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N0KFQ > TODAY 03.10.12 21:40l 43 Lines 1833 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 29162_KB0WSA
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 3
Path: IZ3LSV<IW0QNL<JH4XSY<JE7YGF<N9PMO<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 121003/2034Z 29162@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
Oct 3, 1942:
Germany conducts first successful V-2 rocket test
On this day in 1942, German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun's
brainchild, the V-2 missile, is fired successfully from
Peenemunde, as island off Germany's Baltic coast. It traveled 118
miles. It proved extraordinarily deadly in the war and was the
precursor to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) of
the postwar era.
German scientists, led by von Braun, had been working on the
development of these long-range missiles since the 1930s. Three
trial launches had already failed; the fourth in the series,
known as A-4, finally saw the V-2, a 12-ton rocket capable of
carrying a one-ton warhead, successfully launched.
The V-2 was unique in several ways. First, it was virtually
impossible to intercept. Upon launching, the missile rises six
miles vertically; it then proceeds on an arced course, cutting
off its own fuel according to the range desired. The missile then
tips over and falls on its target-at a speed of almost 4,000 mph.
It hits with such force that the missile burrows itself into the
ground several feet before exploding. It had the potential of
flying a distance of 200 miles, and the launch pads were
portable, making them impossible to detect before firing.
The first launches as part of an offensive did not occur until
September 6, 1944 when two missiles were fired at Paris. On
September 8, two more were fired at England, which would be
followed by more than 1,100 more during the next six months. More
than 2,700 Brits died because of the rocket attacks.
After the war, both the United States and the Soviet Union
captured samples of the rockets for reproduction--they also
captured the scientists responsible for their creation.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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