The White Sands Missile Range Museum’s Missile Park

Vergeltungswaffe 2 (V-2) / Aggregat 4 (A-4)

The German V-2 rocket, sometimes described as Hitler’s “brain child” of World War II, is the grandfather of America’s, and much of the world’s, missile systems. Based on findings made by US-based Dr. Robert H. Goddard following World War I, the German program started in early 1940, with the first V-2 being launched on 6 July 1942. The third missile, launched in October 1942, flew 170 miles and was the first successful V-2 in flight. These V-2 “Wunderwaffen” were launched into Allied territory with the purpose of terrorizing the population and forcing the Allies to sue for peace on terms favorable to Germany.

Peak production of V-2s occurred during 1944 and 1945. Between August 1944 and February 1945, the German military made approximately 3,000 V-2 rockets, with a peak production of 30 missiles in one day. Hitler’s production target was for 3,600 rockets per year.

To achieve this target, the German military constructed a 900,000 square-foot underground production plant in Nordhausen. The plant was constructed in two parallel tunnels 500 feet apart, each a mile and a quarter long and cut completely through the mountain.

The main rocket assembly line started at one end of the first tunnel and missiles, moved along on rails, were finished and tested upon reaching the opposite end of the tunnel and were ready for delivery to launching sites. The second tunnel was used for bringing in units and parts for sub assembly lines. Forty-six smaller tunnels cross-connected at strategic points between the two main tunnels. The total length of the complex was 18 miles.

Captured German V-2 parts, components, scientists, and specialists were transplanted to the New Mexican desert installation White Sands Proving Ground in 1946, where a developmental program was set up and given priority second only to atomic research.

One sun-baked day in August 1945, several train loads of V-2 material and components captured in Europe during World War II were unloaded by military personnel and German specialists in Las Cruces and brought to the east side of the Organ Mountains. Months later, on 15 March 1946, the first V-2 was static test fired, and on 16 April 1946, the first V-2 was launched from Army Launch Area 1, today known as Launch Complex 33. By 30 June 1951, a total of 67 V-2 rockets had been launched at White Sands.

Unfortunately for the personnel at the Proving Ground, no V-2s were shipped from Europe intact and ready to fire. In fact, if a complete V-2 had been found and delivered to WSPG, the first step would have been to disassemble them so that individual components and sub assemblies could be inventoried, studied, and tested. German experience proved that a large increase in launch failures could be attributed to periods of extended storage. Therefore, all missiles launched from WSPG were assembled in a Missile Assembly Building from the imported parts, with the German rocket personnel providing supervision and technical expertise.

Major changes in the standard V-2 configuration were made on 52% of the V-2s launched from White Sands and 71% were launched above the original designed weight. The empty weight of the standard V-2 was 8,000 pounds, which included 2,200 pounds in the warhead section. The average empty weight of all V-2 missiles launched was 9,218 pounds, an increase of 19% in terms of payload.

By 1951, all V-2s being launched had major contour modifications and carried more than 47% in added payload, bringing the maximum loaded weight to 28,400 pounds.

V-2 assembly and testing was a tedious job that required days of intensive preparations. All basic components were individually inspected for performance and condition prior to assembly. Repairs and adjustments made to the V-2 required another round of inspection and testing. Large sub assemblies were completely tested before being installed and the fully assembled missile underwent two tests before it left the assembly building.

After being assembled and tested, a German-made trailer called the Meilerwagon towed it to the launch pad. An integral lift frame on the Meilerwagon elevated the V-2 to a vertical position on a low, portable steel launching table. The table incorporated a blast deflector, a mast for electrical wiring, and fittings for liquid propellant hoses.

At the launching site and on the day prior to the scheduled launch, personnel conducted another complete system test. The same test was repeated immediately prior to loading the propellant on firing day. No connection could be broken after the final complete system test was made. Following the on-site test, the V-2 was fueled with alcohol and liquid oxygen.

Launch procedures included a relatively slow start in which alcohol and liquid oxygen were allowed to flow into the combustion chamber by the force of gravity, where they ignited on contact. This produced approximately 16,000 pounds of thrust, too little to move the rocket but enough to check that the motor and fuel lines were functioning properly. The propellant turbine was then activated, increasing thrust to 52,000 pounds, which lifted the V-2 off of the launch platform.

The V-2 had an overall length of 46 feet, a diameter of 5 feet 5 inches, and a fin span of 11 feet 8 inches. Its motor developed 52,000 pounds of thrust for 68 seconds and its launching weight was 28,413 pounds, which included approximately 19,575 pounds of liquid propellant.

In late-1946, the Army Ordnance Corps started a developmental program leading to a two-stage rocket test vehicle. A US-made WAC Corporal was mounted on the nose of a V-2 to form the first two-stage missile, known as Bumper. The first Bumper launch occurred on 13 May 1948.

The Navy used several V-2 rockets in its own research programs as well. Operation Pushover concerned the deliberate explosion of a fully fueled V-2 to determine its effect on launching rockets from the deck of a ship.

Operation Sandy was the code name for launching a V-2 from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Midway. Preliminary tests were made and the missile was assembled at WSMR. The first large rocket launched from a ship at sea was on 06 September 1947.

From this 5-year experimental program, the United States would continue to advance rocket and missile technology. Descendants of the V-2 include the Redstone, the Nike family of air defense missiles, the Aerobee sounding rocket, and the Honest John, to name but a few. Today, though the V-2 is obsolete as a missile, it remains an interest for scientific researchers, historians, and the public.