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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.

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

On This Day in History

Birthdates which occurred on May 14:
1316 Charles IV king of Bohemia (1346-78)/emperor (1355-78)
1686 Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit Germany, inventor (thermometer)
1727 Thomas Gainsborough England, baptized, artist (The Blue Boy)
1798 Frantisek Palacky Czechoslovakia, historian
1830 George Pierce Doles Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1836 James Patrick Major Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1877
1867 Kurt Eisner German premier of revolutionary Bavaria (1918-19)
1881 Ed Walsh pitcher, whose lifetime ERA of 1.82 is the lowest ever
1885 Otto Klemperer Breslau Germany, conductor/composer (Das Ziel)
1895 Lew Lehr Philadelphia PA, comedian
1895 Renato Lunelli composer
1897 Sidney Bechet US, jazz clarinetist/saxophonist/band leader
1906 Hastings Kamuzu Banda President of Malawi (1964-94)
1907 Mohammed Ayub Khan general/premier/President (Pakistan)
1909 Vladimir Alatortsev USSR, International Chess Master (1950)
1915 Harry Joseph Chick Daugherty trombonist (Spike Jones & City Slickers)
1919 Heloise columnist (Heloise & her helpful hints)
1919 Maarten Vrolijk Dutch socialist-democrat party minister (CRM 1965-66)
1922 Richard Deacon actor (Mel Cooley-Dick Van Dyke Show)
1923 Diane Arbus [Nemerov] New York NY, photographer (Vogue/Harper's Bazaar, Nudists)
1929 Vladimir Antoshin USSR, International Chess Grandmaster (1964)
1936 Bobby Darin [Walden Waldo Cassotto] Bronx NY, singer (Mack the Knife)
1937 Dick Howser shortstop (Kansas City A's), manager (Kansas City Royals)
1937 Eric Herfst Dutch cabaret performer/actor (Floris)
1937 Peter Frederic Williams composer
1939 M N Fathulin cosmonaut
1940 Chay Blyth English sailor (Alone in Order to the World)
1941 Nasim-ul-Ghani cricketer (Pakistan left-handed all-rounder 1958-73)
1943 Elizabeth Ray Marshall NC, congressman Wilbur Mills' lover
1943 Jack Bruce Lanarkshire Scotland, bassist (Cream-White Room)
1944 George Lucas Modesto CA, director (Star Wars, Indiana Jones)
1946 Robert Jarvik surgeon/inventor (Jarvik 7 artificial heart)
1948 Robert Zemeckis director (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future)
1952 David Byrne Dunbartin Scotand, rock guitarist/singer (Talking Heads-Psycho Killer)
1952 Donald R McMonagle Flint MI, Major USAF/astronaut (STS 39, 54, 66)
1957 William G Gregory Lockport NY, Major USAF/Astronaut (STS 67)
1964 James M Kelly Burlington IA, Captain USAF/astronaut
1964 Nancy Sorel actress (Generations, Black Foix)
1970 Natasha Ryan Los Angeles CA, actress (Amy-Ladies' Man)
1976 Terrance Cauthen Trenton NJ, lightweight boxer (Olympics-bronze-96)
1977 Cesarina Mejia Miss Dominican Republic Universe (1997)

Deaths which occurred on May 14:
0347 Pachomius Egyptian monastery founder/abbot (Coenobieten), dies
0649 Theodore Greek Pope (642-49) (excommunicated by Paul II), dies
0964 John XII [Octavianus] Pope (955-64), dies
1565 Nicolaus von Amsdorf German reform theologist, dies
1610 Henry IV 1st Bourbon-king of France, murdered at 56
1643 Louis XIII king of France (1610-43), dies at 41
1726 Moshe Darshan Rabbi/author (Torat Ahsam), dies
1761 Thomas Simpson English mathematician (rule of Simpson), dies at 50
1864 William N Green Jr Union Brigadier-General, dies
1912 Frederik VIII King of Denmark (1906-12), dies at 68
1936 Samuel Pl'h Naber spy/librarian, dies at 71
1940 Emma Goldman US anarchists/feminist/author (Living My Life), dies
1968 Husband Edward Kimmel Rear Admiral (Pearl Harbor)dies at 86
1970 Billie Burke comedienne (Glinda-Wizard of Oz), dies at 84
1978 William Powell Lear inventor of Lear Jet, dies in Reno NV
1980 Hugh Griffith actor (Passover Plot, Ben Hur, Tom Jones), dies at 67
1982 Hugh Beaumont actor (Ward-Leave it to Beaver), dies at 73
1983 Miguel Aleman Valdes attorney/President of México (1946-52), dies at 80
1987 Rita Hayworth actress (Gilda), dies of Alzheimer's disease at 68
1991 Jiang Qing widow of Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung, commits suicide
1992 Lyle Alzado NFL defense linesman (Raiders), dies of cancer at 43
1993 William Randolph Hearst US newspaper magnate (Pulitzer), dies at 85
1997 Harry Blackstone Jr magician, dies of cancer at 62

1998 Frank [Francis Albert] Sinatra singer/actor/leader of the pack, dies from heart & kidney disease, bladder cancer, senility at 82

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1966 KING DONALD L.---MUSKEGON MI.
1966 RALSTON FRANK D. III---DENVER CO.
1967 ROLLINS DAVID J.---OAKLAND CA.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 SOUTHWICK CHARLES E.---FAIRBANKS AK.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1968 COTA ERNEST K.---SAN DIEGO CA.
1968 KARGER BARRY E.---PRATHER CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED 01/94]

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
0649 Theodore I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1004 Henry II the Saint crowned as king of Italy
1027 Robert II, the Vrome, names son Henry I, king of France
1264 Baron's War fought in England
1264 Battle at Lewes: Simon van Leicester beats English king Henry III
1590 Battle at Ivry: French king Henri IV beats Catholic League
1607 1st permanent English settlement in New World, Jamestown VA
1702 England & Netherlands declares war on France & Spain
1702 Swedish troops under King Charles XII occupy Warsaw
1767 British government disbands Americans import duty on tea
1787 Delegates gather in Philadelphia to draw up US constitution
1796 1st smallpox inoculation administered, by Edward Jenner
1800 Friedrich von Schiller's "Macbeth" premieres in Weimar
1804 Lewis & Clark set out from St Louis for the Pacific Coast
1811 Paraguay gains independence from Spain (National Day)
1842 1st edition of London Illustrated News
1853 Gail Borden patents his process for condensed milk
1862 Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland patents the chronograph
1863 Battle of Jackson MS
1864 Battle of Reseca GA -Atlanta- (2nd day)
1878 Vaseline is 1st sold (registered trademark for petroleum jelly)
1884 Anti-Monopoly party forms in the US
1885 11th Kentucky Derby: Babe Henderson aboard Joe Cotton wins in 2:37¼
1886 12th Kentucky Derby: Paul Duffy aboard Ben Ali wins in 2:36½
1888 14th Kentucky Derby: George Covington aboard MacBeth II wins in 2:38¼
1890 16th Kentucky Derby: Isaac Murphy aboard Riley wins in 2:45
1896 Lowest US temperature in May recorded (-10ºF - Climax CO)
1897 The first public performance of Stars And Stripes Forever (John Philip Sousa)
1904 1st Olympics in the US are held (St Louis)
1906 Flagpole at the White Sox ballpark breaks during pennant-raising
1908 1st passenger flight in an airplane
1913 Washington Senator Walter Johnson ends record scorless streak at 56 innings
1918 Indians' Stan Coveleski sets club record for most innings pitched (19)
1918 Sunday baseball is made legal in Washington DC
1919 Pope Benedictus XV publishes encyclical In hac tanta
1920 Giants inform Yankees that the lease allowing them to play in the Polo Grounds will not be renewed at end of 1920 season
1920 Washington Senator Walter Johnson wins his 300th game vs Detroit
1921 Florence Allen is 1st woman judge to sentence a man to death
1921 Mussolini's fascists obtains 29 parliament seats
1927 "Ain't She Sweet?" hits #1 on the pop singles chart by Ben Bernie
1927 53rd Kentucky Derby: Linus McAtee aboard Whiskery wins in 2:06
1932 "We Want Beer!" parade in New York
1935 Los Angeles' Griffith Planetarium opens, 3rd in US
1935 Plebiscite in the Philippines ratifies independence agreement
1940 Boston's Jimmie Foxx homerun goes over Comiskey Park's left field roof
1940 German breakthrough at Sedan
1940 Lord Beaverbrook appointed British minister of aircraft production
1940 Nazi bombs Rotterdam (600-900 dead), Netherlands surrender to Germany
1941 3,600 Parisian Jews arrested
1942 US Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is founded
1945 Kamikaze-Zero strikes US aircraft carrier Enterprise
1945 US offensive on Okinawa, Sugar Loaf conquered
1948 Israeli Radio Station Kol Yisrael's 1st broadcast
1948 Jordan's Arab League captures Atarot, north of Jerusalem
1948 PM David Ben-Gurion establishes State of Israel
1948 US grants Israel de facto recognition
1949 Truman signs bill establishing a rocket test range at Cape Canaveral
1950 Pittsburgh Johnny Hopp goes 6 for 6 including 2 homeruns
1951 Ernie Kovacs Show, TV Variety debut on NBC
1955 Warsaw Pact is signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland & Romania
1960 USSR launch 1st (unmanned) space capsule
1961 Bus with 1st group of Freedom Riders bombed & burned in Alabama
1963 Kuwait is 111th member of the United Nations
1965 2nd Chinese atom bomb explodes
1966 1st reported monitoring of pirate radio station WBBH (New Jersey)
1967 Mickey Mantle's 500th homerun off Oriole's Stu Miller
1968 Beatles announce formation of Apple Corp
1968 Czechoslovakian Government announces liberalizing reforms under Alexander Dubcek
1968 RAF-leader Andreas Baader sentenced to 3 years in West Berlin
1969 Abortion & contraception legalized in Canada
1969 Last Chevrolet Corvair built
1970 Cops kill 2 students in racial disturbance (Jackson State University, Mississippi)
1970 Harry A Blackmun appointed to the Supreme Court
1970 RAF-leader Andreas Baader freed after serving 2 years in West Berlin
1972 In Willie Mays 1st game as a New York Met his homer beats the San Fransisco Giants, 5-4
1973 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, last airs on NBC-TV
1973 Skylab launched, the 1st Space Station
1973 US Supreme court approves equal rights to females in military
1974 Symbionese Liberation Army destroyed in shoot-out, 6 killed
1975 US forces raid Cambodian island of Koh Tang to free Mayaguez ship
1976 Lowell Thomas ends 46 years as radio network reporter
1976 Oil tanker Urqui Ola explodes off Spanish coast
1980 Bucky Dent hits an inside the park homerun, Royals walk 14 Yankees including 5 with bases loaded, Yankees win 16-3
1980 Department of Health & Human Services begins operation
1986 Institute for War documents publishes Anne Franks complete diary
1986 Reggie Jackson hit his 537th homerun passing Mickey Mantle into 6th place
1987 Colt revolver (Peacemaker) of 1873 sells for $242,000
1988 1st non-pitcher (Jose Oquendo) in 20 years to get a decision in a baseball game, he & St Louis Cardinals lose to the Atlanta Braves 7-5 in 19 innings
1989 "Moonlighting", TV Crime Drama, last airs on ABC
1989 1st time since 1948 a player hit 6 consecutive doubles (Kirby Puckett Mn. Twins)
1989 Demonstration for democratic reforms in Beijing's Tiananmen square
1989 Final TV episode of "Family Ties" airs
1991 Robert M Gates becomes head of CIA
1991 Winnie Mandela sentenced to 6 years for complicity in kidnapping & beating of four youths, one of whom died, She is freed pending appeal
1991 World's Largest Burrito created at 1,126 lbs
1995 Dalai Lama proclaims 6-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima 11th reincarnation of Panchen Lama, Tibet's 2nd most senior spiritual leader
1997 Baseball's Exec Council suspends New York Yankee owner George Steinbrenner
1998 Last episode of Seinfeld on NBC (commercials are $2 million for 30 seconds)
2000 "Million" Mom March

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Guinea : Guinea Democratic Party Anniversary
Liberia : Unification Day/Integration Day
Malawi : Kamuzu Day
Paraguay : Independence Day (1811)
Philippines : Carabao Festival/Constitution Day/Feast of St Isidro
US : Native American/Indian Day (Saturday)
Salvation Army Week (Day 5)
National Hamburger Week (Day 6)

National Guy Pride Month! (so scratch here it itches!)

Religious Observances
Christian : St Matthias, apostle
Roman Catholic : Commemoration of St Boniface, martyr

Religious History
1607 In Virginia, on the first Sunday after the arrival of the Jamestown Expedition, Anglican priest Robert Hunt, 39, held the first Anglican service in the New World. Named chaplain of the expedition to Jamestown, Hunt was also the first Anglican priest to come to America.
1932 Death of John Hughes, 59, Welsh rail official and church worker. During his life, Hughes composed a number of hymns, including CWM RHONDDA, to which the Church today still sings "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah."
1948 After nineteen centuries of enforced exile, the Jewish people regained their homeland when the State of Israel was formally proclaimed in Tel Aviv. On this same date, the U.S. became the first world nation to recognize the newly-refounded state of Israel.
1950 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'To believe is to act as though a thing were so. Merely saying a thing is so is no proof of my believing it.'
1974 In the Anglican Church in England, the Rev. F. Donald Coggan, 64, was named the 101st Archbishop of Canterbury by Queen Elizabeth II, succeeding former Archbishop Michael Ramsey.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Men. On the one hand, we'll never experience childbirth. On the other hand, we can open all our own jars."

Actual Newspaper Headlines...
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant

Why did the Chicken cross the Road...
Gilligan:
The traffic started getting rough; the chicken had to cross. If not for the plumage of its peerless tail the chicken would be lost, the chicken would be lost.

Fun things to do when driving...
Two words: Chicken suit.

What The Company Really Means...
"MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL:"
We have no quality control.