[Illustration: 61. British-supervised postwar launch of V-2 in
Germany.]
[Illustration: 62. V-2.]
The German V-2, originally designated A-4, represents the beginning of
modern rocketry. The V-2 was the first proof that large rockets of the
sort described by the space-flight pioneers of the early twentieth
century could be successfully built and flown. It was also the
forerunner of the intercontinental ballistic missile system.
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.)