The V-Weapons: Things of Terror and the Future

In the early morning of June 13, 1944, the peace in London was disturbed by devices the people of London would soon come to call 'Doodlebugs'. This was the beginning of an era in the war: the era of the V-Weapons.

The V-Weapons ( or Vergeltungswaffe-German for 'revenge type weapons'), were approved by Hitler during a time when it seemed to many that Germany had lost the war. The first of these weapons was known as either the doodlebug, the buzz bomb, or more commonly, the V-1. The basic concept for a self-propelled bomb originated in 1934, even though the engine that powered it was developed in the mid-1920s. this concept was not taken seriously, however, until 1938, and even then, development of the V-1 wasn't authorised until 1942. Over the course of two years, the V-1 was developed, and finally perfected.

Schematic of a V-1

The basic premise of the V-1 is a bomb with a pair of wings attached to the body, and on the top is attached a pulse-jet engine. Instead of a conventional jet, which uses turbines and hot gases, the pulse jet has a series of valves that open and close with pressure, somewhat similar to the internal combustion engine in your car. However, unlike an internal combustion engine, which combines gasoline with air, the pulse-jet combines two chemicals, relatively harmless separate, but extremely reactive when combined, along with forced air. The two chemicals used, referred to as Z-Stoff and T-Stoff, were hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate. When the potassium permanganate (Z-Stoff) was shot into the combustion chamber and then mixed with the hydrogen peroxide (T-Stoff), a large amount of thrust was created. These two chemicals were also used in Germany's rocket interceptor, the Me-163. also, the bomb was built with multiple fuses of differing types. This level of redundancy was nearly perfect, because out of the 2700 V-1s that hit London, only four failed to explode.

The launch sites for the V-1 needed special launch tubes and thrust trolleys in order to get the bombs up to sustainable speed. This meant the launch sites for the V-1 were, for the most part, stationary, making them prime targets for Allied bombers. This problem was supposed to be solved, however, by modifying the V-1 for deployment from bombers, not only to avoid the Allied bombings of the launch sites on the ground, but also to avoid the anti-aircraft batteries lining the coasts, which were beginning to shoot down the bombs before they reached their targets. All this effectively ended, though, in March of 1945. However, there was another weapon that, once launched, nothing could stop: the V-2.

The V-2's basic premise was actually developed not by military designers, but by rocket enthusiasts, specifically the Society for Space Travel, back in 1927. The military soon saw potential in rockets as weapons, and by 1937 testing on viable rocket motors. Despite numerous failures and setbacks, the first successful V-2 was launched on October 3, 1942. The Germans had a new weapon.

A V-2 seen in the National Air and Space Museum

While the V-2 is much too complex to sum up its mechanisms appropriately, it can still be appreciated as a mechanical marvel. Due to the German's fuel shortages, for example, they used essentially ethanol to launch their rockets. Also, the warhead explosive wasn't very powerful, as compared to others. It was chosen because the heat generated by the engine wouldn't ignite the explosive once the rocket reached the outer atmosphere. Unlike the V-1, the V-2 traveled well above the speed of sound, so not only would there be no sound to give it away, but no anti-aircraft battery in existence at the time had any chance of shooting it down, even if they did see it.

 Also, another major difference from the V-1 was that the V-2 launching sites were mobile. The rocket was loaded on the back of a modified truck, driven to a launch site, aimed, launched, and fired, then the truck simply drove away. This made Allied bombing of the launch sites impossible. However, in the end, the Allied advance through Europe made sure that any launch site in range of Britain was taken. Despite this, V-2s continued to be a looming threat until the end of the war.

There technically was a V-3 weapon, although it was never fired successfully, but if it had, it would've certainly been just as much a threat as the other V-Weapons. The V-3 was based on a concept conceived by American engineers back in 1885. It is a specially modified cannon that fires a special cartridge, and as the projectile travels down the barrel, the pressure wave triggers additional cartridges, adding more speed to the projectile when it exits the barrel.

The V-3 cannon

 The goal of the German scientists was to build just such a cannon in a place such as Mimoyecques, France and fire it into the heart of London, over the English channel. While this concept was theoretically possible, the scientists discovered, as the Americans did in 1885, that when it was actually built, the gun could never work, and even if it did, they couldn't get the range or accuracy required for their plan. This didn't deter the Germans, however, A couple of prototypes were built and tested. However, during testing, the projectile almost never landed on target, and other cannons downright exploded, killing many. Even if the Germans continued on this line of research, it wouldn't have mattered since the Allies captured the cannon sites, putting London out of their sights.

The threat of the V-3 was so serious, however, that the Allies created a program that the end result of which can be seen as the precursor to today's Guided missiles. Project Anvil, as the US Navy called it, was a plan to strip down a Navy bomber, remote control it, and fill it with Torpex high explosive.This was the Navy's derivation of the US Army air Corps's similar plan, Project Aphrodite. It was intended to crash remotely into the site where the V-3 was being built. The bomber was outfitted with many revolutionary new technologies of the time, such as radio control and television.

The plan was for two pilots to get the bomber into the air and on course for the V-3, and once near the coast of England, the pilots would arm the explosives and hand over control of the plane to a radio controller flying in an escort plane, and bail out. However, this plan was a dismal failure, because when the time came to hand over control of the plane, the television failed followed seconds later by the plane exploding. Both pilots were killed, one of them being Lieutenant Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., older brother of John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

In spite of this loss, the legacy of the  V-Weapons and the failed Project Anvil live on. After the war, there was a rush to capture as much of the German's new technology and their scientists as possible. One person who was looking for these scientists, and working with British Intelligence, was Ian Fleming, future author of the James Bond books. Also, German rocket scientist Werner von Braun escaped the Russians and went back to the united States, and not only helped the US in their ballistic rocket program, but also made significant contributions to the early space program. And today, smart munitions are guided by the same principles pioneered by Project Anvil and Aphrodite. It just goes to show history's legacy. Until next time, take care, and thank you.