On the evening of September 8, 1944, a powerful roar was heard over the capital of Great Britain, which reminded many of a clap of thunder: it was in the London area of Cheswick that the first German V-2 rocket fell. The thunderous rumble that was heard over London that day announced to the whole world that a new weapon appeared on the battlefields - ballistic missiles. Despite their small combat capabilities and imperfect design, these missiles have become a fundamentally new means of warfare. These missiles, which the Germans attributed to the Wunderwaffe (literally "miracle weapons"), could not change the course of World War II, but their use opened a new era - the era of rocket technology and missile weapons.
BBC reporters interviewed a large number of Londoners who survived the first wave of German V-2 missile attacks. People who were taken by surprise were shocked and did not believe that the existence of such a radical air weapon was real. At the same time, clear evidence of how German missiles hit the target was rare. Most of the eyewitnesses spoke of a "luminous ball", the fall of which was accompanied by a "terrible crash." V-2 rockets appeared over London "like a bolt from the blue."
The Londoners were frightened by the fact that when they were hit by V-2 missiles, they did not have a sense of impending danger and the ability to take any measures to protect themselves. There were no air raid announcements, which they had gotten used to during the years of the war. The first thing that people were aware of during missile strikes was the sound of the explosion. Due to the fact that it was physically impossible to announce the alarm when V-2 missiles were hit, people could not go down to the shelters, all that was left for them was to hope for their own luck and luck.
It is worth noting that the allies were very much concerned about the military use of "weapons of retaliation" by Hitler at the end of the war, when victory was already very close. Ballistic missiles, rockets and new aerial bombs were a demonstration of the technical power of Nazi Germany in the last hours of its existence, but the new weapon could no longer change the course of the war. The number of V-2 missiles that were able to hit London and other cities was relatively small, and the damage they inflicted could not come close to the strategic bombing of German cities by the Allies.
At the same time, the exact number of victims from V-2 missile strikes is still unknown. These data were not recorded, it is known only about the victims during the shelling of the territory of England, where from this "miracle weapon" Hitler killed a little less than three thousand people. At the same time, the very production of these missiles took more lives than their combat use. More than 25 thousand prisoners of German concentration camps were killed in the production of missiles. No one exactly counted the victims among them either. V-2 rockets were assembled near the Buchenwald concentration camp, work on their assembly was carried out around the clock. To speed up the process of their release, specialists (especially turners and welders) were brought from other German concentration camps. The prisoners were starving, did not see the sunlight, working in underground bunkers, where production was driven by Allied air raids. For any offense, the prisoners were simply hung right on the cranes of the missile assembly lines.
The problems of the allies were aggravated by the fact that they did not always and with great difficulty determine the place and time of launching German missiles. Unlike the slow-moving V-1 projectiles, the V-2 missiles hit targets from very high altitudes and at speeds exceeding the speed of sound. Even if such a missile could be detected while approaching the target, at that time there simply did not exist a single effective means of protection against it. The bombardment of the starting positions was also difficult. The German V-2 launch teams used mobile versions of the missiles that were delivered to the launch site by trucks.
The first step in the sequence of launching ballistic missiles was their placement on an ingenious vehicle that was invented by German engineers exclusively for V-2 operations. After the rocket was attached to a special cradle, it was hydraulically set to a vertical position. After that, the launch platform in the form of a reusable circle, which was placed in a square frame, was brought under the rocket. The launch platform, which was supported by jacks in 4 corners, took on the weight of the V-2, allowing you to remove the carriage, which the Germans used to transport missiles and transfer them from a horizontal to a vertical position. Each mobile device required its own team and truck, a variety of vehicles, fuel tankers, trailers and vehicles for transporting personnel - usually about 30 vehicles. Once the ballistic missile launch site was identified, the German military sealed off the surrounding area and removed all local residents from the vicinity. These measures were taken to achieve maximum secrecy. To launch one FAU-2 rocket, each team needed 4 to 6 hours.
Immediately before launch, the missile maintenance team performed a number of actions: installed engine ignitors, control equipment and guidance stabilizers, refueled the missiles with fuel and placed other components on them. To control the rocket, electricity was needed, which was originally supplied from ground sources, and already in flight from batteries on board the rocket. Considering the danger associated with any launch of a ballistic missile (they were not particularly reliable), the calculations were especially carefully checked for the ignition systems and fuel. The launch team usually consisted of 20 soldiers, who wore special protective helmets and overalls to fuel the V-2.
Immediately during the launch, the rocket slowly rose from its metal platform, continued its flight vertically for about 4 seconds, after which it took a given flight path, controlled by a gyroscopic guidance system on board. The chosen angle of the initial flight trajectory - most often 45 ° - accurately established the range of the rocket. The V-2 engine shutdown occurred approximately 70 seconds after launch. By this time, the rocket was already moving in the sky at an altitude of 80-90 km with an average speed of 1500-1800 m / s. After turning off the engine, the rocket began to descend, hitting the target 5 minutes after launch. Due to the short arrival time, the shelling of London and other cities was unexpected and often destructive. After the missile hit the target, the launch team quickly evacuated all equipment in order to prevent detection or retaliation from Allied aircraft.
All that the Allies could oppose to V-2 missile launches was air strikes on possible bases of German missile units and launch positions. The command of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain for the continuous search and destruction of missile launch sites has allocated special forces of fighter-assault aviation as part of the 12th Fighter Air Group. Throughout October 1944 - March 1945, this air group made more than 3800 sorties to the Hague region, from where the launches were carried out. During this time, the group dropped about 1000 tons of bombs on the surroundings. But the high mobility of the V-2 missile launchers and the urban terrain, in which both launch sites and missiles could be easily camouflaged, did not allow the Allied aviation to effectively fight them. In addition, the aviation was inactive at night and in bad weather. The losses of German missilemen from air strikes amounted to only about 170 people, 58 cars, 48 missiles and 11 liquid oxygen tankers. At the same time, for the entire time of the bombing, not a single V-2 rocket was lost on the launch pad.
By the fall of 1944, changes had taken place in the organization of ballistic missile units and control systems. After an unsuccessful attempt on Hitler's life in July 1944, command was transferred to SS Gruppenfuehrer Kamler, who became Special Commissioner for V-2. He was appointed to this post by Himmler. In August of the same year, by order of Kamler, all the Reich's missile units, which numbered about 6 thousand people and 1, 6 thousand vehicles, were redeployed from their permanent bases to the concentration areas that were chosen in Holland and West Germany. At the same time, they were reorganized. Two groups were formed: "North" and "South", each of which consisted of two batteries, as well as a separate 444th training and test battery, which was operatively subordinate to the "South" group. At the same time, one battery from each group remained at the range for the implementation of training and test launches of V-2 missiles.
On September 5, 1944, the "North" group was in positions in the Hague region in full readiness to launch missiles at London. Group "South" with the 444th separate battery attached to it was located in the Eiskirchen area (100 kilometers east of Liege), ready to strike at cities in France. The 444th battery was intended to strike directly at Paris. On September 6, the 444th battery made two unsuccessful attempts to launch missiles at the French capital. The first successful launch was made only on the morning of September 8, and it turned out to be the only one, since the advance of the Allied forces forced the Germans to leave the starting positions and redeploy to Holland on the island of Volcheren, from where the 444th battery subsequently attacked Great Britain.
V-2 ballistic missile attacks on England also began on September 8, 1944, but in the evening hours. On this day, the group "North" from the outskirts of The Hague Wassenaar launched two missiles at London. The first of them killed 3 people and wounded 17, the second missile did no damage. A week later, the 444th Battery joined the strikes on London. The aiming point for the German missilemen was the center of London (about 1000 meters east of Waterloo station). But soon the Germans had to change positions again, they were frightened by the Allied airborne assault near Arnhem. This landing operation ended in failure, but the Germans were temporarily forced to regroup their missile units, which led to the cessation of attacks on England.
On September 25, when it became clear that the Arnhem offensive operation of the Anglo-American troops had ended in failure, the 444th battery was moved to the Staveren area (northern coast of the Zuider See) with the task of launching missile strikes on the cities of Ipswich and Norwich, but after a few days, she again returned to the area of The Hague, from where, on October 3, she again began to strike at London. In total, in September 1944, the active operations of German missile units armed with V-2 missiles, with 2-3 batteries, lasted only 10 days (September 8-18). During this time, they fired 34 V-2 missiles in London, 27 missiles were noted by the air defense systems of England: 16 of them exploded within the city, 9 - in various parts of England, two missiles fell into the sea. At the same time, the number of victims and damage caused by the explosions of missiles, each of which carried about a ton of explosives, were small. On average, each missile destroyed 2-3 houses and hit 6-9 people.
The beginning of the V-2 missile launches repeated the situation that developed at the beginning of the V-1 operations. The Germans were unable to achieve a massive strike. They did not have strategic surprise either; the Allies had information about the capabilities of German ballistic missiles. However, tactical surprise persisted throughout the entire period of use of these missiles, since the short approach time did not allow timely warning of the population, and the large dispersion of missiles made it impossible for observers to determine the place of their fall.
Aftermath of the V-2 hitting London, March 9, 1945
In early October 1944, ballistic missiles were launched from the Hague and Staveren areas across London, cities in eastern England and Belgium. But on October 12, Hitler ordered the V-2 strikes only on London and Antwerp - the main supply base of the American-British troops in Europe. Group "North" and the 444th separate battery were deployed on the outskirts of The Hague - The Hague-Bosch, from where, until March 27, 1945, V-2 missiles were launched at London, Antwerp, and subsequently at Brussels and Liege.
It is worth noting that the loss by the Germans of the missile unit supply system created in Northern France forced SS Gruppenfuehrer Kammler and his headquarters to hastily create new intermediate points for storing, checking and repairing missiles and warehouses. The Germans created similar warehouses near The Hague in the settlements of Raaphorst, Terhorst and Eichenhorst. The transportation of V-2 missiles was carried out by the Germans in the strictest secrecy. Rocket trains, which departed from the Peenemünde factories or at Nordhausen, could transport 10-20 ballistic missiles. When transporting the V-2, they were loaded in pairs. Each pair of missiles occupied 3 railway platforms, which were well camouflaged and very closely guarded. The delivery time of finished missiles from factories to warehouses or to Vlizna, where the tests were carried out, was 6-7 days.
V-2 ballistic missiles were launched from different points in the vicinity of The Hague. Since the missiles did not require a cumbersome launcher, as for the V-1 (a 49 meter long catapult was needed), their starting positions were constantly changing. This circumstance made them almost invulnerable to Allied aviation. The V-2 on a special platform was brought directly to the launch site, installed vertically on a concrete or asphalt site, where the rocket was refueled with an oxidizer and fuel, after which it was launched for a given target.
Consequences of a V-2 missile strike in Antwerp
For six months of launches, despite the 30-fold superiority of the allies in the air and intense bombing strikes by the Anglo-American Air Force, not a single V-2 ballistic missile was destroyed at the start. At the same time, the Nazis managed to increase the intensity of their attacks on London. If in October 1944 32 V-2 missiles exploded in the British capital, in November there were already 82 ballistic missiles, in January and February 1945 - 114 each, and in March - 112. The Germans also managed to increase the accuracy of hitting the target. If in October it was only 35% of the number of missiles that fell on British territory, then from November onwards, more than 50% of the missiles that arrived hit objects within the boundaries of London.
By the end of March 1945, ballistic missile attacks against targets in England and Belgium were stopped. In total, air surveillance of the British air defense system recorded 1115 V-2 missiles, of which 517 exploded in London (47%), 537 in England (49%) and 61 missiles fell into the sea. The losses from the attacks of these missiles amounted to 9,277 people, including 2,754 killed and 6,523 wounded. In total, from September to the end of March 1945, the Germans fired more than 4 thousand V-2 missiles at London, Southern England, Antwerp, Brussels, Liege and Remagen, as well as other targets. So, from 1400 to 2000 missiles were fired at London, and up to 1600 missiles at Antwerp, which was the main supply base for the Allies in Europe. At the same time, about 570 V-2 rockets exploded in Antwerp. A large number of missiles simply exploded when launched on the ground or in the air, or failed in flight.
Despite the imperfect design, the first ballistic missile attacks sometimes resulted in serious civilian and military casualties. So on November 1, 1944, two V-2 rockets killed 120 people, on November 25, 160 people were killed and 108 wounded by the explosion of just one rocket in London. On the morning of March 8, 1945, one of the German missiles hit a London store, pierced it and exploded in the subway tunnel below it, as a result of the explosion, the building collapsed completely, killing 110 people. But the largest number of victims from the use of V-2 missiles by the Germans was recorded on December 16, 1944 in Antwerp. On that day, at 15:20, a ballistic missile hit the Rex Cinema building, where the film was being shown. During the screening, all 1200 seats were occupied in the cinema. As a result of the rocket explosion, 567 people died, 291 people were injured. 296 dead and 194 injured were British, American and Canadian military personnel.
A scene of destruction on London's Farringdon Road after the fall of a V-2 rocket, 1945.
The moral effect that the V-2 missiles had on the civilian population was also quite large. This was due to the fact that protection against new weapons simply did not exist then, and the Germans could launch missiles at any time of the day. Because of this, the people of London were constantly in a state of tension. The most difficult psychologically was precisely the night hours, when the Germans were also shelling the British capital with V-1 "aircraft-shells".
And yet, the Hitlerite command did not manage to achieve truly massive missile strikes until the end of World War II. Moreover, it was not about the destruction of entire cities or individual industrial areas. On the part of Hitler and the German leadership, the effectiveness of the "weapon of retaliation" was clearly overestimated. Missile weapons of such a technical level of development simply could not change the course of the conflict in Germany's favor, much less prevent the inevitable collapse of the Third Reich.
