-explosives" and "lighters". In addition, in full accordance with Marxist dialectics, quantity turned into quality. In the cities that became victims of massive bombardments, firestorms arose in which their inhabitants did not so much burn as suffocate from a lack of oxygen, which the fire greedily absorbed. Under these conditions, even the most durable bomb shelters turned out to be useless. The scale of the disaster hampered the work of doctors and rescuers, who simply did not have time to help the many wounded, burned and buried in bomb shelters. Victims of the V-2 explosions, as a rule, received timely medical assistance. Therefore, during rocket attacks, the number of wounded twice exceeded the number of those killed, and in Hamburg died more people than managed to save.
For German missile units, which had less than a hundred V-2 launchers, a massive strike was simply unattainable. On the contrary, for those used at the front jet systems salvo fire, much more miniature and accurate compared to the V-2, the ability to deliver a sudden massive strike in the shortest possible time interval was one of the few advantages compared to cannon artillery.
In addition to invulnerability from air defense systems, the surprise of the strike was a significant combat advantage of the missiles - the population did not have time to take refuge in shelters. The only rational solution for the Londoners was the evacuation of everyone who did not need headquarters, docks, factories and transport. In the summer of 1944, after the start of the V-1 strikes, almost one and a half million Londoners left the city.
Nevertheless, even such a task as undermining the morale of the population turned out to be unattainable. After all, the same Germans were not brought into a state of impotent despair, all the more so - indignation against the Nazi leadership was much more cruel bombing of the Allied aircraft. Almost half a century later, the use of Soviet-made R-17 missiles and their modifications, known in the West as Scud, did not bring any real benefit either. The Iraqis failed to bring the Iranians to their knees, and the Iranians failed to bring the Iraqis and Israelis to their knees. But we repeat once again that the use of V-1 and V-2 was the only possible response of the Germans to the ruthless bombardment of their cities. So you can only compare these two unmanned vehicles.
The V-1 was many times cheaper than a ballistic missile; more affordable raw materials were used for its production and use. In particular, the intensity of V-2 launches was largely limited by the volume of production of liquid oxygen in Germany. For our compatriots, the dependence of production success on the weather is quite natural. The output of another fuel component, alcohol, was determined by the annual potato harvest.
"V-2" was not used after the withdrawal of German troops to areas located at a greater distance from the coast of England than maximum range her launches. On the contrary, the V-1 was successfully launched from aircraft based in territory still controlled by Germany.
In terms of damage, a ballistic missile was superior to a projectile. The target was affected not only by the explosion of the missile warhead, but also by the colossal kinetic energy its hull is larger than that of a well-dispersed 100-car echelon. The diameter of the funnel exceeded 40 m, and the depth - 15 m. In addition, the missile hit the target quite suddenly, approaching it at supersonic speed. On the contrary, the projectile warned of the transition to the final dive by turning off the engine. In a few seconds of silence, followed by a loud rattling sound, a subject of His Majesty managed to lie down, and if you're lucky, even dart into the nearest bomb shelter.
But the main drawback of the projectile aircraft, which did not allow making an unambiguous choice in its favor, was its moderate flight and tactical performance. Most British piston fighters caught up and successfully shot down the V-1 with artillery or machine-gun fire. A neat ram was also used. The fighter, by touching the wingtip, filled up the aircraft-projectile on a roll, taking it beyond the limits of the permissible angles of operation of the gyro-devices. By the end of the “robot blitz”, up to 60% of the launched projectiles were shot down. Given the low reliability of the goal, only every tenth starting V-1 reached the goal.
All these circumstances, however, could not outweigh the high cost of a ballistic missile. The advantage in terms of technical and economic indicators remained with the V-1. The inevitability of a ballistic missile strike has become decisive only with the equipping of its nuclear warhead. At the same time, economic criteria have also shifted. The cost of the delivery vehicle began to be lost in comparison with the high cost of a nuclear charge.
Nevertheless, it is difficult to agree with the assessment of a number of authors who considered the development, production and use of the V-2 a gross and costly mistake by the Germans. In the nightmarish case of successful development by the Nazis atomic weapons an irresistible ballistic missile would be the ideal means of delivery in the face of Allied air superiority.
Indeed, the development of the V-2 resulted in the diversion of significant forces and means of Nazi Germany from solving more expedient tasks. In particular, more than 200 thousand people were involved in the production of missiles, the cost of building and equipping the center in Peenemünde alone exceeded the cost of producing more than a thousand tanks. At the same time, the damage caused by the use of missiles was significantly less than from the use of much cheaper V-1 projectiles.
But in real history due to a number of subjective factors, the successful development of the V-2 became a decisive step in the transition of rocket science from experiments to an industrial design and military weapons. Both in the USSR and overseas, this model was taken as the starting point for the development of national schools of rocket science, and then cosmonautics. At the same time, the determining factor was not so much the direct borrowing of captured materiel or the involvement of German specialists in the work. The very fact of the creation of the "V-2" testified to the prospects of the "big" rocket science, brought him out of the realm of dreams of exalted eccentrics into the sphere of employment of quite successful military and civilian figures. After all, the main secret atomic bomb was that it could still be done! The Americans admitted that the use of German experience allowed them to save up to five years in the implementation of their own missile programs. Soviet specialists, who, unlike their overseas counterparts, did not limit themselves to testing the V-2 manufactured at Mittelwerk, but launched mass production an exact, as far as possible, copy of the A-4, clearly won no less. And the consequences of this win for the five-year period were of world-historical significance. Already in 1957, the world's first ICBM, the Soviet R-7, was tested, which became an irresistible weapon capable of reaching America. Unlike the previous race in the creation of strategic aviation and air defense systems, even the multiple superiority of the United States in economic power no longer guaranteed against the death of millions, if not tens of millions of their citizens in the event of nuclear war. At least until the end of the 20th century, mankind was spared from the Third World War.
So, by the will of providence, von Braun, Dornberger and other loyal subjects of the Third Reich ultimately achieved results that were clearly not part of their intentions ...
From the editor.
In the next issues of the magazine, we will tell in detail about the history of testing the V-2 ballistic missile in the United States.
Launch history
First stage
The first launch took place in March 1942, and the first combat launch took place on September 8, 1944. The number of combat missile launches carried out was 3225. It was used for the purpose of intimidation, affecting mainly civilians (about 2,700 people died, mainly the territory of Great Britain, especially the city of London, which is distinguished by a large area), was shelled. The military significance of the V-2 rocket was negligible.
The rocket was single-stage, had a liquid-propellant rocket engine, launched vertically, an autonomous gyroscopic control system, equipped with a software mechanism and instruments for measuring speed, came into action on the active part of the trajectory. Maximum flight speed - up to 1700 m / s (6120 km / h), flight range reached 320 km, trajectory height - 100 km. The warhead could hold up to 800 kg of ammotol. The average cost is 119,600 Reichsmarks.
"V-2" is the first object in history to have committed.
After the war, it was a prototype for the development of the first ballistic missiles in the USA, the USSR and other countries.
Story
A shot of the site with the launch pad and two V-2s in a horizontal position, June 23, 1943.
Design
Deployment
Since the creation of the V-2, there have been disputes in the German command over the scheme for deploying missiles. The rocket was refueled with rapidly evaporating liquid oxygen, which was obtained at special enterprises. Therefore, from a technical point of view, it was reasonable to deploy rockets at stationary positions in the immediate vicinity of liquid oxygen plants and launch immediately after refueling.
The military, however, was critical of the concept. Their main argument was Allied air superiority, which made any stationary missile positions too vulnerable to massive bombardment. According to the military, the missiles had to be launched from mobile, fast-moving positions that would be difficult to detect and destroy.
The position of the military also had a number of shortcomings, the main of which was the obvious difficulties with servicing missiles in mobile positions, the lower probability of a successful launch in the field, and most importantly, the relatively slower rate of launching missiles from field positions than from equipped stationary systems. However, the military insisted, arguing that any stationary complexes would be subjected to intense air bombardment, which, if not completely destroyed, would make it extremely difficult to launch missiles.
Ultimately, the dispute was resolved in favor of the stationary complexes by the intervention of Hitler personally. sympathetic to grandiose projects. On his orders, the construction of several gigantic buried bunkers began, each of which was supposed to be a bomb-proof complex designed for pre-launch preparation, refueling and launching missiles at the fastest possible pace.
The construction of several similar structures was started in 1943, but not completed:
As predicted by the military, intense Allied aerial bombardment, using 5-ton Tallboy bombs that fell at supersonic speeds and buried deep into the ground before detonation, made it impossible to complete the fixed positions. The colossal resources invested in them were spent in vain.
"V-2" on a transport and installation trolley Meilerwagen
In view of the apparent fiasco of the concept of stationary launch bunkers, Hitler changed his mind and agreed to the deployment of missiles in mobile positions. Especially for launching the V-2, an installer was developed, called mailerwagen, which delivered the rocket to the position and placed it vertically on the launch pad.
Combat use
Since we subsequently produced nine hundred large offensive missiles each month, we could well have produced several thousand of these smaller and less expensive missiles each month. I still think that with the help of these missiles, in combination with jet fighters, we, since the spring of 1944, would have successfully defended our industry from enemy bombing, but Hitler, "obsessed with a thirst for revenge, decided to use new missiles to bombard England."
V-2 rocket on display at Groenplaats in Antwerp
The first rocket with a combat charge was fired at Paris. The next day they began shelling London. The British knew about the existence of a German rocket, but at first they did not understand anything and thought (when a strong explosion was heard in the Chiswick area at 18:43 on September 8) that the gas main had exploded (since there was no air raid alert). After repeated explosions, it became clear that the gas pipelines had nothing to do with it. And only when, near one of the funnels, an officer from the air defense troops lifted a piece of a pipe frozen with liquid oxygen, it became clear that this was a new weapon of the Nazis (called by them "weapons of retaliation" - German. Vergeltungswaffe). The effectiveness of the combat use of the V-2 was extremely low: the missiles had low hit accuracy (only 50% of launched missiles fell into a circle with a diameter of 10 km) and low reliability (out of 4,300 launched missiles, more than 2,000 exploded on the ground or in the air during launch, or failed in flight). According to various sources, the launch of 2,000 rockets, sent in seven months to destroy London, led to the death of over 2,700 people (each rocket killed one or two people).
To drop the same amount of explosives that was dropped by the Americans with the help of four-engine B-17 (Flying Fortress) bombers, 66,000 V-2s would have to be used, the production of which would take 6 years.
On the effectiveness of the use of V-2 - ibid., p. 463
Near the rocket factory, on the southern slope of Mount Konstein, was the Dora concentration camp, which supplied the factory with slaves. The production of these missiles claimed more lives than the missile strikes themselves - 25 thousand corpses were found buried in the camp, another 5 thousand people were shot before the onset of the American army.
On the basis of the V-2, a project was developed for a two-stage intercontinental ballistic missile A-9 / A-10 with a flight range of 5000 km. It was supposed to be used to destroy large objects and demoralize the population in the United States. However, bringing the missile to combat use by the time of the defeat of Nazi Germany did not take place.
After the war
In the US, research into captured missiles was carried out as part of the Hermes Ballistic Missile Development Program. After the war, about 100 ready-made rockets were taken out of Germany to the United States in disassembled form. In 1946-1952, the US Army carried out 63 rocket launches for research purposes and one launch was carried out from the deck of a US Navy aircraft carrier. However, due to the U.S. parallel development program for the all-American WAC Corporal series of missiles, development of the V-2 line in the U.S. has been limited.
Significance in space exploration
It was the V-2 rocket that became the first artificial object in history to make a suborbital space flight. In the first half of 1944, in order to debug the design, a number of vertical rocket launches were made with a slightly increased (up to 67 seconds) engine operation (fuel supply) time. The height of the rise at the same time reached 188 kilometers.
With the launch of captured and later modified V-2 rockets, both some American (Hermes program) and Soviet rocket and space programs began. The first Chinese Dongfeng-1 ballistic missiles also began with the development of Soviet R-2 missiles, created on the basis of the V-2 design.
Tactical and technical characteristics
The liquid rocket engine operated on 75% ethanol (about 4 tons) and liquid oxygen (about 5 tons) and developed thrust up to 270 kN, providing top speed flight up to 1700 m/s (6120 km/h). The flight range reached 320 km, the height of the trajectory was up to 100 km. The warhead, containing up to 830 kg of ammotol, was located in the head compartment. The main parameters of the rocket are shown in the table below:
| The total length of the rocket, mm | 14 030 | |
|---|---|---|
| Case diameter, mm | 1650 | |
| Stabilizer diameter, mm | 3558 | |
| Mass of unfilled missile with warhead, kg | 4000 | |
| Starting weight, kg | 12 500 | |
| Number of consumable substances |
mass of alcohol (75%), kg | 3900 |
| mass of liquid oxygen, kg | 5000 | |
| mass of hydrogen peroxide, kg | 175 | |
| mass of sodium permanganate, kg | 14 | |
| mass of compressed air, kg | 17 | |
| Fuel consumption, kg/s | 127 | |
| Mixing ratio (alcohol/oxygen) | 0,81 | |
| Engine thrust at the start, kg | 25 000 | |
| Start acceleration, g | 0,9 | |
| Temperature in the combustion chamber, °C | ~2700 | |
| Pressure in the combustion chamber, atm. | 15,45 | |
| Ignition pressure (over pressure in the combustion chamber), atm. | 2,4 | |
| Fuel flow rate, m/s | 2050 | |
| Time to increase the speed of sound, s | 25 | |
| Engine operating time, s | 65 | |
| Thrust before fuel cutoff, kg | 4200 | |
| Acceleration before fuel cutoff, g | 5 | |
| Rocket speed at the end of engine operation, m/s | 1450 | |
| Rocket coordinates at the moment fuel cut-off |
in height, km | 25 |
| horizontally, km | 20 | |
| Practical firing range, km | 250 | |
| Maximum firing range, km | 320 | |
| The highest point of the trajectory, km | 70 | |
| Fall speed (near the ground), m/s | 450 | |
| Head part weight, kg | 1000 | |
| Mass of explosive, kg | 730-830 | |
| Action at the target with TNT equipment |
funnel diameter, m | 25-30 |
| funnel depth, m | 15 | |
| Deviation from the target | according to the project (KVO), km | 0.5-1 (0.002–0.003 from range) |
| sold, km | ±10-20 | |
| according to the results of the shooting in 1947 11 missiles assembled in the USSR, km |
±5 | |
- Shortly after the war, the British demonstrated the launch of the V-2 rocket (the launch was carried out by German specialists). At the direction of the leadership, the Soviet specialist S. Korolev was also present at this launch (under a false name, under the guise of an artillery captain of the Soviet Army).
see also
Notes
Sources
Literature
- Tracy Dungan. V-2: A Combat History of the First Ballistic Missile. Westholme Publishing (), ISBN 1-59416-012-0 (English)
- Walter Dornberger. FAU-2. Superweapon of the Third Reich - . ISBN 5-9524-1444-3 (Russian)
- Albert Speer. Third Reich from the inside. Memoirs of the Reich Minister of the Military Industry., M., 2005. (Chapter: Mistakes. Secret weapons and SS)
- Khvoshchin V., Kanevsky A. Secrets of the V-2 rocket. "Wonder Weapon" of Nazi Germany (Russian) // Wings of the Motherland. - M ., 1998. - No. 05. - S. 16-20. - ISSN 0130-2701.
- A task of special national importance. From the history of the creation of nuclear missile weapons and the Rocket Forces strategic purpose(1945-1959) / comp. V. I. Ivkin, G. A. Sukhina. - M .: Russian Political Encyclopedia (ROSSPEN), 2010. - 1207 p. - 800 copies. - ISBN 978-5-8243-1430
