The V-2 rockets were the weapons of mass destruction at the time. Made by the genius Wernher Von Braun, Hitler used them against the Allied forces. Many died making the rockets, and even more died when they were used.
However, there are always two sides to a sword. The success of landing a man on the Moon was a direct result from the production of the V-2 rockets. From any viewpoint, the V-2 rockets were destructive yet constructive, harmful yet helpful, and evil yet advanced.
At first the V-2 rockets were called the A-4 rockets. The original intentions of the rockets were not for war. Instead, Wernher von Braun and his buddy Walter Riedel were just experimenting to build larger rockets. At first, they were having trouble with the aerodynamic stability of the rockets. The Army realized the full potential of the rockets and quickly provided funding for the production. However, Wernher's dream was not to use the rockets for war but to get a man onto the Moon using rockets.
War World II broke out and by 1943; Hitler needed to show the citizens and his army that the war was still not over. The Soviets were advancing quickly, and all of Germany was losing hope in the war. A film was shown to the Army and Hitler signed the production of the now V-2 rockets. Hitler renamed it making the V stand for vengeance.
Vengeance was exactly what Hitler got. The number of V-2 rockets fired was at least over 3,000 killing 2,754 civilians and injuring 6,523 in London alone. The success of the V-2 rockets was phenomenal. This was largely due to the fact that the rockets traveled supersonically, and it reached its target in silence. Civilians were caught off guard as they were expecting to be bombed by enemy bombers. Because of the rocket's trajectory, it was also immune to anti aircraft missiles and fighters making it the perfect bomb.
Although the V-2 rockets were one of the most advanced weapons in WWII, it still had a lot of problems. A lot of times the warhead would detonate before reaching its target reducing its effectiveness. Furthermore, the production was very expensive, and the guidance systems were not good enough to hit specific targets. The problems caused Germany to lose the war even with the rockets.
After the war, the United States tried to retrieve as many V-2 rockets as possible. Operation Paperclip recruited many German engineers including Wernher von Braun. Wernher von Braun went on to become the most influential person in NASA designing the Saturn Rockets. With the rockets, the United States won the Space Race.
From its humble roots from an experimental lab to the most advanced weapon in WWII, the V-2 rocket has an interesting history. Despite killing thousands of innocent civilians, the V-2 rocket went on to help make a giant leap for mankind.
