The well-known German vergeltungswaffen (vengeance or retaliation or revenge weapons) were a last-ditch stand to stave off defeat in 1944–1945 by means of pilotless bombs that could be launched against London and other Allied targets. They reflected an interservice rivalry, with the later Luftwaffe V-1 missile project being launched out of concern over the V-2 army-controlled rocket program that was seen as endangering the Luftwaffe’s strategic role. The Nazi SS seized overall control of both programs in early 1945.
The V-1 missile was a flying bomb, far cheaper and simpler than the V-2 rocket already under development, though in service both would carry similar 1-ton warheads. The Argus reaction propulsion jet engine, first flown in early 1941, had a loud “on-off ” roar that inadvertently provided up to a five-minute warning to targeted populations. Design work on the airframe of what became the V-1 (the Fieseler Fi 103) began in March 1942, and it first flew with a Siemens guidance system at the end of 1942, launched from an aircraft over the Baltic Sea. It was referred to as an antiaircraft weapon to throw off spies and intelligence. Tests in 1943 were often frustrating failures.
Numerous production delays due to varied priorities, design and implementation problems, and Allied bombing of test and manufacturing sites meant that large numbers did not come off production lines until late 1944. The delay helped in one way, however, as intended launch complexes were simplified to portable 150-foot catapults. The V-1 was first launched into combat on 13 June 1944 (six of the 10 launched actually reached Britain), with nearly 140 French launch sites nearing completion. Soon, more than 100 per day were launched, though many failed to reach their targets. A piloted version was tested but never used in combat (the pilot would have bailed out before the final descent). The Allied invasion shut down the French launch sites, though final launches came from sites in Holland in March 1945.
All told, more than 32,000 V-1s were manufactured. Some 6,000 V-1s were fired at Britain, 3,400 of them at London alone. The British destroyed nearly 4,000 (1,847 by RAF fighters—including 400 mph Gloster Meteor jets—1,878 with antiaircraft guns, and 232 by cables attached to barrage balloons).
The V-2 rocket grew out of German experimentation and civilian rocket clubs in the 1930s. Active development of what became the V-2 weapon began in late 1938 after testing was conducted on several smaller versions. Development was slow due to shifting military priorities and the complex guidance and propulsion systems involved. Production of early V-2s required nearly 13,000 man-hours of effort, a figure that dropped with mass production. The long-range A-4 (later the V-2) experienced several failed launches before the first successful test flight of more than 100 miles over the Baltic Sea on 3 October 1942.More failed launches followed, and continuing development prevented mass production until late 1943. Extensive use was made of slave labor and underground manufacturing sites. Range slowly grew from 140 miles to more than 200 (some versions flew nearly 300). A projected but not built A9/A10 version would have true intercontinental range to bomb U.S. targets from German launch facilities.
Unlike the V-1, whose engine noise announced its presence, the V-2 struck with no warning at supersonic speed. The first combat launch against London came on 7 September 1944. Rockets were delivered by rail to forward launch points within range of London. The camouflaged rockets could be launched about 90 minutes after arrival even from an unprepared site.
All told, more than 6,500 V-2s were manufactured through April 1945. Many were destroyed at factories or on supply trains. Of the nearly 3,200 launched, slightly more than 1,400 were launched at Britain (mostly London) before operations ceased in early 1945. Some 1,600 were aimed at Antwerp and its suburbs. Lesser numbers targeted other sites.
Both the V-1 missile and the V-2 rocket came too late to effect the war’s outcome, though damage and loss of life was extensive. More than 15,000 lost their lives and another 47,000 were wounded by these weapons. Both were area weapons used for terror, as neither could be accurately aimed at specific military targets. Neither weapon was used against the Eastern or Italian Fronts but instead were focused on major Allied cities and staging areas in the west. Capture of surviving copies helped fuel the postwar missile race.
References Cooksley, Peter G. Flying Bomb: The Story of Hitler’s V-Weapons in World War II. New York: Scribners, 1979. Dornberger, Walter. V-2. New York: Viking, 1954. Garliski, Jósef. Hitler’s Last Weapons: The Underground War Against the V1 and V2. New York: Times Books, 1978. Hölsken, Dieter. V-Missiles of the Third Reich: The V-1 and V-2. Sturbridge, MA: Monogram Aviation, 1994.
