Third Reich. Weapons of retaliation Bashny.Net

In 1944, the inevitability of the defeat of Nazi Germany was already apparent. The last hope of the Nazis was Wunderwaffe - "miracle weapon", the latest military technology ahead of its time. The most impressive of the achievements of designers Reich steel V-2 rocket (from it. V-2 - Vergeltungswaffe-2 "vengeance weapons").

The first launch took place in March 1942, and the first operational launch - September 8, 1944. In July 1944, armaments minister Albert Speer, Hitler sent the approximate photographer Walter Frentzen make photo essay on an underground military factory Dora concentration camp, where was feverishly assembling the first batch missiles. The report was intended for the Fuhrer.

As stated here, these unique slides were found Frentzen son in 1998 in the attic of the old father's suitcase.

1. The tragic irony of history is that the world's first ballistic missile was built by slaves. Of the 2,000 prisoners before the release of Dora did not live about half.



2. Despite the strict supervision of SS guards, the prisoners managed to sabotage. Perhaps for this reason many missiles have not flown to London.



3. In order to escape from the bombings Allied, German factories were buried deeper in the ground, in this case - in the rock.



4. This - Walter himself Frentzen. By the way, in 1939, he made color photography Moscow (not yet posted on the Web).



5. German engineers debug controller flight of the rocket.



6. The same



7. Build "electronics»



8. Build housing



9. The assembly workshop engines



10. Engine missiles



11. Installation of tail



12. Looking at these pictures, involuntarily recall the words of Khrushchev, "we make missiles like sausages»



13. Assembly line



14. The assembled rocket is displayed for final testing



15. The launch



Number of Implemented combat missile launches was 3225. It is applied for the purpose of intimidation, hitting mostly civilians (killed about 2,700 people, it was subjected to shelling mainly in England, especially London). The military significance of the V-2 rocket was the void.
After the German surrender all equipment, ready to rocket and a team of engineers led by von Braun himself was taken by the Americans. For them it was ready missile industry saved years of work and billions of dollars.
And the Soviet Union got only the crumbs, some components of missiles, secondary constructors. All this has also been exported, and after a year of hard work somehow managed to raise a Soviet version of the V-2.