Download September 8th 1915

Brandon Leslie O’ Leary and Jonathan Fredrick Samuel Whynot
Zeppelin!!!!!!!
• The Zeppelin is an airship that
was used during the World
War I in bombing raids by the
German army. They carried
artillery and bombs. However,
their use was put to a full stop
because they were easy to shoot
out of the sky using
conventional weapons.
January 19-20 1915
Two German Navy Zeppelins, LZ24 (L3) and LZ27 (L4), make the first airship
raid on Great Britain, thereby opening up a new era in the exploitation of
aeronautics . Bombs from L3 fall on Great Yarmouth, while L4 drops
incendiaries and bombs on Sheringham, Thornham, Brancaster, Hunstanton,
Heacham, Snettisham, and King's Lynn. Several civilians are killed and
wounded.
April 29-30 1915
• Erich Linnarz
commanded LZ.38 on
a raid over Ipswich
• There were casualties
on the ground and
certainly some major
damage to buildings
in the town centre.
September 8th 1915
•
•
Two Army Zeppelins successfully bombed London on September 7-8, SL.2
dropped bombs on the Isle of Dogs, Deptford, Greenwich and Woolwich. LZ.74
was forced to drop weight on its approach and scattered 39 bombs over Cheshunt,
before heading on to London and dropped devices on Bermondsey, Rotherhithe,
and New Cross. Eighteen people were killed and 28 injured. Fog and mist
prevented any aircraft being launched but a number of anti-aircraft guns fired at
LZ.74 with no effect.
The Zeppelin was commanded by Heinrich Mathy, one of the great airship
commanders of the war, hits Aldersgate in London, killing 22 people.
March 5-6, 1916
• Three P-class
Zeppelins
attacked Hull
on March 5-6,
causing
significant
property
damage.
July 28-29 1916
• The first 'Super
Zeppelin', the 650 ft
M-class L.31, appeared
in English skies.
Powered by six
engines and capable of
operating at 13,000 ft
(with almost 5,000 ft
to maximum ceiling in
reserve) while carrying
up to four tonnes of
bombs.
August 8-9 1916
• Two M-class
Zeppelins
were part of a
nine craft raid
that did much
damage to
Hull.
August 24-25, 1916
•The sixth successful London raid was on this date, thirteen Navy Zeppelins were
launched and Heinrich Mathy's L.31 reached London, flying above low cloud
thirty-six bombs were dropped in ten minutes on West Ferry Road, Deptford
Dry Dock, the station at Norway Street and homes in Greenwich, Eltham and
Plumstead. Nine people were killed, forty injured. L.31 suffered no damage in the
attack but several weeks of repair-work was needed after a rough landing.
September 23-24 1916
The loss of SL.11 ended the Army's interest in raids
on Britain. The Navy remained aggressive and a
twelve Zeppelin raid was launched, eight older craft
bombing targets in the Midlands and four M-class
Zeppelins (L.30, L.31, L.32, and L.33) attacked
London.
October 19-20 1917
•
The last major Zeppelin raid was launched
with thirteen Zeppelins targeted at Sheffield,
Manchester, and Liverpool. Two Zeppelins
did not launch and the remainder quickly
found themselves embroiled in powerful
headwinds that made navigation extremely
inaccurate. L.45 was trying to reach Sheffield,
but instead it dropped bombs on
Northampton and then London. Undetected
and with no warning its bombs did great
property damage. The first few fell on
Hendon Aerodrome but the rest, dropped at
random from 16,000 feet, struck in Piccadilly,
Camberwell, and Hither Green. L.45 then
reduced altitude to try to escape the winds
but was forced back into the air currents by a
BE2e. The craft then had mechanical failures
in three engines and was pushed by the wind
out over France, eventually coming down
near Sisteron, where the craft was set ablaze
and the crew surrendered. L.44, L.49, and
L.50 were also lost to anti-aircraft fire or the
weather over France. L.55 was badly
damaged on landing and was later scrapped.
November 21-24 1917
•
•
•
•
•
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The Zeppelin L 59 (LZ104) makes a 6,757 km journey through Africa in 96 hours
(average speed 71 km/h).
Length: 226.50 m
Diameter: 23.90 m
Volume: 68,500 m³
Useful lift: 23,500 kg
Power plant: Five Maybach piston engines, 180 kW (240 hp) each.
Detailed Description of the Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is an airship that was developed by Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin a short time
before the outbreak of the First World War, based on designs he had outlined in 1874,
designs he had detailed in 1893, and that were reviewed by committee in 1894, which he
later patented in the U.S. on March 14, 1899. The German military utilized Zeppelins for
bombing and reconnaissance during the First World War. The most important feature of
Zeppelin's design is a rigid metal alloy rib cage, made of rings and longitudinal girders. This
quite ingenious design allowed them to be larger then any other air ship at the time. This
increase in size thus allowed for heavier loads of ammunitions, weapons, and troops so be
transported and used. It also allowed heavier more powerful engines to be used. The first
Zeppelins was a long cylinder with tapered ends and complex multi-plane fins but during
the First World War the design was changed to the familiar streamlined shape and
cruciform fins used by almost all airships since so make them combat-worthy. Within the
outer envelope, several separate cells contained the gas helium. These cells were made of
about 200 000 sheets of the outer membrane of a calf’s intestine. The sheets were joined
together and folded into impermeable layers. Five internal combustion engines, mounted
in a covered housing that was connected to the skeleton, created movement. Steering was
made possible by adjusting and selectively reversing engine thrust and by using rudder and
elevator fins. A small section for passengers and crew was located at the bottom of the
frame, with other compartments located internally to house cargo. The German command
had optimistic views on the craft, as they were as fast as aircraft at that time, could carry
many more guns, and had a greater bomb load capacity and enormously greater range and
endurance.
Both the Army and Navy operated the German craft as two entirely separate divisions. The
Army was allocated nine craft while the Navy received four. All the craft were identified
with the pre-war prefix LZ and a number, to avoid confusion between craft with the same
number it is customary to use the prefix LZ for Naval craft and just L for Army craft (the
Schütte-Lanz and Parseval types are sometimes identified with the respective prefixes SL
and PL). There were major differences in doctrine between the two branched on how the
Zeppelin could be used most effectively. The Army emphasized bombing from a low level
and close support to ground forces, while the Navy had trained for reconnaissance. The
first offensive use of Zeppelins was just two days after the invasion of Belgium. A single
craft, the L. VI, flying from Cologne was damaged by gunfire while heading towards Paris
and made a forced landing near Cologne. Near the beginning of the war, the main use of
the craft was in reconnaissance over the North Sea and the Baltic, where the endurance of
the craft led German warships to a number of Allied vessels. Zeppelin reconnaissance was
given priority over all other airship activity. During the First World War, 1,200
reconnaissance flights were made. During 1915 the German Navy had 15 Zeppelins in
commission and with two continuously, without any hindrance by climactic circumstances.
The German military used this fact to their advantage to scare and eventually stop the
British sea ships from approaching Germany. They also allowed for the spotting of when
and where the British were laying sea-mines, then aided in the destruction of the
aforementioned mines. Zeppelins worked in cooperation with German minesweepers by
landing on the sea surface and bringing aboard the captain to show him the location of the
mines. This technique of water landing was also used to land next to merchant ships
suspected of carrying contraband, order all ship's hands to leave in boats, then inspect the
ship, and either destroy it or take it back to Germany.
Zeppelin technology improved considerably because of the increasing demands of warfare
like almost all other forms of technology. This was most apparent in the redesigning of the
M-class designs which were quickly enlarged to the 200 m long P-class using the newly
created synthetic material called duralumin, thus resulted in an increased gas capacity to
69,000 m3. It also introduced a fully enclosed gondola. These modifications added 2,000
feet to the maximum ceiling, increased the top speed by 20 km/h, and greatly increased
endurance of the craft itself. Twenty-two P-class craft were ordered and the first, LZ.38, was
delivered to the Army on April 3, 1915. These P-class zeppelins could carry loads of 4 tons of
bombs and reach speeds up to 130 kilometers per hour using six Maybach engines of
around 260 hp (190 kW) each. To avoid enemy defenses mainly British aircraft guns and
searchlights, Zeppelins became capable of much higher altitudes of 7,600 meters and were
easily capable of long-range flights. For example, LZ.104 L.59, based in Yambol, Bulgaria,
was sent to reinforce troops in German East Africa in November 1917. The ship arrived to
find the German troops utterly defeated and had to return following reports of German
defeat by British troops, but it had traveled 6,757 kilometers in 95 hours and thus had
broken a long-distance flight record. Over time more improvements were added to the
zeppelin such as a more streamlined hull shape, the simple yet functional cruciform fins
which replaced the more complicated box-like arrangements, individual direct-drive
engine cars, anti-aircraft machine-gun positions, and gas ventilation shafts which removed
excess helium for safety. At this point the war was close to an end and a week before the
Treaty of Versailles was signed, many war Zeppelin crews destroyed their airships in their
halls in order to avoid delivery. Eighty-four Zeppelins were built during the war. However,
near the end of the war only 24 remained. Fifty-one raids had been undertaken, in which
5,806 bombs were dropped, killing 557 people and injuring 1,358.
The raids were effective not through what they destroyed but for the diversion and
hampering of wartime production and diverting 12 fighter squadrons and over 10,000
personnel to air defenses. However, their great weakness was their vulnerability to gunfire,
especially incendiary ammunition. Their use against well-defended targets in daytime raids
was a mistake and the High Command lost all confidence in the Zeppelin, leaving it to the
Naval Air Service to make any further use of the craft.
Most effective use of a Zeppelin in an event.
The Zeppelin was only used in an auxiliary manner,
as it was a large and easy target to shoot down,
therefore; there were not any battles in which the
Zeppelin was crucial to the outcome. Although,
during the beginning of the war the large use of
reconnaissance by the zeppelins scared off British sea
ships from attacking Germany directly and this is the
point that shall now be concentrated upon.
Specifics of the event
During the beginning of the First World War, the main use of the
zeppelin was in reconnaissance over the North Sea and the Baltic,
where the endurance of the craft led German warships to a number
of Allied vessels. Zeppelin patrolling had priority over any other
airship activity at that time. The German Navy had 15 Zeppelins in
commission and was able to have two or more patrolling
continuously at any one time, almost regardless of climactic
circumstances. This kept the British ships from approaching
Germany, spotted when and where the British were laying seamines, and later aided in the destruction of those mines. Before the
widespread availability of incendiary ammunition made commerce
raiding too risky, they would also land or hover close to a merchant
ship suspected of carrying contraband, order all ship's hands to leave
in boats, then inspect the ship, and either destroy it or take it back to
Germany.
How the Zeppelin effected the outcome of this
event
• Without the Zeppelin Britain could have created a strategy to invade
Germany by Sea and executed without any form of warning to the German
High Command until it would have been to late possible causing the war to
have been shorter.
• The German Navy would not have located as man Allied vessels giving
more strength to the numbers of the Allied forces. In addition, the allies
would have been able to conduct more surprise attacks on German vessels
diminishing the German numbers.
• More German vessels would have been destroyed by Sea-mines placed by
the British as in most cases they would have not been either detected or not
found. Minesweeper vessels were still utilized but were far more effective
as they also had access to a view from the sea due entirely to the Zeppelin.
• Britain would have been able to transport more supplies through merchant
ships and contraband might have been able to pass unabated eventually in
some manner helping to defeat the Germans.
The First World War saw drastic change
in not only weapons but warfare as well.
Weapons were being created for longrange attacks as opposed to Napoleonic
warfare of the past.
V-2 Rocket!!!!!!!
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The V-2 rocket was the first ballistic missile
and first man-made object to achieve suborbital spaceflight and is the progenitor of
all modern rockets. Over 3,000 V-2s were
launched as military rockets by the German
Wehrmacht against Allied targets in the
Second World War resulting in the death of
7,250 military personnel and civilians. An
estimated 20,000 inmates at Mittelbau-Dora
died constructing V-2s; 9000 died from
exhaustion , 350 hanged (including 200 for
sabotage), the remainder were shot or died
from disease or starvation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
WjFTN-YdK_M&NR=1
March 16 1942
•
The first V-2 Rocket was
produced and delivered to the
testing facility at the
Peenemünde Army Research
Center on Usedom Island
where most of the prototypes
for the rocket had been fired,
such a s the flight-test model
the A-1 which despite very
promising results had slipped
out of its corset after being fully
tanked , fell 2 meters, smashed
three fins, and came to rest on
the rim of the engine nozzle.
October 3 1942
•
On this day the V-2 became the
first rocket, in fact the first
manufactured object, to reach
space, and while scientists noted
that its ascent was too steep they
still saw it as a massive success. It
was launched from the same
facility that the prototypes had
been launched at located in
Peenemünde, Germany. Wernher
von Braun, the Nazi rocket
scientist who went on to become
one of the greatest minds at NASA.
Was the head of this operation and
was at the facility that day to see
this momentous event occur.
May 30 1944
•
For the first time the allied forces are able to get their hands on a V-2 rocket when polish resistance
forces locate one at the new testing facility in Blizna, Poland. They then delivered them to the British
in a maneuver that was named Operation Most III. 50 kg of the most important parts of the captured
V-2, as well as the final report, analyses, sketches and photos were transported to Brindisi by a RAF
Douglas Dakota aircraft that landed secretly in Poland, on a meadow between Jadowniki Mokre and
Wał-Ruda villages. It was the third British aircraft landing operation in occupied Poland, hence its
name MOST III. The pilots were Stanley C. Culliford, a New Zealander, and Kazimierz Szrajer, a Pole.
The plane flew from Brindisi, Italy. It also transported four special operations officers and took five
passengers back, among them Tomasz Arciszewski, and Jerzy Chmielewski (one of the most active
Intelligence agents, working on V-2 weapons). An improvised airfield, protected by the Polish Resistive
Forces was codenamed Motyl. The operation was extremely dangerous, due to German presence in
nearby villages. There appeared problems with take-off, because a landing gear sunk in a swampy
meadow. The crew was just about to abandon and destroy the plane, but finally, with a help of
partisans, the aircraft managed to take off at the third attempt. In late July 1944, the V-2 parts were
delivered to London.
June 13 1944
•
A V-2 rocket, specifically test rocket V-89
serial number 4, 089 was launched from
Peenemünde testing facility and crashed in
Sweden after the rocket had flown into
cumulus clouds that had strayed into the
controller's line of sight to the rocket. V-89
contained Kehl-Strassburg joystick-radio
control equipment for the Wasserfall antiaircraft missile code named Burgund and a
modification of the joystick system used to
direct the Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb. The
ground controller appeared to have no
trouble maneuvering the rocket until it
disappeared in the high cloud layer. A
captured German prisoner later explained to
the British that the controller was an expert
at steering glider bombs from aircraft, but
that the spectacle of a rocket launch caused
him to incorrectly operate the control lever
in his astonishment. Peenemünde guidance
and control expert Ernst Steinhoff explained
that the excited operator applied a set of
planned corrections, such as that for the
Earth's rotation, in the opposite direction to
that which he was instructed. The rocket
subsequently exploded in an air burst several
thousand feet above the town of Bäckebo,
and the wreckage was exchanged by the
Swedes for British Supermarine Spitfires. It
was thus given the nickname of the Bäckebo
bomb.
August 30 1944
•
In Blizna, only four of the 26 launches had been successful in reaching the Sarnaki
target area due to Luftzerleger, in-flight breakup, on entry into the atmosphere.
Initially excessive alcohol tank pressure was suspected, but could not be soundly
determined. Major-General Rossmann, the Army Weapons Office department chief,
recommended stationing observers in the target area, which led to Walter Dornberger
and Wernher von Braun setting up a camp at the center of the Poland target zone 300
feet from an armed missile. After moving to the Heidekraut, the SS Mortar Battery 500
of the 836th Motorized Artillery Battalion was ordered on this date to begin test
launches of eighty 'sleeved' rockets. Testing confirmed that the tube designed to
strengthen the forward end of the rocket cladding reduced the likelihood of
Luftzerleger.
September 8 1944
•
The first actual use of this as a military weapon occurred on this date. The V-2 rocket named V-222
launched off P-X at 08.40 hours near Houffalize, Belgium. It was guided by a radio beam directed at
Paris and caused modest damage near Porte d'Italie. That same day they launched three more V-2
rockets. The second launch was fired at 11.15 hours from the same site and impacted in Charentonneau
à Maisons-Alfort, opposite 25 rue Des Ornes, 35 rue Des Safins, in southeast Paris, France. Six people
were killed and 36 were injured. This was followed by two Battery 485th launches at 18.35 hours from
Wassenaar, crossroads of Lijsterlaan, Konijnenlaan, and Koekoekslaan, in The Hague to impact
London. The first impacted at Chiswick and killed 63-year-old Mrs. Ada Harrison, 3-year-old
Rosemary Clarke, and Sapper Bernard Browning on leave from the Royal Engineers. A short while
after the double crack, the sky was filled with the sound of a heavy body rushing through the air. The
second impacted at Epping and is not as detailed as it was 27 kilometers north of London.
January 27 1945
• The V-2 rocket MW 20827
was fired from Karlshagen
an area of destroyed
settlement after an air
raid on August 17 1943.
Impact occurred at
Battersea, London
destroying the Battersea
Railway Station.
Seventeen people were
killed, twenty houses were
destroyed, and dozens
more houses were
damaged. This is the same
day that Auschwitz was
liberated.
March 3 1945
•
The V-2's speed and trajectory made it invulnerable to anti-aircraft guns and
fighters, as it dropped from an altitude of 100–110 km at four times the speed
of sound. A plan was proposed whereby the missile would be detected by
radar, its terminal trajectory calculated, and the area along that trajectory
saturated by large-caliber anti-aircraft guns. The plan was dropped after
operations research indicated that the likely number of malfunctioning
artillery shells falling to the ground would do more damage than the V-2
itself could ever do. The next defense against the V-2 plan was to destroy the
launch infrastructure nut was too expensive in terms of bomber resources
and casualties. The next strategy was to cause the Germans to aim at the
wrong place through disinformation. This plan was put into use and
resulted in the British being able to convince the Germans to direct V-2s
aimed at London to less populated areas east of the city. This was done by
sending false impact reports via the German espionage network in Britain,
which was controlled by the British. There is a record of one V-2,
fortuitously observed at launch from a passing American B-24 Liberator,
being shot down by .50 caliber machine-gun fire. Ultimately, the most
successful countermeasure was the Allied advance that forced the launchers
back beyond range. On this date, the allies attempted to destroy V-2s and
launched equipment near The Hague by a large-scale bombardment. Fiftysix Allied medium bombers mounted an attack on the Duindigt/Haagse Bos,
the suspected headquarters in Marlot and the western part of the forested
Haagse Bos, where much of the V-2 material was stored. However, due to
navigational errors the Bezuidenhout quarter was destroyed, killing 500
Dutch civilians. Later that evening, while the fires from the ill-fated attack
were still burning, the Germans fired several rockets to show the Allies that
the bombers missed their intended target. At 01.06 hours, Battery 485 fired a
rocket from The Hague that impacted on the British military base at
Foulness Island, England. At 02.23 hours they the fired a second rocket
which impacted Edmonton, London. On the same day, another missile was
fired at 03.29 hours from Hoek Van, Holland that impacted Theydon Bois,
England. The next rocket was the third from The Hague specifically at
Statenkwartier, and it exploded of the British town of Woolwich. They then
fired another V-2 at 04.30 hours from The Hague specifically Wassenaar
which resulted in the same result of an explosion over the town of
Woolwich. The next from the same location was fired at 04.38 and impacted
in Sevenoaks, Surrey. The next rocket fired was at 05.55 hours and was the
second fired from Hoek Van it impacted at Ilford, London but only resulted
in ten deaths. Then the next missile was fired from The Hague specifically
Statenkwartier at 06.10 hours but missed and fell into the North Sea. Then at
09.26 hours, the SS Abt. Battery 500 fired a rocket from Dalfsen, Estate
Mataram, which impacted at Zwaantjeslei, Merksem but was ineffective as
only twenty properties suffered slight damage. Back at The Hague,
specifically Statenkwartier a rocket was fired at 12.13 hours by Battery 485,
which impacted in Deptford, London. The next rocket in these chains of
events was fired at 12.33 hours by the SS Abt. Battery 500 from the same place
as before but failed and impacted near the launch site itself. At 13.25 hours,
they launched another which impacted in Denderbelle, England. The last
rocket on this date was launched at 21.54 hours and impacted in southwest
Antwerp.
March 27 1945
•
The V-2 rockets intended for Britain were launched. The last British civilian killed by V-2 attacks was Mrs. Ivy
Millichamp, 34, in her home in Elm Grove, Orpington. At 00.14 hours, the first rocket was fired from Battery 485 at The
Hague, Haagse Bos, and impacted in Edmonton, London but only resulted in one death. At 00.18, hours, the second
rocket was fired from the same Battery at Hoek Van, Holland, but was a steep shot which resulted in no direction and
the place of impact of this rocket is unknown. At 02.57 hours, the third rocket was fired from The Hague specifically
Statenkwartier and impacted in Cheshunt, England. At 03.24 hours, the fourth rocket was fired from The Hague, Haagse
Bos, and impacted at Ilford, London. At 03.59 hours, the fifth rocket was fired from the same location and impacted at
Hutton Park, England. At 07.12 hours, the sixth rocket was fired and impacted at Stepney, Hughes Mansions with
successful results by utterly obliterating two city blocks killing 134 people and injuring 49 people seriously. At 12.38
hours, the first rocket launched by the SS Abt. Battery 500 was fired at Hellendoorn, Eelerburg, and impacted west of the
Scheldt on Visserstraat, Burcht. The launchers of the V-2 rockets at this point realized Germany was losing the war fairly
badly and this site had been in fact dormant since March 20 and was activated only to fire this one rocket but only
demolished one house and badly damaged seven other houses, which only resulted in one person being injured. At 16.48
hours the seventh rocket was fired from Battery 485 at The Hague specifically Statenkwartier and impacted in
Orpington, Kent. This was the final V-2 launched against England and resulted in only 1 death and 23 serious injuries.
The last rocket fired on this day was at 22.45 hours, and was the eight rocket of that day to be fired by that Battery at
Burgsteinfurt Site 117, Strönfeld, which impacted at Antwerpsestraat/Lieven Gevaetstraat, Mortsel only resulting in 23
deaths, 62 injuries and the complete destruction of 23 houses. An estimated 2,754 civilians were killed in London by V-2
attacks with another 6,523 injured. Accurately targeted missiles were often devastating, causing large numbers of deaths.
For Example in New Cross 160 died in one explosion in a Woolworth's department store, in southeast London and in
Antwerp 567 deaths occurred in a cinema with significant damage in the critically important Antwerp docks.
March 28 1945
•
The end of the rocket attacks against Antwerp came on this date. The first rocket was fired at 06.15 hours by Battery 485 in Burgsteinfurt Site 117, Strönfeld and impacted
in the district of Zwijndrecht, Netherlands with no casualties whatsoever. The last V-2 rocket to be fired by the Germans was launched at 08.49 hours by the same
battery and location and was fired towards Antwerp falling 18 kilometers northeast of its target, in the district of Ossendrecht, Netherlands. From March 9 to March 27 at
Hellendoorn, Feuerstellung Nr. 410, SS Abt. Battery 500 launched 38 V-2 with only three failures. On the date of the last firing the battery left Hellendoorn because of the
Allied advance. The unit was split up into various parts that all left the launching area on different days, with different destinations. The third platoon, followed by the
first platoon, and then the second platoon left the area the last. Some soldiers of this battery were, in the last phase of the war, equipped with Nebel-Werfers (15 cm, DoWerfer). They were supposed to travel to Berlin to battle against the Russians. However, the soldiers never made it to Berlin and were scattered during the Allied
advance. Battery 485 was also divided into three divisions, with first and the second withdrawing to Fallingbostel, 23 miles north of Hanover, they arrived on April 1. One
day later, the third division launched its last two rockets before it also retreated to Fallingbostel. After the retreat from its operational area in late March 1945, Battery
836 originally was to have gathered at Bramsche, 10 miles west of Osnabruck. The deterioration of the military situation, however, prevented this. Instead, they were
ordered to move to Celle, 20 miles north of Hanover. From there the remaining rockets were to be fired against the Kustrin Fortress 60 miles northeast of Berlin. The
plan fell apart because of the total breakdown in Germany. As a result, all of Gruppe Süd's equipment was destroyed in the area of Celle, to prevent capture, on April 7,
1945. SS-General Kammler had already given the order to reorganize the rocket units into infantry regiments. The war log of Battery 836 stated that on April 8, that with
all of their specialized equipment destroyed, the FR Gruppe had lost its character as an elite unit. They were now nothing more than an infantry combat group. There is
some information that seems to indicate that Battery 444 fired additional rockets from the area around Verden in Germany as late as April 5-6. After firing from Heek on
March 27, Battery 444 (or at least a portion of the unit) moved deeper into Germany, arriving in a place called Welmbüttel in Schlesig Holstein, northern Germany. The
unit had reportedly already fired two new test series V-2s from this area a few weeks earlier sometime in the first days of March at a place called Armsen, which is
southeast of Verden an der Aller in the direction of the North Sea. Some of the soldiers of that unit had taken quarter in these villages and stayed there after the end of
the war. Eyewitness reports said that on good friday and easter there were no firings, but on April 5, the residents saw the first launching of a V-2 from Welmbüttel in
Schlesig Holstein, in the direction of the North Sea. On April 6, there was a misfire resulting in a crash near one of the launch sites. Eyewitnesses report five rockets fired
from these areas. In the following days, all the rockets were moved away from this area and destroyed by the rocket troops near Celle. These last firings are not related to
operational attacks not giving an idea of the movements of Battery 444. It is recorded that airplanes were circling over Laubach in pursuit of retreating German columns
of troops. Then the rocket hit the post office and two more landed at Rühl’s courtyard. This resulted in the damaging of the front of the courthouse and blew out all the
windows of the surrounding area.
Detailed Description of the V-2 Rocket
The V-2 rocket or the Vergeltungswaffe 2 as the Germans called it was the first fabricated
object to achieve sub-orbital spaceflight. Over 3,000 V-2s were launched as military rockets
by the German Wehrmacht during the Second World War, resulting in the death of 7,250
humans. The rockets were made at Mittelbau-Dora and 20,000 inmates in the construction;
9000 died from exhaustion and collapse, 350 hanged (including 200 for sabotage), the
remainder were shot or died from disease or starvation. It was designed for area bombing
and by today’s standards is called a SSBM or single stage ballistic missile. It began use
militarily on the 8 September 1944 and continued in its use throughout the rest of the war.
It was developed by the Army Research Center in Peenemünde and manufactured by
Mittelwerk GmbH. In January 1944 one missile was created for the average price of 100 000
reichsmarks but by March of the following year price had dropped by half. The first true V2 rocket was produced on March 16 1942. On average it had a weight of about 12 500
kilograms with a length of 14 m and a diameter of 1.65 m. It contained 980 kg of highly
explosive material made from a mixture of TNT and ammonium nitrate with 952.5 kg of
water, 2 857.5 kg of ethanol, and 4 910 kg of liquid oxygen. It had a wingspan of 3.56 m with
a long-range distance of 320 km. During flight, it reached a maximum altitude of 206 km
with a maximum speed of 1 600 m/s diminishing to half of its maximum speed in order to
prepare for impact. It was controlled by gyroscopes to control altitude and a PGA,
pendulous gyroscopic accelerometer, for engine cutoff. By late 1941, the Army Research
Center at Peenemünde possessed the technologies essential to the success of the V-2.
The four key technologies required were the large liquid-fuel rocket engines, supersonic
aerodynamics, gyroscopic guidance, and rudders in jet control. At this point in time Hitler
thought it was merely an artillery shell with a longer range and much higher cost. In early
September 1943, von Braun promised the LRBC, Long-Range Bombardment Commission,
that the V-2 development was finished but even by the middle of 1944, a complete V-2 parts
list was still unavailable. Hitler later saw this weapon as more of a morale booster then
effective weapon as it seemed like it had unsurpassed power and looked mighty to the
common person. It therefore began to be developed in large numbers. At launch, the V-2
propelled itself for up to 65 seconds on its own power, and a programmed motor controlled
the pitch to the specified angle at engine shutdown, from which the rocket continued on a
ballistic trajectory. The fuel and oxidizer pumps were steam turbines, and the steam was
produced by concentrated hydrogen peroxide with potassium permanganate acting as a
catalyst. Both the alcohol and oxygen tanks were an aluminium-magnesium alloy. The
combustion burner reached a temperature of 2 500−2 700 °C. The alcohol-water fuel was
pumped along the double wall of the main combustion burner. This cooled the chamber
and heated the fuel in a process known as regenerative cooling. The fuel was then pumped
into the main burner chamber through 1 224 nozzles, which assured the correct mixture of
alcohol and oxygen at all times. Small holes also permitted some alcohol to escape directly
into the combustion chamber, forming a cooled boundary that further protected the wall of
the chamber, especially at the throat where the chamber was narrowest. The boundary
alcohol ignited in contact with the atmosphere, accounting for the long, diffuse exhaust
plume. Four external rudders on the tail fins, and four internal graphite vanes at the exit of
the motor guided the V-2.
The LEV-3 guidance system consisted of two free gyroscopes, a horizon and a vertical, for
lateral stabilization, and a gyroscopic accelerometer connected to an electrolytic integrator.
Engine cut-off would occur when a thin coating of silver was electrochemically eroded off a
poorly conducting base. V-2s used guide beams to navigate towards the target. The painting of
the V-2s was mostly a camouflage-ragged pattern with several variations. During tests, the
rocket was painted in a characteristic black-and-white checkered pattern, so that as the rocket
was spinning it could be seen how accurately it was spinning around its longitudinal axis. Test
launches of V-2 rockets were made at Peenemünde, Blizna, and Tuchola Forest. Originally,
they were produced at Peenemünde. However, after bombing in the area by the Allies
production was moved to the Mittelwerk in the Kohnstein. Five thousand two hundred V-2
rockets were built in Kohnstein. One thousand nine hundred were built between August 18
1943 and September 15 1944. Nine hundred were built between September 16 and October 29
1944. Six hundred were built between October 30 and November 24 1944. One thousand one
hundred were built during November 25 1944 and January 15 1945. Seven hundred were built
between January 16 and February 15 1945. Three thousand one hundred seventy-two of these
rockets were successfully fired various places. One thousand six hundred ten were fired at
Antwerp. One thousand three hundred fifty-eight were fired at London. Fourty-three were
fired at Norwich. Twenty-seven were fired at Liege. Twenty-five were fired at Lille. Twenty-two
were fired at Paris. Nineteen were fired at Tourcoing. Nineteen were also fired at Maastricht.
Thirteen were fired at Hasselt. Eleven were fired at Remagen. Nine were fired at Tournai. Six
were fired at Arras. Four were fired at Cambrai. Three were fired at Mons. Two were fired at
Diest. One was fired at Ipswich. This gives a total of one thousand six hundred sixty-four
being fired at Belgium, one thousand four hundred two being fired at Great Britain, seventysix being fired at France, nineteen being fired at the Netherlands, and eleven being fired at
Germany. The V-2 program was the single most expensive development project of the Third
Reich with a total of six thousand fourty-eight being built, three thousand two hundred
twenty-five were launched.
SS General Hans Kammler, who as an engineer had constructed several
concentration camps including Auschwitz, had a reputation for brutality and had
originated the idea of using concentration camp prisoners as slave laborers in the
rocket program. The V-2 is perhaps the only weapon system to have more deaths
caused by its production than its deployment. The production of the fuel for one V2 required 30 tons of explosives. Sometimes as Germany lacked enough explosives
to put in the V-2, concrete was used and sometimes they put in V-2s photographic
propaganda of German citizens who had died in allied bombing. The V-2 lacked a
proximity fuse, so it could not be set for airburst; it buried itself in the target area
before or just as the warhead detonated. This reduced its effectiveness.
Furthermore, its guidance systems were too primitive to hit specific targets, and its
costs were approximately equivalent to four-engined bombers, which were more
accurate, had longer ranges, carried many more warheads, and were reusable.
Moreover, it diverted resources from other, more effective programs. Nevertheless,
it had a considerable psychological effect as, unlike bombing planes, the V-2
traveled faster than the speed of sound, with no warning before impact and no
possibility of defense. With the war all but lost, regardless of the factory output of
conventional weapons, the Nazis resorted to V-2 as a tenuous last hope to influence
the war militarily. This resulted in Antwerp being one of the most targeted cities, as
an extension of their desire to wreek revenge on their enemies and most
importantly to give hope to their supporters with their miracle weapon. Hitler had
wanted to use the V-2 more effectively and at the end of war had designed plans for
a submarine-towed launch platform, which had already been tested successfully.
If deployed, it would have allowed an U-boat to launch V-2 missiles against United States
cities. Commencing July 1944 Hitler followed by Speer in January 1945 made speeches
alluding to a U-boat campaign against USA to fire robot U-1 and U-2 bombs. The US
Government was also greatly distressed by a group of six Gruppe Seewolf U-boats in April
1945 that sailed for America from Norway with secret orders that had not been broadcast in
the usual manner. ULTRA decrypts from the Japanese embassy at Berlin also disclosed
twelve dismantled V-2 rockets were shipped to the Japanese. These left Bordeaux in August
1944 on transport U-boats U-219 and U-195 reaching Djakarta in December 1944. A civilian
V-2 expert was a VIP passenger on the U-234 bound for Japan in May 1945 when the war
ended in Europe. The fate of these V-2 rockets is unknown. Near the end of the war,
German scientists were working on chemical and possibly biological weapons to use in the
V-2 program. By this stage, the Germans had produced munitions containing nerve agents
sarin, soman and tabun; however, they had never used any of them. At least 20 V-2s still
exist that are known of and are currently housed in museums. Two of them are located at
the Australian War Memorial in Canbarra and one includes a complete Meillerwagen
transporter. This surviving rocket has the most complete set of guidance components of
any surviving V-2s. The Meillerwagen is the most complete of the three examples known to
exist. In Britain, there are four surviving rockets. The first is located at the Science Museum
in London. The second is located at the Imperial War Museum in London and is painted
bright green, and cut through to display the engine and some other interior parts. The third
is located at the RAF Museum at London. The last one is located at the RAF Cosford site,
which includes a Meillerwagen, a Vidalwagen, a Strabo crane, and a firing table with towing
dolly. France has parts from six different rockets in its possession.
There is a complete one located at La Coupole Museum in Wizernes. This same museum
has a rocket body without an engine, another one with just the engine, another one with
only the lower engine, and one that has a wrecked engine. There is another one located
with just the engine at Cité de l'espace located in Toulouse. Germany has three remaining
rockets. The first complete one is from 1944, is located at the Deutsches Museum in
Munich, and is prominently dislpayed in the centre of the Museum's spiral staircase. In the
same museum, there is another with just the engine remaining from 1944, which is cut
through to reveal technical details. The final one is located at the Museum of Technology in
Berlin but only the engine remains. The Netherlands has two in its possession. The first one
is partly skeletonized and is located at the Netherlands Army Museum but is surprisingly
not on display. In this collection is also a launching table. The same museum also has some
loose parts and the remains of a V-2 that crashed in The Hague immediately after its own
launch. Poland is in possession of four V-2s but none of them are complete. The first has
only the hydrogen peroxide tank, the second has only the reaction chamber, the third has
only the propellant turbo pump, and the fourth has only the HWK rocket engine chamber,
which is partly cutout and all of these are located at the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow.
The V-2 consumed a third of Nazi Germany's fuel alcohol production and major portions of
other critical technologies. The same amount of work and materials put into the V-2s could
have created 24 000 fighters. Various problems were identified during V-2 development
and testing: A reduce needed to take place in the tank pressure and the weight. This was
eventually combated by using high flow turbo pumps to boost pressure. A short and lighter
combustion chamber without burn-through was developed by using centrifugal injection
nozzles, a mixing compartment, and a converging nozzle to the throat for homogenous
combustion.
Film cooling was used to prevent burn through at the nozzle throat. Relay contacts were
made more durable to withstand vibration and prevent thrust cutoff just after lift-off.
Ensuring that the fuel pipes had tension-free curves reduced the likelihood of explosions at
4000-6000. Fins were shaped with clearance to prevent damage as the exhaust jet expanded
with altitude. To control trajectory at lift off and supersonic speeds, heat-resistant graphite
vanes were used as rudders in the exhaust jet. The biggest problem that the V-2 faced
though was known as the Luftzerleger problem. Through mid-March 1944, only four of the
26 successful Blizna launches had satisfactorily reached the Sarnaki target area due to this
problem.
Compressed
nitrogen
pressuring
bottles
Rocket
combustion
chamber
(outer skin)
Wing
Alcohol
inlets
Air vane
Jet vane
Warhead
Automatic gyro control
Guide beam and radio
command receivers
Alcohol-water mixture
Rocket body
Liquid oxygen
Hydrogen peroxide tank
Hydrogen peroxide reaction
chamber
Propellant turbo pump
Thrust frame
Oxygen/alcohol burner caps
Most effective use of a V-2 rocket in an
event.
The V-2 rocket was not used in any battles
in which the V-2 was crucial to the
outcome. This was because the navigation
controls were primitive and could not be
accurate. Therefore, we shall concentrate on
how the V-2 rocket was effective in the
development of other weapons and what
affects it had on the world.
Specifics of the event
When the War finished Operation Backfire was launched. This was an operation in which the Allies
scrambled to acquire as much German technology as they could. In October 1945, British Operation
Backfire assembled a small number of V-2 missiles and launched three of them from a site in
northern Germany. The engineers involved had already agreed to move to the US when the test
firings were complete. The Backfire report remains the most extensive technical documentation of
the rocket, including all support procedures, tailored vehicles, and fuel composition. In his book My
Father's Son, Canadian author Farley Mowat, then a member of the Canadian Army, claims to have
obtained a V-2 rocket in 1945 and shipped it back to Canada, where it is alleged to have ended up in
the National Exhibition grounds in Toronto. The USSR also captured a number of V-2s and staff,
letting them set up in Germany for a time. The first work contracts were signed in the middle of
1945. In 1946, Operation Osoaviakhim was undertaken. This was a Soviet operation that took place
on October 22 1946, in which thousands of military-related technical specialists from the Soviet
occupation zone of post-World-War-II Germany. This included the relocated V-2 rocket centre at
Mittelwerk. In America, the same type of operation took place except that it was codenamed
operation paperclip. German engineers and Special Mission V-2 transported the captured V-2 parts to
America. At the end of the Second World War over 300 rail cars filled with V-2 engines, fuselages,
propellant tanks, gyroscopes, and associated equipment were brought to the rail yards in Las Cruces,
New Mexico, so they could be placed on trucks and driven to the White Sands Proving Grounds in
New Mexico.
How the V-2 effected the outcome of this event
The Canadian Arrow, a competitor for the Ansari X Prize, was based on the V-2. The Canadian Arrow
was a privately funded rocket and space travel project founded in London, Ontario. The project's
objective was to become the pioneer in the space travel industry. After an open nomination process,
they also recruited an impressive team of six astronauts from around the world, including several
seasoned military pilots and a NASA trained astronaut from Ukraine. The first Soviet missile was the
R-1, an exact copy of the V-2. Most of the German team was sent home after that project, but some
remained to do research until as late as 1951. Unbeknownst to the Germans, work immediately began
on larger missiles, the R-2 and R-5, based on extension of the V-2 technology. A committee was
formed with both military and civilian scientists to review payload proposals for the reassembled V-2
rockets. This led to an eclectic array of experiments that flew on the V-2s and paved the way for
American manned space exploration. Devices were sent aloft to sample the air at all levels to
determine atmospheric pressures and to see what gases were present. Other instruments measured the
level of cosmic radiation. Only 68 percent of the V-2 flights were considered successful. The Hermes
project was an Ordnance Corps rocket program. The U.S. Navy attempted to launch a reassembled
German V-2 rocket at sea-one test launch from the aircraft carrier USS Midway. It was only a partial
success, the V-2 went off the pad, but splashed down in the ocean only 10 kilometers from the carrier.
The PGM-11 Redstone rocket is a direct descendant of the V-2. First launched in 1953, the American
Redstone rocket was a direct descendant of the German V-2.
World War Two saw air attacks heighten in use and
popularity. While ground combat was still rampant,
war was still moving in the direction of bombing and
long range attacks.
Large weapons were used more in the Second World War than in the First due
to technological advances and need for better attacks. In the case of aerial
weapons, WW1 saw the Zeppelin which was effective to drop bombs however
very easy to shoot down and could not fly well in bad weather. In WW2, aerial
weapons such as the V-2 rocket came into creation. The V-2 had the ability to
hit a target from as many as 320 kilometers away. Thanks to technological
advances, large weapons (in this case, aerial weapons) changed from mandriven to self-driven and if the V-2 had worked properly, moderately effective
to very effective.
Armies needed stronger weapons capable of more
destruction and more impact.
.
Needed weapons capable of surprising the
enemy.
Bigger, Better, Faster!
The Zeppelin played a major role in the crucial Air Raids of London
by Germany however not a major role in outcome of World War One.
The shortcomings of the Zeppelin led to the need for better aerial
weapons. This would have led to the decision for such creations as
the V-2 rocket.
The V-2 rocket had no significant effects in the outcome of World War Two,
however it had a very dramatic effect in the Post-WW2 era. Every country
was now trying to replicate Germany’s V-2 rocket. Both the USSR and
America tried to replicate or make a better version of the V-2 Rocket. This led
to the Cold War; the arms race between the two nations.
We believe that this topic is very important to study for three main
reasons:
Shows how weapons evolve and change at about the same
rate as technology. Gives a clear perspective of just how
advanced and therefore dangerous weaponry can be.
This topic gives a look into how militaries would plan their
large scale attacks using their large weapons such as
Germany with the V-2 rocket.
Of course, without weapons, both World Wars would have been
fought very differently. Weapons changed the way war is fought
dramatically. Using large weapons such as rockets and missiles is a
modern form of war and just like all other forms of war, needs to be
studied.
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