The FReeper Foxhole Profiles Project Aphrodite and the German V-2 Rocket - May 14th, 2004

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

German V-2 Rocket



The V2 rocket was the world's first ballistic missile. It was originally designated the A-4, as it was the fourth in a line of rocket developments, however, Joseph Goebbel's propaganda ministry renamed it Vergeltungswaffe 2 (Retaliation Weapon 2). It was naturally shortened to V-2.

Engineer Werner von Braun was the driving force in the development of the German ballistic missile program . He became the director of the German Rocket Development Center in Peenemunde. As an engineering student he was a member of the Verein fur Raumschiffahrt (Society for Space Travel) and was always interested in furthering the cause of rockets as a means of space travel.

At the request of the Reichswehr Ordnance Department, he began work on rockets in 1932 upon graduation from the Berlin Institute of Technology. The fledgling Reichswehr's interest in rocketry was to legally get around the restrictions on the number and size of artillery pieces laid out in the Treaty of Versailles following WWI. Rockets were not included as artillery pieces.


In May 1945, near Oberjoch the VfR (the rocket team that designed the V-2) surrendered to the Americans. At the time von Braun had a broken arm. In March he got into a car accident while driving from Leuchtenberg to Berlin when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and the car went off the road, down an embankment and onto a railroad track. The first attempt to set his arm was a failure and a month later they rebroke and set his arm in Sothofen, 14 km. from Haus Ingerug at Oberjoch (the place they surrendered). They came to Fort Bliss, Texas in 1945 and then went to White Sands, New Mexico in 1946 where he would stay until 1950.

Unlike the V-1 developed by the Luftwaffe, which flew low, and slow enough to be intercepted by fast aircraft, the V-2 was a true, guided, ballistic missile, rising into the stratosphere before plunging down to the target. The only warning of an approaching V-2 was the double boom as it broke the sound barrier shortly before impact. There was no defense against the V-2, so the English went after the launching sites. They did this very effectively in the Pas de Calais so that only mobile V2s could be launched. None of these systems were ever successfully attacked.



The U.S. War Department was very interested in this new weapon. After the army occupied the Peenemunde base, all the remaining V-2s were shipped back to the United States, along with many of the German scientists and engineers. About 500 German rocket specialists were used in "Operation Paperclip" for this purpose, including Wernher von Braun. The V-2 became the army's Redstone missile and it was the beginning of the United states Space Program. Von Braun became it's director..


Many people were suspicious and found it hard to believe that the scientists had transferred their loyalties from the Nazis to the USA as quickly as it seemed to be. The population gradually gained respect for the German scientists, much to the credit of von Braun, the charismatic leader who worked tirelessly to create goodwill within the community.

Technical Details

The V2 was an unmanned, guided, ballistic missile. It was guided by an advanced gyroscopic system that sent signals to aerodynamic steering tabs on the fins. It was generally inaccurate due to errors in aligning the rocket with it's target, premature shut-off of the motor and inconsistencies in electric current in the guidance system. It was propelled by an alcohol (a mixture of 75% ethyl alcohol and water), and liquid oxygen fuel. The two liquids were delivered to the thrust chamber by two rotary pumps, driven by a steam turbine.


This is the rocket engine which powered the remarkable V-2 "Vengeance Weapon" developed by Germany during WW II and fired aganst London, Antwerp, Liege, Brussels, Paris, and Luxembourg. Using liquid oxygen and alcohol as propellants, it produced a thrust of 56,000 lbs., giving the V-2 a maximum range of 220 miles, a ceiling of 55 miles, and a velocity of 3,500 mph. Approximately 6,500 V-2s were manufactured during 1944-45.

The steam turbine operated at 5,000 rpm on two auxiliary fuels, namely hydroperoxide (100 %) and calcium permanganate. This system generated about 55,000 lbs (27,000 to 30,000 Newton) of thrust. The motor typically burned for 60 seconds, pushing the rocket to around 4,400 ft/second. It rose to an altitude of 52 miles and had a range of 200 - 225 miles. The V2 carried a high explosive warhead weighing 2,000 lbs (1 ton) that was capable of flattening a large building. It was first fired operationally on Sept 7, 1944 against London, primarily as a propaganda exercise.



It's real claim to fame was as the progenitor of the rocket race that developed during the Cold War, and ultimately put men on the moon and probes that have left our solar system. It is a great tragedy that a great many people were sacrificed to do so.

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:
www.afa.org/magazine/valor/0897valor.asp
www.constable.ca/v2.htm

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

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[SAMWolf]

Interesting thread Snippy.

Gather 'round while I sing you of Wernher von Braun,
A man whose allegiance
Is ruled by expedience.
Call him a Nazi, he won't even frown,
"Ha, Nazi, Schmazi," says Wernher von Braun.

Don't say that he's hypocritical,
Say rather that he's apolitical.
"Once the rockets are up, who cares where they come down?
That's not my department," says Wernher von Braun.

Some have harsh words for this man of renown,
But some think our attitude
Should be one of gratitude,
Like the widows and cripples in old London town,
Who owe their large pensions to Wernher von Braun.

You too may be a big hero,
Once you've learned to count backwards to zero.
"In German oder English I know how to count down,
Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun.

[snippy_about_it]

Und I'm learning Chinese!" says Wernher von Braun.

LOL. What was the fella's name that did this Sam. I know it was on one of the cd's you brought for our cross country trip. He was good.

[SAMWolf]

Professor Tom Lehrer. I love his "black humor"

[Light Speed]

Thanks for the ping Snippy.

A Family member who flew on Lancaster Bombers ,lost his life during a bombing mission on the V2 pens at Wizernes.

24th June 1944

This third bombing raid on Wizernes took it's toll many of the Lancasters and Mosquito's were hit by flak, but still managed to release a qty of bombs, hitting both the launching tunnel and the rail line. However one aircraft DV403 letter KC- G Type Lancaster 1 was lost.

DV403 took off from Woodhall spa at 4.30pm armed with a Tallboy, it was hit by flak and crashed at Leulinghem

JOHN ANDREW EDWARD DFC Flight Lieutenant 51120 617 Sqdn., Royal Air Force who died on Saturday, 24th June 1944. Age 29. Additional Information: Son of Harold Westbrook Edward, and Harriet Emily Edward, of Willand, Devon. Cemetery: LEULINGHEM CHURCHYARD, Pas de Calais, France Grave Reference/ Panel Number: Grave 1. See below for Cemetery details

***SAMUEL ISHERWOOD Flight Sergeant 634050 Air Gnr. 617 Sqdn., Royal Air Force who died on Saturday, 24th June 1944. Age 22. Additional Information: Son of Lucy Williams; husband of Mary Alice Isherwood, of New Springs, Lancashire. Cemetery: LEULINGHEM CHURCHYARD, Pas de Calais, France Grave Reference/ Panel Number: Grave 2. See below for Cemetery details

LESLIE WILLIAM JOHN KING DFC Flying Officer 149660 Flt Engr. 617 Sqdn., Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve who died on Saturday, 24th June 1944. Age 30. Additional Information: Son of William and Emily Maria King, of Enstone, Oxfordshire. Cemetery: LONGUENESSE (ST. OMER) SOUVENIR CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France Grave Reference/ Panel Number: Plot 3. Row C. Grave 4. See below for Cemetery details

THOMAS WILLARD PERCY PRICE Pilot Officer J/87215 Air Gnr. 617 (R.A.F.) Sqdn, Royal Canadian Air Force who died on Saturday, 24th June 1944. Commemorative Information Cemetery: LEULINGHEM CHURCHYARD, Pas de Calais, France Grave Reference/ Panel Number: Grave 3. See below for Cemetery details

JAMES IAN JOHNSTONE DFC Flying Officer. 617 sqdn, Royal Canadian air force who died in St Omer hospital. Cemetery: LONGUENESSE (ST. OMER) SOUVENIR CEMETERY, Pas de Calais, France Grave Reference/ Not available

**Samuel flew as navigator with the Gold Coast squadron prior to joing the Dambusters.
On D-day..his bomber formation dropped **Window..[Tin foil chards] to confuse German radar.

[Aeronaut]

Good Morning Snippy.

[Iris7]

Speaking of A-10 and V-4 type technology,

Several years ago there was a Freerepublic post on the WWII German nuclear weapons program. Made a lot of sense to me, a totally different technology than the Los Alamos uranium enrichment system. Really different.

Can't find the post though. The thing freaked me out, super dangerous to put on the net, erased my favorites entry. Possibly the thread was pulled, one hopes.

Anyway, the Germans were very close to having a nuclear weapon. The after war investigation was wrong when they said otherwise. The physicists were looking for an American style technology, which the Germans were not pursuing. the German project would not yield a lot, but maybe as much as the Hiroshima bomb. Dirty, dirty, dirty though.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

Received half an inch of rain yesterday. Had to unplug the computer several times due to lightning. Storms have moved out. It's chilly this morning.

[The Mayor]

Let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire. —Hebrews 12:28-29

Hold tightly to what is eternal and loosely to what is temporal.

[Johnny Gage]

Whenever I see a V-2 rocket I think of an episode of "Hogan's Heroes" where the rocket starts to launch, then falls back down and explodes.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Light Speed.

Best British Bomber of the war

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut. Nice Harrier graphic.

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good morning to the Foxhole crew!

Very cool thread this morning, Snippy! I hope today finds you well!

[Colonel_Flagg]

Best British Bomber of the war

Which, the Lancaster notably excepted, wasn't saying a whole heck of a lot :) I think the Short Stirling was one of the ten ugliest airplanes ever designed.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Iris7. I've read that the Japanese were also looking into developing a bomb. Imagine the world today if Germany or Japan had developed the bomb first.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C. Seems there was a lot of nasty weather around the Country the last few days.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Mayor.

[SAMWolf]

Good Morning Johnny

I've seen a lot of video of failed V2 launches. They make big booms when they fall over or come back down.