V-2 rockets

The Third Reich's weapon of last resort

Alex Q. Arbuckle

1944-1945

A captured V-2 is paraded through Paris. Credit: Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

The world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile was built by Nazi Germany under the foreboding name Vergeltungswaffe 2 (Retribution Weapon 2).With a design spearheaded by Wernher von Braun, the V-2 was not prepared and deployed in force until late in World War II, when Hitler was desperate for a new super weapon to boost fading morale. The 45-foot-tall rockets were designed to reach speeds of over 3,500 miles per hour and hit preset targets up to 200 miles away with the help of gyroscopes, accelerometers and stabilizing fins.The first V-2 was launched in September 1944, and was followed by over 3,100 more over the following months. The vast majority were targeted at Antwerp and London, which suffered over 1,700 and 2,700 civilian deaths, respectively. In one instance a single V-2 struck an Antwerp cinema and killed 567.The last German V-2 was launched on March 27, 1945, around a month before the German surrender. The unused V-2s became precious prizes for the United States and the USSR. The designers of the V-2, including Wernher von Braun, went to work building rockets for the beginnings of the American space program.

A battery of V-2 rockets is prepared for firing. Credit: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

A V-2 rocket is prepared for launch. Credit: Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

A V-2 rocket launches. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A V-2 rocket is transported in Allemagne. Credit: Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

A V-2 rocket ready for launching at Cuxhaven in Lower Saxony. Credit: Fox Photos/Getty Images

A V-2 is prepared for launch. Credit: Fox Photos/Getty Images

A V-2 is prepared at a test site. Credit: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

A V-2 rocket is prepared for launch in Cuxhaven, Germany. Credit: Boyer/Roger Viollet/Getty Images

A V-2 rocket is launched from a test site on Germany's Baltic coast. Credit: ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

The aftermath of a V-2 rocket explosion in Farringdon Market that killed 380 people. Credit: Picture Post/Getty Images

The aftermath of a V-2 strike in London. Credit: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

Farringdon Market the day after the V-2 strike. Credit: Topical Press Agency/Getty Images

A rescue worker uses a sniffer dog to search for casualties in the ruins of Farringdon Market. Credit: Haywood Magee/Francis Reiss/Picture Post/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Houses are cleared away in Essex after a V-2 explosion damaged and destroyed dozens of houses and killed nine people. Credit: Flt. Lt. S D Devon/ IWM via Getty Images

A V-2 rocket arrives in Trafalgar Square, London, to take part in the London National Savings Week campaign. Credit: Fred Morley/Fox Photos/Getty Images

A V-2 on display in Holland. Credit: Past Pix/SSPL/Getty Images

V-2 segments at a German munitions factory captured by Allied forces. Credit: ullstein bild/ullstein bild/Getty Images

A V-2 rocket on display in Reims, France. Credit: Tony Vaccaro/Getty Images

A V-2 on display in Trafalgar Square, London. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A V-2 rocket stands on display alongside Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images

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