Developed by a team of engineers working under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun at Peenemunde, Germany, the V-2 work laid the foundation for the Redstone missile through the Saturn series of space launch vehicles.
Four-thousand V-2s were fired against Allied targets in England and on the continent in 1944 and 1945. After World War II, captured V-2 rockets were used to train American technicians in missile launch procedures and to carry the first payloads of scientific instruments into the upper atmosphere in the United States.
The operational V-2 rocket structure consisted of three sections. The nose housed the warhead and control mechanisms. The fuel tanks carried liquid oxygen and alcohol propellants. The rocket engine, turbopumps, and control surfaces were contained in the tail section.
Jet deflector vanes positioned in the stream of exhaust gases and external vanes maintained attitude and directional control during the powered portion of flight.
| Length | 14 m. (46 ft., 1 in.) |
| Diameter | 1.6 m. (5 ft., 5 in.) |
| Propellants | Alcohol and liquid oxygen |
| Thrust | 25,400 kg. (56,000 lb.) |
| Velocity | 5633 km./hr. (3500 mi./hr.) |
| Altitude | Peak of operational trajectory, 89 km. (55 mi.) |
V-1
63. Illustration from World War II intelligence report.
GERMAN PILOTLESS AIRCRAFT Warhead: approx. 1000 kg. Fuel filler cap Lifting lug Fuel tank. (Capacity 130 galls. petrol) Wirebound spherical compressed air bottles Grill incorporation shutters & petrol injection jets Impulse duct engine Light alloy nose fairing probably containing compass Launching rail Steel tubular main spar passing through fuel tank Pressed steel wing ribs Sheet steel wing covering Automatic pilot: 3 airdriven gyros: height & range setting controls Pneumatic servo mechanism operating rudder & elevators
The German-developed V-1 was an automatically controlled pilotless aircraft for use against Allied cities during World War II.