V-1 Buzzbomb
In June, 1942, Germany began working on a new secret weapon. It was officially known as the F2G-76 but was also called Vergeltung (Retribution) as it was built in response to American Army Air Force General Curtis LeMay's order of the mass incendairy bombing of urban areas in Germany.
British intelligence first became aware of this new weapon when on 22nd August, 1942, a Danish naval officer discovered an early test version that had crash landed on a small island between Germany and Sweden. The officer sent a photograph and a detailed sketch of the bomb to Britain and preparations began to deal with this new weapon that had the potential to win the war for Germany.
Military intelligence eventually discovered that the V-1 missile was being built at Peenemünde and in May 1943, Winston Churchill ordered Operation Crossbow, a plan to destroy V-1 production and launch sites. Over the next few months over 36,000 tons of bombs were dropped on these targets.
The V-1 (also known as a flying bomb, Buzzbomb or Doodlebug) was a pilotless monoplane that was powered by a pulse-jet motor and carried a one ton warhead. They were launched from a fixed ramp and travelled at about 350mph and 4,000ft and had a range of 150 miles (240km). It was 8 meters (25 feet) long and had a wingspan of about 5.5 meters (20 feet).
Germany launched its new weapon from Pas-de-Calais on the northern coast of France, on 12th June, 1944. The first ten failed to reach the country but on the following day one landed in Essex. Over the next few months 1,435 hit southeast England. These attacks created panic in Britain and between mid June and the end of July, around one and a half million people left London.
After expending its fuel, a V-1 falls into a London Borough
Oberst (colonel) Ulrich Wachtel commanded the V-1 flying bomb regiment that launched the rockets against England. Germany fired 9,521 V-1 bombs on southern England. Of these 4,621 were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire or by Allied fighters. An estimated 6,184 people were killed by these flying bombs. By August only 20 per cent of these bombs were reaching England.
V-1 on a launch rail aimed at London
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